Harry Potter discussion

Question about the movies. Do you think the actors who played the characters were the best pick?

I do. Voldemort, perhaps could have been better cast. I have heard others complain that Bonnie Wright's stoic facial features didn't match Ginny Weasley, although I thought she did great. What did you expect someone who had once been possessed by Voldemort to look like, Dakota Fanning?

I thought Richard Harris made a slightly better Dumbledore than Michael Gambon, as he appeared more wizard-like (I could easily imagine him with a spider hanging from the tip of his hat). But Gambon's performance was still spot-on.

The one exception being Slughorn. While I have the utmost respect for Broadbent's acting abilities (which are beyond reproach and was very well done as Professor Digory in The Chronicles of Narnia), Broadbent's general appearance and apologetic demeanor didn't match Slughorn's character, in my opinion. I have always imagined Slughorn looking more like G. K. Chesterton in appearance than Jim Broadbent, and with a big booming voice and very little regard for tiptoeing around feelings and maintaining social pretenses. I imagine Slughorn didn't have a verbal filter. He was a Slytherin, after all.

When I read the book, I expected Gilderoy Lockhart to look a lot different, but the actor still did a good job though

I didn't like Bonnie Wright as Ginny. Her build was too large and she didn't have that mischievousness to her, but maybe it was when they were casting her, they didn't think Ginny was going to be a bigger part of Harry's life. I love Ralph Fiennes, but he was too. . . energetic as the Great Lord Voldemort. Perhaps Benedict Cumberbatch, he's got the powerful voice, the arrogance and the presence. Gilderoy was supposed to be handsome. . . and Michael Gambon. . . eish. . .

Yeah, a lot of people say that about Wright playing Ginny. Personally, I thought she was a good fit, outside the tight-lipped stoicism she always seemed to exude. Yeah, she could have been slightly more "happy" and even a little satirical, but I still think she did very good.

I thought they were all cast well. The Death Eaters always carried an air of hate whenever you see them in screen. Maggie played McGonagall brilliantly. And Snape's role... No one could have beat that. Rowlings discription matched him perfectly. I don't know if there was a poorly casted person. I guess if there was to be one or would be Fluer Delacour's actor. The book described her as an almost hard to look at beauty. And the Fluer in the movie wasn't quite as I imagined (that's why I normally hate movies from books of they aren't as I see them)

Since I saw the movies first, I thought they were great :)

I think Voldemort was good... I didn't like Michael Gambon - Richard Harris was great. But considering that i liked Dumbledore much more in the first books and less later, maybe they were both good choices. I don't like who they picked for Lupin - he was my favorite character and they messed that up. Bonnie Wright looked like Ginny but she didn't really PLAY in the later books so well. She seemed so... haunted as opposed to outgoing personality she was supposed to have.
I liked who they picked for Seamus and Dean.

Tonks didn't work for me. At all. And I imagined Padfoot to be a fluffier, friendlier looking dog.

The thing is, I saw most of the movies before I read the books, so Lupin, Tonks, and most of the later cast are set in stone in my mind.

I think the casting for the younger versions of people was awful. Teenage Sirius was just...no. He didn't have that attractive, laid back air that he did in OOTP. And his hair wasn't dark. Child Snape and Lily look nothing like their adult actors, though they are adorable.

Bonnie looked okay, but I feel like she didn't convey Ginny's boldness and energy. Which might be the fault of the directors/producers.

I must say, when I've read the books I imagined Lupin looking comletely different than he did in the movies. Not that I didn't like David Thewlis, he was great, I just imagined Remus Lupin differently.

It must have been hard for the producers bec they picked Bonnie Wright when she was like, nine or ten.

Viky wrote: "I must say, when I've read the books I imagined Lupin looking comletely different than he did in the movies. Not that I didn't like David Thewlis, he was great, I just imagined Remus Lupin differen..."

Exactly!!! He looked NOTHING like i thought he would... it was so disconcerting.

I actually have a lot of problems with Dan Radcliffe... Harry in the book is mature, witty and mischievous... Dan was a little too nerdy. It's like whenever he'd say a funny line, he'd giggle under his breath or you could tell he thought he was really funny. I don't keno how to explain it. Also, he is not a great crier. When *SPOILER ALERT* Dumbledore dies, he just kindof snivels... He doesn't even have tears. I would've liked to see him really lose it, get angry or sob or something. He did a better job when Sirius dies.

Bailey wrote: "I actually have a lot of problems with Dan Radcliffe... Harry in the book is mature, witty and mischievous... Dan was a little too nerdy. It's like whenever he'd say a funny line, he'd giggle under..."

