Your favorite actor/actress in HP movies

[Carol]

Tiffany Lothamer wrote:
>
> 
> I think Angelica Houston is way way too old! Wasn't Merope fairly
young when she gave birth and died? I always imagined her to be around
17ish when we first see her in the Gaunt's Ministry Official Memory.

Carol responds:
You're very close. The narrator always uses "girl," not "woman," to
describe her, and Dumbledore speaks of "the desperate life she had led
for eighteen years" (HBP Am. ed., 213), which I take to be all her
life. So she would have been about nineteen when she died (Mrs. Cole
also mentions that Merope was just a girl, hardly older than she was
herself at the time). So, yes, if Merope were cast, they would need a
pale, plain heavyset girl in her late teens. They'd have to leave the
eyes alone or use special effects to create that impression for her
and for Morfin, too. But it seems that they've chosen not to interrupt
the story with too many flashbacks, which might confuse viewers who
hadn't read the books. Too bad. I have great sympathy for Merope, and
I think that both his parents are an important part of who and what
Tom Riddle became.

Tiffany:
> I am not very familiar with British actors myself. I know that I
would love to see Colin Firth play a role, but I have no idea which
one. Possibly a misc. Death Eater. 

Carol:
Maybe Scrimgeour if they decide to cast him. Then, again, I think the
ideal Scrimgeour is Hugh Laurie. And speaking of British actors named
Hugh, Hugh Grant probably looks much like Tom Riddle would have as an
adult Wizard if he hadn't made all those Horcruxes. Wonder what role
he could play? (Other than "miscellaneous Death Eater," <wink>)

Tiffany:
> I never in a million years imagined Kate Winslet in any HP role. Not
sure if she would "fit in" in the WW. Not for me anyway. I was almost
thinking that Kate Beckingsale would make a good Grey Lady in Deathly
Hollows.

Carol:
Why not Kate Winslet as the Grey Lady in Deathly Hallows? Actually,
though, I'd rather see that role go to Keira Knightley (who would have
made a really cute tonks as well).

Tiffany:
 If there had been more female DE's, I would think that Cate Blanchet
(sp?) would have made an evil character. <snip>

Carol:
Two t's in "Blanchett." (You can always cheat like I did and check the
spelling at the IMDb. <smile>). IMO, she'd have been a much better
choice for Narcissa Malfoy than Helen McCrory. I'd have loved to see
her swallowing her pride and kneeling in tears at Rickman!Snape's
feet. It doesn't look as if they're going to play that scene quite by
the book, though. And, unfortunately, Cate Blanchett is Australian,
not British, which apparently lets her out. But, you're right. she
would have made Narcissa scary in a different way from Helena
Bonham-Carter's hami-it-up melodrama for Mad Bellatrix. Heck, Cate
Blanchett made *Galadriel* scary, and Galedriel is supposed to be
powerful (and tempted by power, like Dumbledore) but good!

Tiffany:
> I did not like the casting of Umbridge as much as I thought I would.
When I first saw her performance as Umbridge, I thought she nailed it
dead on. I love to hate that character! I don't think that she had the
right face for it however. We book readers know Umbridge as Toad Face.
That actress was actually very pretty, so it throws me off a bit. <snip>

Carol:
Well, not pretty, exactly, but not squat and ugly and toad-faced like
Umbridge in the books. Judy Dench would have looked the part if she
weren't too old, but I'm not sure that she could have gotten the
silly, little-girl, pink-and-frilly femininity that contrasts so
sharply with the follow-the-rules-or-else mentality of the High
Inquisitor. (I hated the costuming, too. A Muggle cardigan and "Alice
band" (both pink and fuzzy) worn with Witch's robes would have been
better. They got her office right, though!) Anyway, I agree with you
that Imelda Staunton played the part well. She just wasn't ugly
enough. That's not how I visualize Umbridge.

Tiffany:
Now, call me stupid, but I had watched the first three movies so
spuratically when they just came out, that I didn't even notice that
Dumbledore had changed from the first two movies. I found out that
Harris died about a year ago. I felt horrible for not noticing.

Carol:
Naw. We would never call you stupid. Didn't you wonder about those
ugly gray robes, though, or did you not notice because the costuming
in PoA was so different in general from that of the first two films? I
noticed the difference immediately, and it wasn't just the costuming;
it was the whole personality. Somehow, I can't picture Michael Gambon
saying, "Alas! Earwax!" And, asomeone else (I think it was zanooda)
mentioned, Book!Dumbledore would never yell at Harry and shake him as
Gambon!DD does in the GoF film. He really needs to read the books and
play *Dumbledore* rather than playing himself as a bearded man in
Wizard robes (of sorts).

Tiffany:
> I did the same thing with Grint and Walters in Driving Lessons. I
didn't even notice that Dame [Evie] and Mrs Weasley were the same
person. I pride myself with being a huge HP fan, but when my friend
noticed it before I did, he never let me forget it!

Carol:
Not noticing that Dame Evie and Mrs. Weasley are played by the same
person is completely understandable. Julie Walters is a fine character
actress who disappears into her roles. They're very different parts,
with very different makeup, and she plays both roles convincingly.

Tiffany:
> One thing I find very sad about the movies is that they left out
Peeves. I know it gives the story a much more childish feel, but he
was also one of my favorite characters.

Carol:

The part was cast (played by a comedian named Rik Mayall) and filmed
but cut from SS/PS during editing:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0562201/

Whether he appears in the video games and extras, I don't know.

Carol, noting in response to a different post that DD is (was) a mere
115, not 150, per JKR's website, which (naturally) gets his death date
wrong, or did last time I checked