Notes on character portrayal

[Karen]

There are many things that go into successfully creating a character. 
In Potterverse, moving from page to screen, there is a challenge to 
many of the actors in not becoming a cartoon representation, 
particularly with certain characters. IMO, there are a few real 
standouts in the HP cast, and perhaps the single most important acting 
element that makes these portrayals an uncontested success is the 
ability to deliver the dialogue, to find the character's voice.

Two particular favorites of mine are Snape and Hagrid.

Snape's introductory speech is one such example. Speaking of potions, 
he is able to caress each phrase - make them sing. It's almost a croon 
(which helped me imagine his healing of Draco in Book 6 easily). 
Therefore, when he addresses Harry the first time, his use of staccato 
bitten off phrases automatically "pop" and the viewer, even never 
having read the books would pick up on a psychological imperative 
between Snape and Harry. The manner of his speech - not just the tone 
but the physical sounds- cue us to the fact that addressing "our new 
ceelbrity" is akin to having his teeth pulled. Another favorite line of 
his for me is in PoA when Snape encounters Lupin after he has cornered 
Harry with the Maurader's map in the hall. We hear a similar staccato, 
bitten off phrase "Lu-pin" snapped off. And then "Out for a little 
walk...in the moonlight."  There is an added layer just in the manner 
that he delivers this. The slight stresses on Lupin and moonlight add 
the smallest touch of mockery; popping the "p" in Lupin and extending 
the "ooo" in moonlight. So, we who know the books well know why, but 
even without this, after that one small phrase anyone viewing and 
listening is left with a slightly uncomfortable feeling of having just 
witnessed, as an outsider, a jibe between two people with a history.

Those are only two examples from a rich palette. It doesn't matter if 
he is on screen 2 minutes or 10, we get the lay of the land with his 
character from delivery alone much of the time. But it is all done with 
shades and coloring so subtle that he keeps Snape, one of the easily 
most eccentric characters, grounded and out of the dangerous label of 
"cartoon".

Perhaps even more of a challenge would be the character of Hagrid. Of 
giant physical dimensions but having a heart of gold it might be very 
easy to turn his portrayal into the comic buffoon. While, yes, this 
character does function as comic relief at times, what I find Coltrane 
doing to keep this character from becoming a cartoon is the way he uses 
his delivery to be almost a stream of consciousness. Hagrid doesn't 
much think before he speaks. This manner of "thinking out loud" 
presents humor on many levels, but keeps him earnest, which makes the 
funny things even funnier. I think my favorite example is when Harry 
asks him in PS/SS where he got the dragon egg and Hagrid tells him from 
a fellow at the bar but continues in a totally natural way as though he 
just noticed it "he seemed to be quite glad to be rid of it, actually". 
It's done as a reveal, a new thought that he has not quite grasped the 
meaning of yet. He uses this in almost every scene where HRH are 
digging info out of him and he manages by means of this thinking of 
things just now to present Hagrid not as a clown, but just as an 
uncomplicated person, who now faced with these specific questions, is 
realizing that maybe there is more than what he saw on the surface at 
the time things happen. It just takes him a while. He becomes the kind 
of person who lives moment to moment and with little subterfuge in his 
nature.

Well, this has become a novel but I was just thinking about how skilled 
these actors are and how they have helped to make the movies more 
fulfilling than they might have been if they were just wrote deliveries 
of the books on celluloid. I think this goes across the board for the 
eccentric characters; Lockhart, McGonnagall, Trelawney and Mad-Eye also 
deserve special mention. I simply love their line delivery!