I KNOW!!! k, totally agree.

I wasn't big on Fleur. But the rest was incredibly cast, I think...

Oh yeah! Fleur. She was awful. First off, she was like an average dirty blonde and she was supposed to look gorgeous with pure silver blonde hair. I thought luna looked more like fleur. And did the books say luna was supposed to be blonde? I always pictured her with reddish brown hair. Anyway, the girl who played fleur was just really not impressive.

Bailey wrote: "Oh yeah! Fleur. She was awful. First off, she was like an average dirty blonde and she was supposed to look gorgeous with pure silver blonde hair. I thought luna looked more like fleur. And did the..."

Yeah, Fleur was completely off. I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that, but could they at least try to pick someone who gave off that cold, haughtily pretty air she was supposed to have?
Luna was supposed to be dirty blonde. I love Evanna Lynch though. Her attitude is very Luna.

I liked evanna too, I just wished they wouldn't have died her hair blonde. I've seen pictures of her with dark brunette hair and even that looked better than the blonde, but she pulled it off. And it probably made the character more memorable to people who just watch the movies.

I think that Emma Watson "looks Wise" hasn't looked as i imagined Hermione to look. In the first 2 movies it was alright, but I thought she was too pretty in the later movies. I agree with Daniel Radcliffe too, I pictured him to look and act a bit different.

Rupert Grint however have been casted amazingly I think.
And I love Alan Rickman as Snape and I think Maggie smith was perfect for McGonnagol and Jason Isaacs was perfect for Lucius Malfoy.
I could go on.

Yes! There are some that they got just right - though I know that I started watching them around the same time I started reading them, so my mind may be a bit muddled.

And Gary oldman (Sirius) was very good, especially in the fifth, but I still can't get over how different he looks on screen than in my head.

Remus Lupin's, hated his actor, I don't got his name, I'm sorry.

Bonny Wright was so boring. She must be the only actress who smiles even less than Kristen Stewart. And we're supposed to believe she's the most beautiful student on Hogwarts?

Anthony wrote: "Bonny Wright was so boring. She must be the only actress who smiles even less than Kristen Stewart. And we're supposed to believe she's the most beautiful student on Hogwarts?"

who did she play?

Bonnie wright plays ginnie weasley but I thought she did a good job the only actor I didn't like was Michael Gambon as Dumbledore he was nothing like Dumbledore in the book or the 1st 2 movies at all, but I also think it didn't help because Richard Harris played him perfectly!

Michael Gambon destroyed the film character of Dumbledore. Anyone who knows his true character knows he would never ASSAULT a student, in fact in OOTP he became angry and defensive when Umbridge did, and used the word 'manhandle'. He shouts and yells like Draco Malfoy when he's been thwarted, (no offense Malfoy fans) example: "DON'T YOU ALL HAVE STUDYING TO DO?!?!?!?" That is not acting. All these ridiculous and unnecessary faults/flaws like violence, shouting at his own students, make me feel no sympathy for him in film six. I can barely watch the films any more, thanks to Michael Gambon, And my best friend (who has never read the books) asked if I was sad when Dumbledore died in the film (I cry whenever I read that part of the book) and I said no, because it means he can't hurt that character any more.

Pip wrote: "Michael Gambon destroyed the film character of Dumbledore. Anyone who knows his true character knows he would never ASSAULT a student, in fact in OOTP he became angry and defensive when Umbridge di..."

Amen.

I think that most of the Harry Potter characters were portrayed pretty well by the actors/actress' in question.

Look at the Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief cast and you'll feel grateful how the Harry Potter cast and storyline for the Movies turned out.

MY biggest mehs was the Weasly twins. it was stated more than once in the books that they were short. and VERY readhaired. They were tall, slim and almost brown. Nope. Just didn't work for me.

Gambon as Dumbledore. Yes, Harris was perfect, but he died:/ Bad replacement though. He didn't look "cute" enough.

Krum was too pretty. James Potter was supposed to be Harry with different eyes. Narcissa Malfoy wasn't pretty enough. Hermonies turned out too pretty. Lupin is too old. Siris is no where near pretty enough. (that one might have just been in my head though;)) Neville was too big. Gnny was just wrong. O an Hagrid was to small!

I totally agree about Dumbledore. Gambon just wasn't right for the role.

Camille wrote: "Anthony wrote: "Bonny Wright was so boring. She must be the only actress who smiles even less than Kristen Stewart. And we're supposed to believe she's the most beautiful student on Hogwarts?"

who..."
she played ginny

I absolutely loved all the actors who played the characters tbh! Although I would have loved Richard Harris to have played Dumbledore throughout all the movies, Michael Gambon's demeanor wasn't exactly Dumbledore-ish.

