The wizarding world of Harry Potter is full of recognisable faces. However, few are as distinctive as the nose-less villain Voldemort – played by Ralph Fiennes. Now, actors undergo transformations every day in their career, but let’s be honest, changing into the ‘Dark Lord’ doesn’t seem like the easiest process, and Fiennes has come out to confirm that he hated the lengthy makeup routine he endured every time he had to embody the Harry Potter character.
Fiennes first joined the beloved magical franchise in the 2005 Harry Potter movie, The Goblet of Fire – directed by Mike Newell. In the hit fantasy movie, the actor transforms from a dashing man to a pale, bald, otherworldly snake-like villain. Speaking with Vanity Fair back in 2014, Fiennes explained how long the makeup process took during his gig as Voldemort and how much he loathes the highly detailed ordeal.
“I hate makeup. I hate being in the makeup chair. I almost would not do a film to avoid being in the makeup chair. Oh god, I hate it,” he explained, when asked how the Harry Potter movies changed his views on makeup in general.
“I don’t know why I’ve developed a pathology about the makeup chair,” he continued. “The people so close to your face with a brush or a sponge or a pair of scissors or something, it’s a nightmare.”
Fiennes’ transformation as Voldemort was pretty extreme. I mean, as we said above, the man was made to look like he had no nose. It is reasonable to think that many would hold similar views to the actor if they went through the same experience.
Fiennes would transform into Voldemort for four more movies after his big debut in the Goblet of Fire, too, so it is understandable to learn that he found his part in the franchise tiring at times.
Since Harry Potter, Fiennes hasn’t taken many roles that require such an intense transformation. The actor has stuck to parts that have all his facial features intact.
However, no matter how traumatising it may have been for Fiennes, we are happy he stuck it out as Voldemort as, really, we couldn’t think of anyone who could lead the Death Eaters better than him.