Harry Potter Actors and Actresses: Where Have We Seen Them Before?

Harry Potter Actors and Actresses: Where Have We Seen Them Before?

“He looks familiar.”

“Which movie did I see her in?”

These are just a few things we might say when we see a familiar face in a movie but just can’t place where we have seen the person before. The same holds true for the Harry Potter movies. While Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson) and the other Hogwarts students are the main focus of the films, the adult actors make the ensemble complete. What movie projects have we seen some of these accomplished actors and actresses in before?

Albus Dumbledore

The headmaster of Hogwarts has been portrayed by two actors in the Harry Potter films. In “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, Dumbledore was portrayed by the late Richard Harris. Besides being a renowned stage actor, Harris also starred in a number of films including 2002’s “Count of Monte Cristo” where he starred opposite James Caviezel and 2000’s “Gladiator” where he portrayed Marcus Aurelius opposite Russell Crowe’s Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus. Richard Harris also starred as English Bob in 1992’s “Unforgiven” and as Paddy O’Neil in “Patriot Games”. However, it was his work in 1990’s “The Field” and in 1963’s “This Sporting Life” that garnered him Best Actor Oscar nominations.

After the death of Richard Harris in October 2002, the search was on for the next actor to “step into Dumbledore’s robes”. Although rumors that Ian McKellan, Christopher Lee or Peter O’Toole would fill the role, it was Michael Gambon who appeared in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. Prior to donning the beard and wand, Michael Gambon appeared on stage as well in a number of movies. Gambon has portrayed a variety of characters including Oseary Drakoulias in 2004’s “Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”, Denton Baxter in 2003’s “Open Range”, William McCordle in the 2001 film “Gosford Park” and Baltus Van Tassel in 1999’s “Sleepy Hollow”. Gambon also received a BAFTA TV Award for his portrayal of Philip Marlow in the 1986 TV mini-series “The Singing Detective”.

Minerva McGonagall

The head of Gryffindor house is played by Dame Maggie Smith. This accomplished actress has had six Oscar nominations, winning twice for her roles in 1969’s “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” (Best Actress) and 1978’s “California Suite” (Best Supporting Actress). In recent years she has been seen in 2003’s made for TV movie “My House in Umbria” for which she won an Emmy as well as 2002’s “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood”, “Gosford Park” where she played Michael Gambon’s sister Constance, 1999’s “Tea With Mussolini” where she starred opposite Cher and Judi Dench, 1996’s “First Wives Club” and as Mother Superior in 1992’s “Sister Act”.

Rubeus Hagrid

Before coming to Hogwarts, Robbie Coltrane played a slue of characters on TV and the big screen. Fans of the TV show “Cracker” will know him as Fitz and he also made a guest appearance on the last season of the show “Frasier”. Coltrane’s recent movie appearances include playing Matsui in the sequel “Ocean’s 12” as well as the voice of Mr. Hyde in the 2004 movie “Van Helsing”. He also starred opposite Johnny Depp in the 2001 flick “From Hell”, portrayed Zukovsky, the man who loved to hate James Bond , in “Goldeneye” and “The World is Not Enough” and shared the screen with Eric Idle in 1990’s “Nuns on the Run”.

Severus Snape

Some actors have the reputation of playing “the bad guy” in films. Such is the case with Harry’s nemesis, Professor Snape, played by Alan Rickman. Rickman’s first big screen hit was 1988’s “Die Hard” where he played Hans Gruber. His TV appearances have included the title role in “Rasputin” for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy as well as 2004’s “Something the Lord Made” which he received an Emmy nomination for his role as Dr. Blalock. Rickman’s other movie appearances include the Sheriff of Nottingham in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”, Colonel Brandon in 1995’s “Sense and Sensibility”, 1999’s “Dogma” and “Galaxy Quest” and 2003’s “Love Actually”.

Nearly Headless Nick

John Cleese who portrays Nearly Headless Nick is probably best known for his work with the ground breaking comedy of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” and “Fawlty Tours”. Cleese was Oscar nominated for screenwriting the film “A Fish Called Wanda” which he also starred in and has also appeared in 2001’s “Rat Race” as Donald Sinclair and as R/Q in the James Bond flicks “The World is Not Enough” and “Die Another Day”. His recent voiceover work includes “Valiant” (the voice of Mercury) and “Shrek 2” (the king).

Professor Flitwick

Professor Flitwick isn’t the only character that Warwick Davis has portrayed in the Harry Potter movies. He also played the chorus leader in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and one of the goblins at Gringotts in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”. Davis first appeared as Wicket, one of the Ewoks in 1983’s “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi”. He would later show up in an uncredited role as a spectator during the pod racing sequence in “Star Wars: Episode I – Phantom Menace”. Davis’ other works include 1988’s “Willow”, the title role in the “Leprechaun” films and as Marvin (who was voiced by Alan Rickman) in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”.