Trine wrote: "MY biggest mehs was the Weasly twins. it was stated more than once in the books that they were short. and VERY readhaired. They were tall, slim and almost brown. Nope. Just didn't work for me.

Ga..."

I so agree with you! I too was under the impression that out of the four marauders, Sirius was the handsomest, all girls in their school life were mad about him and he never gave them a minute of his day. I was disappointed with his characterization. He was supposed to be gaunt and scary looking in book 3 but had to clean up pretty well and be his handsome self in book 5.

Also the second actor as Dumbledore was not okay with me too.

I personally thought Ron could have been better.

Bad castings:

Kenneth Branagh - Lockhart (too old and kind of weird)

Bonnie Wright - Ginny (Book Ginny was all fire, hotheaded and
everything, while movie Ginny was quiet and reserved. Nope)

Ian Hart - Quirrell (I don't know he just wasn't right)

Jim Broadbent - Slughorn

Adrian Rawlins, Geraldine Somerville - Lily and James - just cuz they're too old lol.

Timothy Spall - Peter Pettigrew (too old)

Liam ~Sitting in a subway station, watching as the trains go flying by~ wrote: "Bad castings:

Kenneth Branagh - Lockhart (too old and kind of weird)

Bonnie Wright - Ginny (Book Ginny was all fire, hotheaded and
everything, while movie Ginny was quiet and reserved. Nope)

Ia..."


I agree with you on most of this too Liam.

- Kenneth Branagh was a bad pick for Gilderoy Lockhart. He wasn't anything I had imagined when I seen the movies. JK described him with "charm" and Kenneth lacked this trait miserably. His acting wasn't the best either. I found him quite odd and over-exaggerated as the part of Professor Lockhart.
- I felt that the appearance of Bonnie Wright matched Ginny pretty well, except the fact that Ginny was supposed to be absolutely beautiful. I thought Hermione was prettier than Ginny in the movies. Bonnie also didn't play her role right. Ginny was supposed to be short fused and quick to anger (or this is how I had imagined her). Bonnie portrayed Ginny as a calm and independent young lady and I didn't like that at all. Though, the talent was definitely there.
- Sirius could've been a little bit more handsome. But I'm not gonna hate on him because I like him. :)
- Lupin's casting was wrong. It just didn't seem right for me. In the last movies Lupin got "weird". And I always seen him as an understanding, fatherly figure. He looked too old and depressed all the time. He almost always looked like he didn't want to be on set and wanted to leave. I didn't like it. Him as a Professor though, that was better acting to me.

About actor's that didn't fit their characters ...

Well, I don't really have any problems with any of the actors. True, some of them were a tad too old, such as Lily and James Potter and Pettigrew. With all the other castings, I don't really like Ginny's casting but that's probably more to do with her portrayal then to do with Bonnie. Another quirk I have is that the Dursleys aren't blonde, it just irritates me, but the actors themselves aren't to be faulted, 'cause their portrayal is good and that's what I actually care about.

That's what I have a problem with. The portrayals. Stuff that sometimes has to do with the actors, but normally has nothing to do with them. For example, watering down fleshed out bits of a character.

E.g Tonks and Lupin. They skim over their relationship so much in the movies. Where's Lupin's self-doubt? Or Tonk's, you know, general presence? Okay, I'm getting off track, but basically my point is that some of the actors in Harry Potter do irritate me, but the main thing that buggers me is the portrayal and too many missed tidbits of each character.

I just want to say I think Bonnie Wright was a great actress for Ginny but movie Ginny is like a brick compared to book Ginny

I didn't like how Ginny was written in the movies, but Bonnie Wright did a good job anyways and truly was Ginny for me, even if her director didn't want to give her justice. Plus, I have to like her: I met her and got a picture taken with her this year! :)

Tonks was the worst cast for me. In the books, she was spunky, young, and fun. In the movies, she was just a filler character, and the actress never got attached to the franchise (she admits she didn't feel upset when it was over).

Michael Gambon as Dumbledore was the worst. There were many others that didn't look the way I pictured them at all, but it was ok because their acting was good. Ex. Lupin and Moody looked very different from what I imagined, but whatever.

The BEST were Snape, McGonagall, and Luna. They really acted the roles so well.

Gwyneth wrote: "Julia wrote: "..."

It was at the Festival of Wizardry in Goderich, Ontario this year. It was so surreal and it was definitely a dream come true!

