Ralph Fiennes reveals why he almost turned down role of Voldemort in Harry Potter
He called it 'misplaced snobbery.'
Ralph Fiennes has revealed he almost turned down the role of Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise because of ‘misplaced snobbery.’
The 62-year-old actor portrayed the antagonist in five of the films based on J.K. Rowling’s books, but has sense revealed he originally turned his nose up at the opportunity.
The actor was interested in the part until his sister told him how important it was.
Fiennes told The Hollywood Reporter at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival recently: ‘I hadn’t seen the films in order to dislike them, I just hadn’t seen them and I hadn’t read the books. I was aware of their big success. I think I was probably guilty of a sort of totally misplaced snobbery of witches and goblins and things.’
But things changed for Fiennes when he told his sister that the producers of the hit films were interested in casting him as Voldemort.
He continued: ‘I was resistant, until I told my sister Martha that I’ve been asked to play this Voldemort person. She said, “Voldemort, you’ve been asked to play Voldemort? You have to do it! Ralph you don’t realise, you don’t realise.”‘
Fiennes was critically claimed for his performance as the dark wizard (Picture: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)Despite his initial hesitance, Fiennes brought depth and nuance to his portrayal of the villain.
He told The Guardian of the role: ‘Young Voldemort was an orphan and denied any kind of parental affection or love, so he’s been an isolated figure from a very young age.
‘But I always think there has to be the possibility of good in someone, too. It might have been eroded, repressed, suppressed or somehow distorted within him after he was really damaged.’
Fiennes’ ability to become completely immersed in a character previously earned him an Oscar nomination for his role as Nazi war criminal Amon Goth in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 historical epic Schindler’s List, and more recently in Conclave.
It was the actor’s sister who talked him into taking the role (Picture: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)He said: ‘Conclave was one of those things where I had a feeling of that connecting to the part – you don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but it’s good when you have that feeling.
‘There are parts where you feel like that would be fun to do, that’s not really me, but it’ll test me, like In Bruges – that character’s a long way from my lived experience, but a great part, and some parts are closer to your lived experience.
‘Clearly, I’m not a priest, but I felt there was something – yes it functions as a political thriller, but there’s a search for who is the right leader of a faith that has the right qualities of a spiritual leader.’
