Discover the journey of this actor who we loved to hate in Harry Potter, and who has since had a more impressive filmography than some of the stars of the magic saga.
Remember the Harry Potter saga worn by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint! Harry, Ron and Hermione were the stars of eight feature films that allowed viewers to watch them grow up on screen from their 11-12s to their 22-23s. But in each of the films was an actor whose career has since taken off. And his name is Harry Melling.
Warner Bros. Dudley DursleyHarry Melling
His name may mean nothing to you if you don’t know Harry Potter inside out, but he was the interpreter of the young hero’s stupid and capricious cousin, Dudley Dursley, living at 4 Privet Drive.
Often nasty character, ridiculed especially on his weight, Dudley was confined to a single spring of comedy, and Harry Melling decided that he would not make a career in this register.
The actor loses a lot of weight between episode 5 and episodes 7 of the saga – he is absent from the 6th opus – to the point that he has to wear prostheses and a padded suit in The Deathly Hallows part 1 in order to (poorly) conceal his new appearance.
Warner Bros.
Excerpt from the deleted scene of Dudley in Harry Potter “7.1”
This weight loss nevertheless allows him, on his termsof “almost start from scratch”. Having operated an impressive physical transformation, difficult to recognize the Dudley of Harry Potter behind this “new Melling”.
The years following Harry Potter were not going to be easy, however. It took the actor 5 years to land a prominent role in James Gray’s The Lost City of Z. Appearing on the small screen in two very well-known SF titles (At the Crossroads of the Worlds and The War of the Worlds), he signed a contract with Netflix, and would shoot a lot for the platform.
netflix
In “The Lady’s Game”
We find him in the sketch western The Ballad of Buster Scruggs signed by the Coen brothers, as a scientist in the action film The Old Guard (2020) adapted from the eponymous comics. But two titles of 2020 especially hold the attention.
First his astounding role as the Devil’s enlightened pastor all the time, as well as his performance as a contemptuous then loving chess player and major support for the heroine of Checkers.
netflix
In “The Devil, All the Time”
He then reunited with Joel Coen (without his brother) to play the heir to the throne, Malcolm, in The Tragedy of Macbeth (AppleTV+), before returning to Netflix as Edgar Allen Poe alongside Christian Bale (The Pale Blue-Eye).
Melling has just wrapped filming Shoshana, a thriller following two British police officers in pursuit of Zionist freedom fighter Avraham Stern, who is plotting to oust British authorities.
Melling’s career choices are interesting to follow and – it must be admitted – more interesting at the present time than those of Rupert Grint (who participates in Servant but struggles to obtain a leading role since the end of his Snatch series and Sick Note) or Emma Watson – who put her career on “long break”.
Warner Bros.
Hermione, Ron and Harry
As for Daniel Radcliffe, his films are certainly surprising and strange, but they have not been released in theaters in France for several years, except for The Secret of the Lost City (2022) where he plays a villain role. He has been the star of the Miracle Workers series since 2019, for the moment quite confidential with us.
No doubt that Harry Melling, who has already won his laurels as a good actor in prestigious projects, is now beginning to access leading roles, suggesting that his rise has only just begun. If he has a solid career, will he manage to make a name as popular as that of Radcliffe? To be continued !