Harry Potter’s Dudley Was Almost Played by a Different Actor in Harry Potter 7
Harry Potter was this child actor’s first gig, and we love to hate his character. However, things could’ve turned out very differently.
In 2001, Harry Melling landed the role of Dudley Dursley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Despite the fact that the movie version didn’t look exactly like the book character (no blond hair, for instance), we all thought that Harry was the perfect guy for the role. He just captured the essence of Dudley like no one else could.
The actor went on to star in five out of the eight movies in the saga. What most people don’t know is that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix could’ve actually been his last film!
There was no drama between Melling and the producers, it’s just that he lost so much weight between 2007 and 2010 that he was no longer fit to play the chubby Dudley.
By the time the filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 came around, the star had lost over 60 pounds and had no intention of gaining it back.
In an interview for The Daily Mail, Melling explained that while he was playing “this old fat dad” on stage, he suddenly realized that he didn’t want to portray those characters anymore. That’s why he took up running and never stopped.
The Harry Potter bosses discussed the possibility of recasting Dudley, but ultimately decided to keep Melling along for the ride. They just shoved him into “a fat suit” and gave him special “facial prosthetics,” and Harry was good to go for one last magical ride.
Melling talked about the experience with The Movie Network, recalling how “bizarre” he felt wearing all that. He also mentioned that his “mobility” was affected because of the suit. The actor got to feel completely different – he was now skinny but had the mobility of a larger person he used to be, and that was “a fascinating contrast.”
Luckily, Harry got to finish his work on the Harry Potter franchise, and we didn’t have to cringe at a Dudley recast. We had already suffered enough from another actor change and his character’s supposedly calm demeanor (“Harry, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?”).
Sources: The Daily Mail, The Movie Network