Ralph Fiennes, the unforgettable face behind Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films, is passing on the dark wizard’s wand — and doing so with a healthy dose of humor.
While promoting his upcoming film 28 Years Later, Fiennes offered some cheeky advice to whoever will next embody the Dark Lord in HBO’s forthcoming Harry Potter series.
“Make sure you can handle the long flowing robes and don’t trip over them. Practice your long flowing robe walk,” Fiennes told Entertainment Tonight.
He added with a grin, “I wore tights. Initially, they were one piece with a gusset, which kept getting lower and lower during the shooting day and became uncomfortable. So then I said I wanted individual tights like a garter belt. I enjoyed teasing the stunt guys by lifting up my robes and showing them my garter belt.”
The legendary actor first transformed into He Who Must Not Be Named in 2005’s Goblet of Fire and continued the role across the series’ darkest installments — up to the epic final showdown in 2011’s Deathly Hallows Part 2.
While HBO has yet to officially cast its new Voldemort for the upcoming reboot — expected to premiere in late 2026 — Fiennes has even floated Cillian Murphy as a potential heir to the role. The new series will be a more book-accurate, decade-long retelling of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world.
Other actors who previously portrayed versions of Voldemort include:
- Richard Bremmer (Sorcerer’s Stone)
- Christian Coulson (Chamber of Secrets)
- Frank Dillane and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Half-Blood Prince)
- Ian Hart, who provided voice and motion capture for Voldemort’s ghostly presence in the first film.
While we wait for Voldemort’s next incarnation, fans can catch Fiennes as a new kind of villain: President Snow in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, as well as in 28 Years Later, which hits U.S. theaters on June 20, 2025.
Until then, aspiring Dark Lords — start practicing that robe walk.
