It’s no surprise that the flamboyant journalist’s fashion sense is as dazzlingly outlandish as she is. “Rita feels it’s as much her duty to dress for the occasion as it is to tell the truth – as she sees it – for her readership,” says Richardson. “As far as she’s concerned, she’s the only one who is well-dressed.”
“I was inspired by the 1980s,” Jany Temime says of her desgin for Rita Skeeter’s wardrobe. “Strong colors, very angular and specific to the story she’s investigating. For example, when the Triwizard contestants face their first challenge with the dragons, she’s dressed in a snakeskin kind of material with scales. When she attends the diving challenge, it’s no accident that her outfit is a poisonous, sickening green.”
Harry does his best not to be distracted by Moody’s unorthodox manner or Rita Skeeter’s insidious gossip, as he fears an encounter with Lord Voldemort – the dark wizard who murdered his parents – is inevitable. “You-Know-Who,” as he is tremulously referred to by citizens of the wizarding world, is brutal, fiendish and without remorse. Harry is the only person ever to survive the Dark Lord’s killing curse – an astonishing feat that left him with emotional wounds far worse than the scar emblazoned on his forehead.
“The term ‘enemies’ doesn’t do their relationship justice,” Radcliffe says. “Harry hates Voldemort with every fiber of his being. He wants to murder him for killing his parents. At the same time, he is also absolutely terrified of him.”
“It’s quite hard to play someone who is is the essence of evil,” muses Ralph Fiennes, whose career has encompassed a vast range of heroic, romantic and villainous characters in films such as The Constant Gardener, Red Dragon, Maid in Manhattan, The English Patient and his Oscar-nominated turn in Schindler’s List. “In my discussions with Mike about the character, we talked about giving Voldemort human qualities, because to just play ‘evil’ is really impossible. ‘Evil’ is often conveyed through gnashing of teeth and a lot of spit. I wanted my portrayal of Voldemort to be deeply, truly evil. That comes from fear, frustration and unhappiness. Voldemort was a rejected child. He had a very unhappy childhood, and that’s where his anger, jealousy and hatred began to fester.”
“Voldemort is someone who knows no love,” Heyman notes. “He thinks of love as a flaw. He is the embodiment of pure evil. Someone who is powerful and attractive. Ralph is an actor of great depth, and he captures the complexity of Voldemort’s charisma and darkness brilliantly.”
Enraged that the legend of Harry Potter – the boy who lived – has eclipsed his own, Voldemort has spent the last thirteen years regaining the powers he lost on the fateful night that Harry’s parents died. With help from his sniveling servant Wormtail, the Dark Lord triumphanty returns to human form to destroy Harry once and for all.
“Mike was very keen to explore Voldemort’s unexpected mood swings, his explosive rage,” Fiennes says. “There are moments when anger spits out of him at Harry and other moments when he can be almost pleasant. You never quite know what he’s going to do
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