It's hard to imagine anyone other than Ralph Fiennes as the terrifying Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies. However, the Academy Award nominee has just admitted that he almost turned down the villainous role for a surprisingly simple reason.
Fiennes was recently a guest on The Jonathan Ross Show where he discussed what it was like to play He Who Must Not Be Named (via Digital Spy). Interestingly, the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire star confessed that he was hesitant to take the role because he has never read a single J.K. Rowling book.
"The truth is I was actually ignorant about the films and the books. I was approached by the production. Mike Newell was directing the film that they wanted me to be in… the first time Voldemort was going to appear physically.
"Out of ignorance I just sort of thought, this isn't for me... Quite stupidly I resisted, I was hesitant," Fiennes shared.
Luckily, a family member helped Fiennes change his mind about playing the warlock.
"I think the clincher was that my sister Martha – who has three children who were then probably about 12, 10 and 8 – she said, ‘What do you mean? You've got to do it!' So then I rewound my thinking," he said.
We're certainly glad that Fiennes decided to take on the role and become a part of the Harry Potter Universe.
Fiennes recently lent his un-Voldemort voice to Alfred Pennyworth in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. He is currently filming the highly anticipated sequel Kingsman: The Great Game.
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