She talked about some scenes they filmed for Ginny that didn't end up in the final cut of the movies, so I think they had the intention to make her character much better. For instance, in Chamber of Secrets, she said there was a scene when Ginny goes into the hen house to slaughter the chickens to use their blood to write on the walls. That would have been fun on screen!

What always annoyed me about the cast was the choice of young Lily Potter. Not that I don't like her. Don't understand me wrong, her acting was great, but they mention that Harry has his mothers eyes like a hundred times in the movies and then they choose an actress with brown eyes, while daniel has blue eyes? It just confuses me a bit... Well the whole eye color situation was fucked up anyways haha with Harry not having green eyes like in the book :D

And I loved Ralph Fiennes performance as Voldemort!! Especially his rebirth in the goblet of fire. His acting was just like.. so.. inhuman. just how voldemort is something else..

And I definitely agree, that the movies made Ginny look pretty stupid and boring. But rather than Bonnies, it's the writer of the scripts fault.

I don't have any big issues with the casting, except from the casting of James and Lily Potter. They were supposed to be 21 years, not in their mid 30s'. Well, on that note, the casting for Snape, Sirius, Lupin and Pettigrew was to old too, they were supposed to be in their mid 30s', but I can't really see any other than Alan Rickman playing Snape, so I'm not to bothered by that.

And, talking about Lily Potter, when she didn't appear more in the films, would it really have been a big problem to make her eyes blue, like Daniels eyes? Yes, I know they should be green, but they aren't in the movies. The whole "you got your mothers eyes"-thing is just stupid when Lily is browneyed and Harry has blue eyes.

What I do have an issue with, is how the characters are written. Ginny is supposed to be fierce, funny and smart. In the movies she's just dull. And the relationship between Harry and her, what where they thinking? Tying his shoes? Feeding him coockies? Running after him out on the field when the deatheaters attacked the Burrows? *gaah*

Oh, the Burrows! Not a character, but the change from the second movie till the 6. movie? Why? The same with Hagrids hut, kept changing places, again - why?

I didn't like any of the Dumbledores, Richard Harrys were clearly an old man, seaming slow and weak (yes, I know he was sick), were Dumbledore behaved younger than his years. Michael Gambon was to quick and aggressive.

I agree Krum is to handsome and Fleur is to common, but the way their characters are written, it doesen't really matter.

To end on a positive note - I really loved the casting of Umbridge. Oh. My. God. Even if Imelda Staunton is to pretty, she really really played Umbridge well! And Julie Walters playing Molly Weasley, she was just like I expected :D

I think the Dumbledore played by Michael Gambon...... wasn't really that good a choice. Like I agree that he was brilliant at times, but.... too angry, too agitated, too.... Un-Dumbledore-ish, at times. No glint in the eye, no happiness, no smiles. No cheerfulness. So yeah.

Having seen the actors in their role I kind of always pictured them like that in the books with the few exceptions.
I found Mcgonagal and Sirius (I know this will offend a few pople I'm sorry) but I imagined them both a fair bit younger.
I didn't like the replacement Dumbledore and don't think he quiet encompassed the character.
I feel like the young marauders were all wrong as well
I realy didn't like the way James looked
Gilderory Lockhart was completelyyyy wrong sorry and I feel him, Sirius and Fleur all lacked their book attractiveness? if that's the right word

I wish Harry had green eyesssss

Tone wrote: "I don't have any big issues with the casting, except from the casting of James and Lily Potter. They were supposed to be 21 years, not in their mid 30s'. Well, on that note, the casting for Snape, ..."

I actually agree with all of that, well said

Taylor wrote: "Tonks didn't work for me. At all. And I imagined Padfoot to be a fluffier, friendlier looking dog."

Well it did say Sirius' dog would be a large, bear-like dog in the books and that he was terrifying in appearance, scary enough to make Harry think he was gonna die, so I personally say that the dog should've ben bigger.

Taylor wrote: "Tonks didn't work for me. At all. And I imagined Padfoot to be a fluffier, friendlier looking dog."

yeah, same. :/

I feel like all the characters did well. Whoever played Luna was spot on. I didn't exactly like Lily and James. I expected them to look different in the movies. They could've at least had Lily wear color contacts or something!

I agree about Tonks - I like the actress but that is not what I pictured. The other one that was different for me was Lupin. Again, it was nothing against the actor - he just was not what I had pictured. Luna was slightly different than who I thought from the book but I think the actress who played her was brilliant - she added to the character created by JK Rowling, which is impressive. I did not think Voldemort was the best - I thought he was scarier in Sorcerer's Stone than when he came back to life. Gambon is a good actor but was not very Dumbledore like, while I thought Richard Harris was spot on.