Daisy Ridley knows a thing or two about joining a massive franchise and the pressures that come with it. She’s also a ginormous Harry Potter fan. So, when she was asked about the upcoming Harry Potter series at Max, she opened up about the challenges of making magic work twice and the hypothetical situation of playing Bellatrix Lestrange after seeing Helena Bonham Carter’s incredible performance as the evil witch.
While chatting about her love for the Harry Potter movies, and giving her compliments to the Harry Potter cast on Happy Sad Confused, the Star Wars star was asked if she’d want to play Bellatrix. Josh Horowitz had told her she was a bit too old for Hermione, and not old enough for McGonagall, but mentioned that she could potentially play Helena Bonham Carter’s iconic character. In response, the actress said:
You know what? We actually have this [casting] conversation at work. Everyone was like, ‘If you could, who would you be’, like everyone. And I think the bar is just set so high, honestly, by [the original cast]. And like, Bellatrix is the sort of right age thing [for me], but I was like, ‘How could anyone take what Helena Bonham Carter did?’ It will just presumably be terrifying for whoever it is that does it and incredible.
She makes a great point. Some of Helena Bonham Carter’s best movies are the final few Harry Potter films. The actress is commanding as the Death Eater, and in some moments I’d say she’s just as scary as Voldemort. At the very least, she’s definitely more unhinged, and it’s marvelous.
Anyone who takes over this role will have some seriously big shoes to fill. However, I must admit that seeing Daisy Ridley take on the part would be amazing. We know her best as the hero Rey (who she's returning to play in an upcoming Star Wars project). So, it’d be so fun to see her stretch her range and go from a valiant Jedi to totally unhinged evil witch.
However, as the quote above illustrates, it sounds like she’s not putting herself out there for the role. Instead, she’d rather remain a fan, and see what happens with this reportedly “faithful” Harry Potter series. Continuing to talk about her enthusiasm for the Wizarding World, and her curiosity about the magical Max show that was announced in April, Ridley said:
And actually, I’m looking forward to [the show], because we’ve been listening to the audio books, and there’s like, so much to play with. But the fear of taking on one of those roles, oh my god.
While Harry Potter likely isn’t in her future, the Star Wars: The Force Awakens star did say that she wanted to do “a magic-y thing.” So, if there is anyone out there casting a fantastical magical movie, you should reach out to this actress.
As a fellow fan of this franchise, I’m with Daisy Ridley. Taking on any role in this series would be incredibly difficult. The entire cast is beloved, and finding the right person to play iconic characters like this again seems like a nearly impossible task.
However, it’s one Max has taken on. So, even though Daisy Ridley likely will not be playing Bellatrix in the new series, she’ll be excited to see who is. To go back and see Helena Bonham Carter’s masterful performance as the Death Eater, you can stream all eight Harry Potter movies with a Max subscription. To see what Daisy Ridley is up to at the moment, be sure to check out our 2024 movie schedule.
