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Original poster

To think the acting in Harry Potter is really bad?

167 replies

Evennumberonthevolume · 28/12/2016 20:43

Referring primarily to the main three.

I haven't seen the films in so long but watched them when they've been on this week and it's so bad.

OP posts:
VeryBitchyRestingFace · 28/12/2016 21:22

For good child acting the plaudits have to go to Ricky Schroder in Champ and Henry Thomas' audition tapes for ET (the latter had me in tears watching him!)

And of course, anything with a young Jodie Foster.

The three principals in HP are definitely not Academy Award material.

redexpat · 28/12/2016 21:22

I think they go up and down a lot. Ron was great in the first 2 films then just started pulling funny faces, then was good in the last 2 fjlms. Hermione starts off emphasising every other word, then wiggles her eyebrows, heaves her bosom, then absolutely wipes the floor with the boys in the last 2 films. Daniel Radcliff jsnt a great actor but such a sweet guy.

FuzzyWizard · 28/12/2016 21:23

Wifflewaffles- He's still around, he was in game of thrones until recently.

SENPARENT · 28/12/2016 21:23

YANBU.

I've always thought Daniel Radcliffe was picked, regardless of his ability to act, because he was the one who came closest to how JK Rowling thought Harry Potter would look. His acting is diabolical and the way he smiles is unbelievably fake. The children who play Ron and Hermione are not much better.

The books are terrible too.

1horatio · 28/12/2016 21:24

Snape was awesome!! I really like Draco, especially for a child actor. Ron was funny and McGonagall and Umbridge are fabulous.

Hermione however? Urgh. Harry's acting is sometimes ok and sometimes just... not.

However, I've really liked some of Radcliffe's more recent movies. I'm a bit of a fan, tbh.

anotheronebitthedust · 28/12/2016 21:24

I agree that they are all awful (and the supporting children cast aren't much better - Ginny, and, as much as I love him, Neville, are pretty bad too). I disagree with those who think they get much better as the films go on to be honest, which is even worse - they literally had access to the best acting tutors money could buy if they wanted, plus the opportunity to learn from so many experienced, talented older British actors on the job. The fact they were still so terrible 10 years later is a bit shameful really.

The worst part is they literally scoured the country for them! How could those three be the best they could find? I know they would have been too young at the time, but the actors playing the younger Stark kids in GOT (and, tbf, the younger Lannisters, Shireen Baratheon, and others) were all close to the same age or at least to pass for it/younger than the HP lot and they are miles more convincing! There must have been some children out there who could at least vaguely pretend they've interacted with another human person before, which would be an improvement on DR & EW!

badg3r · 28/12/2016 21:25

I think it's a double whammy of catastrophically bad acting and an abysmal attempt at editing. I swear they could have shaved off about 20 minutes from each film by cutting all the pauses between lines. I can just about watch it without squirming though, the adult cast is excellent!

Alfieisnoisy · 28/12/2016 21:26

Love Daniel Radcliffe, think he got better as he grew. Think EW was the weakest of the three. Loved Rupert Grint and he is exactly how I imagined Ron.
The worst in the films by a long chalk were the Fred and George twins...and they never improved.

PoorYorick · 28/12/2016 21:26

Grint kids some people into thinking he's passable because his face is made of rubber. He's probably the least shit out of the three of them. Emma Watson is effortlessly beautiful, just like Hermione should not be, and a dire actress to boot. I feel so sad thinking of all the more ordinary looking, more talented young actresses who lost out to her.

Original poster
Evennumberonthevolume · 28/12/2016 21:26

Beauty and the Breast is ruined for me already.

Me too. I much preferred Debbie Does Dallas. Or Laurence of A-Labia.

GrinGrinGrin

OP posts:
Twogoats · 28/12/2016 21:26

Malfoys, Ron, and Neville were all alright, so it's nothing to do with being a kid.

TKRedLemonade · 28/12/2016 21:26

I always thought Rupert Grint was horrific. I though Emma Watson was grand after the first few and Dan Radcliffe improved as they went on. As for Beauty and the Beast I am still looking forward to it as long as they both sing well. The yellow dress was changed as they set it in the original time of the novel and the cartoon dress would not have been in the right style apparently according to the director

QueenMortificado · 28/12/2016 21:28

Emma Watson is effortlessly beautiful

Do you think?! I think she is seriously average, very plain. She has benefitted enormously from lots of money but I wouldn't look twice walking down the street if she wasn't famous

QueenMortificado · 28/12/2016 21:30

Re how they got picked, I thought the main three were all somehow related to the directors etc etc

It wasn't full open auditions and they were civilians picked off a council estate was it?

1horatio · 28/12/2016 21:30

Love Daniel Radcliffe, think he got better as he grew. Think EW was the weakest of the three. Loved Rupert Grint and he is exactly how I imagined Ron
Yessss!!!

them. Emma Watson is effortlessly beautiful, just like Hermione should not be absolutely.

However, the kid playing Draco was actually a really good kid actor imo. How I hated that boy 😂😂

TKRedLemonade · 28/12/2016 21:30

Also it's hardly her fault she turned out really pretty/beautiful. At 11 she was quite a plain child in my opinion

MischiefManagedAlways · 28/12/2016 21:32

Aah that explains the dress then, thank you TKRedLemonade!

Oh god the singing will be interesting. Beauty and the Beast has beautiful music so let's hope it's not ruined!

1horatio · 28/12/2016 21:33

TK

Sure. But they could have at least made her genuinely frizzy with bunny teeth....

Weedsnseeds1 · 28/12/2016 21:35

Luna Lovegood is fantastic, just how I imagined her!

Alfieisnoisy · 28/12/2016 21:35

Don't know about EW or DR but RG sent in a tape of himself rapping about being Ron. He was already attending an acting/theatre group outside of school and loved it. He applied when they held the open auditions.
None of them are related to any of the directors/producers as far as I know

TheLambShankRedemption · 28/12/2016 21:36

YANBU at all.

To be fair, HP was never really my cup of tea, I found the books fairly tedious after the first two (apparently if you were born in the 70s you are more likely to feel this way I've heard, but could be talking shite (hmm more likely)).

Watched the first few films out of curiosity but started falling asleep in the later films so stopped bothering. Quidditch world cup? ODFO I'd sooner do the ironing Grin runs for cover

Downtheroadfirstonleft · 28/12/2016 21:36

I'm currently having to watch a lot of both Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Remarkably similar....

cottencandy55 · 28/12/2016 21:38

Yanbu totally agree op especially the main threeGrin

Waltermittythesequel · 28/12/2016 21:43
  • Beauty and the Breast is ruined for me already.

Me too. I much preferred Debbie Does Dallas. Or Laurence of A-Labia.*

This wins MN 2016 for me.

Ron was great, as was Malfoy, and Luna.

The rest were dreadful. Hermione by far the worst. Or Ginny, actually.

Superb adult cast and it's HP so I still love it.

However, I too am dreading Emma as Belle Sad

Heathen4Hire · 28/12/2016 21:52

Rupert Grint was the most convincing, and it's a shame we haven't seen him in much since. He did something with Julie Walters years back and was great.

Emma Watson is a terrible actress but it's got her doing separate stuff which helps people so...

Daniel Radcliffe did a series with John Hamm a while back about being a doctor in Russia in the 1920s or something (it was sky arts, I think) and I thought he did great. My husband liked "Horns" where he played the devil. But otherwise his output has been mediocre.

In the films I liked Neville and loved Luna. The Weasley twins were annoying but Draco Malloy was great. The films and child actors were "carried" by the established, well known actors though.