Ralph Fiennes Has a Brilliant Idea on Who Should Play Voldemort in HBO’s “Harry Potter” Series

It would be a difficult task for an actor to follow Ralph Fiennes’ performance as the evil wizard Voldemort in the Harry Potter films. Fiennes portrayed the loveless half-blood wizard in five films in the Potter franchise and delivered a seething, wounded, ferocious performance throughout, one of the most iconic villains in film of the past twenty years. With HBO’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone series arriving this Christmas and most of the cast set, Voldemort remains the key figure yet to be revealed with an accompanying name.

Big names have been bandied about—last year, Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy was asked about rumors that he was taking on the role. Yet he made it clear to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that was not at all the case: “I don’t know anything about that. I mean, also, it’s just really hard to follow anything Ralph Fiennes does. The man is an absolute acting legend. So, good luck to whoever is going to fill those shoes.”

Well, Fiennes himself has an idea.

During an appearance on BBC’s The Claudia Winkleman Show, Fiennes was asked who he thought should be the next Voldemort.

“I remember being asked the question, ‘Would I reprise the part?’ This was some years ago. And I said, ‘Yes, I’d love to.’ But then nothing’s happened, and I think that ship has sailed…I’ll tell you, Tilda Swinton was mentioned somewhere as being a contender, and I think she would be amazing.”

Swinton is an incredible performer, one of the great chameleons of her generation. She won a richly deserved Oscar for her unforgettable performance as an in-over-her-head corporate general counsel in Tony Gilroy‘s nearly flawless 2007 film Michael Clayton, incredibly, her only Oscar nomination, let alone win. This despite a career of incredible turns, from playing the title role in Orlando (1992) to her rapturous turn in 2009’s I Am Love to a mother grappling with her son’s sociopathy in We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011). She’s played outsized villains, too, including the sadistic official Mason of the train in Bong Joon Ho‘s Snowpiercer and multiple roles in Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria. 

Swinton would flatly be an incredible Voldemort, more than capable of taking a different but no less beguiling approach to the role than Fiennes did. The cast of the upcoming series includes Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, Nick Frost as Hagrid, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, and Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy.

Featured image: Lord Voldemort – Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/WireImage)