Uncle Vernon Dursley

Another actor who did voiceover work in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” (the voice of Jeltz) is Richard Griffiths who plays Uncle Vernon. Griffiths has portrayed a variety of characters including Tom in “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”, Collins in “Ghandi” and Willie in the Sean Penn/Madonna flick “Shanghai Surprise”. His recent roles include Phipps in “King Ralph” and the magistrate in “Sleepy Hollow” (which also starred Michael Gambon).

Gilderoy Lockhart

Kenneth Branagh is renowned for his Shakespearean work. He received a Screenwriting Oscar nomination for 1996’s “Hamlet” where he starred in the title role. Branagh also received a Best Actor and a Best Director Oscar nomination for his 1989 film “Henry V”. He has appeared in “Wild Wild West”, starring opposite Will Smith and Kevin Kline and as Victor Frankenstein in the 1994 adaptation of “Frankenstein”.

Lucius Malfoy

Before appearing in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” as Draco’s (Tom Felton) father, Jason Isaacs had appeared in a variety of roles. He was seen opposite Mel Gibson in 2000’s “The Patriot” as the “brutal” Colonel Tavington and as Captain Hook (and Mr. Darling) in the 2003 adaptation of “Peter Pan”. Isaacs also co-starred with Jackie Chan in the 2002 flick “The Tuxedo”, played Captain Steele in 2001’s “Black Hawk Down” and appeared as Dr. Quincy, the smartest man in the world, in the 1998 blockbuster “Armageddon”.

Remus Lupin

Not only has David Thewlis portrayed Professor Lupin in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” but he also starred in this year’s “Kingdom of Heaven” as Hospitaler. Thewlis has appeared in a number of films including 1998’s “The Big Lebowski”, “Seven Years in Tibet” (1997), “The Island of Dr. Moreau” (1996) and as Kin Einon in the 1996 flick “Dragonheart”.

Sirius Black

Another actor known for his “bad guy” roles is Gary Oldman. Oldman has played the gamut of roles including Jim Gordon in the recent “Batman Begins”, Reverend Dimmesdale in the 1995 version of “The Scarlet Letter”, Beethoven in “Immortal Beloved” and the title role in 1992’s “Dracula”. Some of his infamous “bad guy” roles include Mason Verger in the 2001 film “Hannibal”, Jean Baptiste Zorg in the 1997 film “The Fifth Element” and Korshunov in “Air Force One”.

Professor Trelawney

Emma Thompson has played a variety of characters on TV and in film. She received an Emmy and Golden Globe nomination for her work in 2003’s made for TV movie “Angels in America”. Thompson played opposite Alan Rickman in 2003’s “Love Actually” and starred as John Travolta’s wife, Susan Stanton, in 1998’s “Primary Colors”. She received an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in 1992’s “Howard’s End” and a Best Adapted Screenplay award for 1995’s “Sense and Sensibility” in which she starred as Elinor, receiving a Best Actress nomination for the role. Thompson also has the honor of being one of the few actresses to receive a Best Actress (“Remains of the Day”) and Best Supporting Actress (“In the Name of the Father”) Oscar nomination in the same year.

Peter Pettigrew a.k.a. Wormtail

Fans of “Lemony Snicket’s: A Series of Unfortunate Events” may recognize Timothy Spall from his role as Mr. Poe in the film. Besides playing Peter Pettigrew and Mr. Poe, Spall has been in 2003’s “The Last Samurai”, starred opposite Maggie Smith in “My House in Umbria”, played Rosencrantz to Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet in 1996’s “Hamlet” and appeared in 2001’s “Vanilla Sky”.

Voldemort

Although some people will associate him only with the role of Voldemort in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”, Ralph Fiennes has been in a number of other films. His recent works include the voice of Victor Quartermain in “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of Were-Rabbit” and Justin in the critically acclaimed “Constant Gardner”. Fiennes also appeared as the disturbed and tattooed Francis in 2002’s “Red Dragon”, received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his work in “The English Patient” and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Amon Goeth in “Schindler’s List”.

Rita Skeeter

Another new face in the “Harry Potter” movies is that of Rita Skeeter played by Miranda Richardson. Richardson has a number of film credits including the roles of Madame Giry in 2004’s “Phantom of the Opera”, Michael Gambon’s wife, Mary, in “Sleepy Hollow”, Toosie in 1997’s “The Apostle” and Mab in the made for TV movie “Merlin”.

Mad-Eye Moody

Although you might not recognize Brendan Gleeson as Mad-Eye Moody, this accomplished actor has a number of film credits that you might recognize. His recent works include the roles of Reynald in “Kingdom of Heaven” and the 2004 films “The Village” (August Nicholson) and “Troy” (Menelaus). Gleeson also appeared as Monk in “Gangs of New York”, Stobrod Thewes in “Cold Mountain" and Hamish Campbell in 1995’s “Braveheart”.

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