Jason Isaacs spoke to the LA Times in conjunction to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 about his joyous times on the decade-long Harry Potter franchise, portraying sinister Lucius Malfoy and how much he contributed to the character's appearance, and how he believed that his on-screen son Draco, rather than Harry, was the true hero of the saga.

As a villain, Lucius Malfoy has a very interesting character arc.
JI: Well, he has an arc. I think that sets him apart from an awful lot of the adults who do not have the luxury of playing that. It’s not that we haven’t all had a riot doing it. But the Lucius that you see, shambling along, this alcoholic husk of an emasculated man in the “Deathly Hallows” films is so completely different from the strutting peacock of “Chamber of Secrets,” and it’s been enormously good fun to play that journey.

Did you see that coming?
JI: Oh, I don’t think anyone expected anything. I mean, most of us would run to the bookshop at midnight when the books came out, partly because we’re fans, and partly to find out if we had a job next year. I had no idea. All I knew was this: Whatever I predicted, Jo [J.K. Rowling] was always infinitely more imaginative than I was. And whenever I thought I could see which way the story was going, it would take me entirely the opposite direction. The only thing we all knew was that at some point, it was going to end, with Voldemort and Harry, face-to-face, pointing wands at each other. And sure enough, you get exactly what you’re looking for.

What did you bring to Lucius Malfoy, then, that’s different than the character in the books?
JI: Well, first of all, the look. They had some preliminary sketches for Lucius, and he didn’t look anything like this. He didn’t have long, blond hair. He had short black hair, and he had a pin-striped suit and stuff, and so I was very keen to — I figured if I was going to play a wizard for once in my life, I was going to look like a wizard. So I campaigned for a blond wig and a bunch of velvet and handmade clothes and stuff, and Chris Columbus was very nice and let me get away with it. And then I asked for a walking stick, and he thought I had something wrong with my leg. I had to explain I wanted a wand to come out of there. And once again, he took a beat, and he frowned for a second, and he said, “I think the toy guys are going to love you.” So the whole look of the thing came from my desire to try not to be upstaged by the genius I’m surrounded by. I was trying to find some kind of visual props.

What about his personality and his relationship with his son Draco?
JI: I saw my role originally as first of all, to try and make him real, because these are fantastical characters, I needed to find a way to “believe” in the separation of races and racial and genetic supremacy. You don’t need to look very far, unfortunately, in the modern world to hear people standing up on platforms spouting that kind of filth. And then secondarily — maybe more important in the story, and particularly now that I see where it ends by the time we get to the end of “Deathly Hallows” — is to explain how Draco turned out to be who he was. Because in many ways, to me, Draco is the hero of the whole saga. I think Harry has his destiny. There is only one choice Harry can make in every situation. Harry makes the right choice always, and he’s admirable for doing so. But Draco has a bunch of choices, and Draco has to break the bonds of the shackles of his past. He has to break the chain of this kind of abuse and hatred and selfishness and entitlement that his father has been part of, and probably his grandfather and stretching back for generations.

And so I saw my job as trying to illustrate how you end up with a kid as messed up as Draco. In “Chamber of Secrets,” I just tried to bully him as much as I could, and be as unloving as I could. And in every opportunity, I wanted to be the kind of father that was so selfish and so egotistical and narcissistic that I would happily sacrifice my son and/or my relationship with him for status. So that was the main point, was to try and explain Draco and make his decision that much more heroic, to try and do the right thing. And the other thing was to show what happens when you over-invest in your position in the world. Voldemort is definitely right to point out when he comes back that I’ve been enjoying my status far too much. And everything I do is directed to my place in this future world when Voldemort will rule it.

All of my investment in the future is completely about standing at his side. So when Voldemort comes back and rejects me, I can’t work out where I fit in the world. And what you watch is essential nature, essential selfishness and soullessness played out as he realizes there is no place for him at Voldemort’s side. There’s no place for him by his wife and son’s side. And there’s certainly not going to be any place for him by Harry Potter’s side. And so he’s a wounded animal slipping down the well, no matter how much he scrabbles. And that was kind of fun to play, I have to say.

What a tragic outcome.
JI: I went to prison for all of “Half-Blood Prince,” and when I come back, I am a shadow of a man. I can’t stand up straight anymore. I always used to look down my nose at people. And I’m kind of an alcoholic and unshaven, and my once beautiful mane of hair is now mottled and has probably got a bunch of lice in it. I try as hard as I can to present the front, the facade of who I used to be and hope against hope that maybe Voldemort will find some drop of sympathy inside himself. But weakness is leprous in the Death Eater world.

And by the time we get to the beginning of “Deathly Hallows” where Voldemort takes my wand and snaps it, and un-mans me, castrates me, basically, in front of the rest of the Death Eaters, I’m done for. You just watch the slow collapse of a human being. Every single actor who plays a part that is on screen even momentarily can talk like this about their own characters, because you’re always there. You may not be speaking or the camera may not be pointing at you, but you create an entire life for yourself so that when the camera does catch you, you’ve got something to bring to the party.

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