Harry Potter fans torn over Voldemort recasting we all missed

The character of Voldemort was brilliantly brought to life by the incomparable Ralph Fiennes, bringing a great energy to the villainous role of a genocidal, maniacal wizard.

The actor stepped into the role in the later Harry Potter films when old Voldemort finally escaped his life as just a head, then snake, and into his slit-nosed glory.

Voldemort is at his most powerful in the final films, and Fiennes does a great job being the villain.

While fans celebrate this portrayal of the dark lord, many of us forget that another actor had played Voldemort in the earliest films, when he was just a CGI entity.

That actor was Richard Bremmer, who never really gets a lot of recognition for launching the villain into the realms of film.

On Reddit, one fan considers Bremmer’s performance to be superior, saying, “HE was Voldemort. He was frightening, calm, and just you can feel how dark this guy really is.”

They’ve got a point. While Fiennes’ performance was fantastic, it’s clear he was having a brilliant time hamming it up, and giving an over-the-top outing.

On reflection, it’s hard to see Voldemort as menacing as he perhaps should have been, partly due to the family rating, partly due to the way in which Fiennes played him.

As another fan notes, “I've always thought this. Fiennes' Voldemort (or, rather, presumably how he was directed as Voldemort) was too angry for me. Voldemort in the books is truly chilling, terrifying, because he is generally so calm and cold. He doesn't have to be angry to kill - it's nothing to him.”

In reply, one Redditor agrees, saying, “I thought Voldemort in the books was more of a psychopath, until he finally loses it. The movies removed that tension for me.”

Perhaps the film’s crew weren’t sure the adaptations would be a success and when they saw the box office blow up, they called in Fiennes and went in a new direction.

It would have been great to see another version, but I guess we’ll get that with the HBO show soon.