He was the underdog in the Harry Potter cast – now Harry Melling has a better career than most Hogwarts stars

Harry Melling’s first steps in the film business were also his most famous: as the terrible cousin Dudley, he made life difficult for Harry Potter. The Dursleys’ tormentor was the most unmagical muggle of them all. But now the 34-year-old British actor has created his own magic piece and completed the most exciting development of all. Then:

Why Harry Melling remained the outsider in Harry Potter

Spoiled, stupid, overweight, cruel. This is roughly how Dudley Dursley’s character in his Harry Potter film appearances (in parts 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7) can be summed up. No matter how many millions of people knew Harry Melling’s face afterwards: The embodiment of a stereotypical bully was not the best prerequisite for a brilliant career start. Caught in the confines of his role, Harry Melling was denied a chance to shine and remained an underappreciated cast member in a star-studded cast to the very end.

The final reconciling farewell scene between Harry and Dudley (“I don’t think you’re a waste of space”) was only seen by bonus material fans. The rest of the world reduced the obnoxious relative to his bad character and obesity. What even went so far that Melling, who was losing weight more and more at the end, had to wear a fat suit and facial prostheses to continue this role model correspond to.

Even behind the camera, Harry Melling felt like the only Muggle teenager in Harry Potter’s world apart from the rest the Hogwarts cast. “I filmed for two months […] and then went back to my normal life”, he recalls. As a result, he never really caught on – neither in the acting business nor in the lap of the rest of the cast.

During his time with Harry Potter (2001-2010), Melling made only one other minor TV movie. Three small series roles followed immediately after the end of the series, then he disappeared completely for 5 years in the sinking. Most probably wrote him off as an actor at this point.

The post-Harry Potter hiatus changed a lot for Harry Melling for the better

Nothing more was heard from Harry Melling internationally. But that didn’t mean he’d given up acting. After all, this profession has been in his blood since his grandfather (the second Doctor Who actor Patrick Troughton). At 18 he began studying at one of London’s leading drama schools (LAMDA) and then tried his hand at theater productions that broadened his horizons. He became one Actor who learned his craft after first fameby taking the time to do it.

Harry Mellings (already started at the end of Harry Potter) enormous external change was a crucial factor. There was no specific reason for the weight loss other than that it coincided with his studies and coming of age and that the Briton realized he wasn’t “playing an overweight father figure for the rest of life” wanted.

According to his own statements, the physical change allowed him to be hardly recognized on stage and such “to be able to start again”. As a tall, gaunt man with protruding ears and deep-set eyes, Harry Melling may still not fit the image of a classic hero today. But when the character head suddenly reappeared, it exuded an intensity previously unseen by Dudley.

The golden trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint publicly streaked his way with indie roles and blockbusters bit by bit shed Harry Potter’s reputation away. With Harry Melling, that happened in one big step behind the scenes. His break turned out to be fortunate because it gave him time to reinvent himself and then embody entirely new roles.

Forgetting Harry Potter: The Netflix Rebirth of Harry Melling

In 2016/17, Harry Melling returned to supporting roles for the first time after his break: In The Lost City of Z and Edison – A Life Full of Light he was seen alongside big stars. However, it was a streaming service that helped him achieve his second rise: with The Ballad of Buster Scruggs he started his Netflix career in 2018.

The Coen brothers film fired the starting gun of its unexpected comeback, although Harry Melling had only a small part in their film. Millions of people were soon wondering who the young man was who so vividly embodied the armless and legless traveling showman alongside Liam Neeson. Could that really be Dudley Dursley? It shouldn’t be his last Netflix appearance.

Harry Melling’s Netflix Projects:

His remarkable performance in the third episode of the episodic Buster Scruggs (Meal Ticket) put Harry Melling on the radar of other major filmmakers, from his pharmaceutical villain in The Old Guard to his maniacal priest-turned-spinning in The Devil All the Time Face Pours: Melling’s new characters were all extreme, memorable characters far from the norm.

He then proved in The Queen’s Gambit that he no longer wanted to be tied down to the villain when he found himself in a brilliant move on the Netflix series from competitor to good friend the main character molted. An unexpectedly opened door (under the stairs) that had remained closed to him in Harry Potter. And his roles kept getting bigger.

As the title character of Mr Poe, Harry Melling has been the most exciting ingredient in Christian Bale’s murder hunt – even though director Scott Cooper actually wrote the film with Timothée Chalamet in mind. But Melling easily filled the role with his presence. The Brit himself appreciated Poe’s quest for belonging, which in a way mirrors his own journey: the path of a man searching for his place in the world and who is a bit different than everyone else. Harry Melling finally became a fascinating actor who had made his outsider career.

Harry Melling instead of Harry Potter: The Dudley actor achieved what few co-stars achieved

Very few of the young Harry Potter actors at the time have a real acting career: Bonnie Wright (Ginny), Oliver and James Phelps (George & Fred Weasley) and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), for example, only live on their Harry to this day Potter notoriety.

Even Draco actor Tom Felton, despite steady acting jobs for years, prefers to embrace his ongoing Malfoy popularity including magical autobiography * instead of trying (unsuccessfully) to gain a foothold in big films like Planet of the Apes: Prevolution. And Neville star Matthew Lewis surprised Harry Potter fans with a physical transformation not dissimilar to Harry Melling, but that got him past half a year.

Variety revealed Harry Melling’s new take on acting is fueled by his “reveal inner workings”. Hardly any Harry Potter fan has given much thought to Dudley’s inner workings. It’s different with his Netflix characters. Now, however, his performances in prestige projects like Macbeth have him thinking outside the Netflix box and promising that his Ascension not over yet is. He even plays leading roles in his two latest films, Please Baby Please and Shoshanna.

In interviews, of course, Harry Melling still gets asked about Dudley, but he’s come to terms with it now. If the actor from back then hadn’t changed so much, if he’d never acted again or, conversely, if he’d stuck to the same disgusting roles, looking back wouldn’t be half as fascinating as it is today. From now on, his Harry Potter past is simply a curiosity of his career.

In the end, Harry Melling 2.0 may never achieve the same level of world fame as Dudley Dursley. But even if he stays away from the really big blockbusters in the future (on purpose?), his career is already amazing. He shows that Harry Melling is his star qualities newly and hard earned and yourself with it could better detach from Harry Potter than all his magical Hogwarts colleagues from back then.

Podcast: Is the Harry Potter series really a good idea?

It has been speculated for a long time, now it has been confirmed: The first series in the history of Harry Potter is being produced. However, fans are divided.

In the podcast we answer important questions about the series, which Harry Potter creator JK Rowling is involved in. Below: Why is Rowling’s involvement so criticized. And what are the pros and cons of remaking the books?

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