Fiennes embodies the serpentine Lord Voldemort, archenemy of our hero and "the most evil of evil of evil of evil of men," the actor says, shaking his head side-to-side before slipping on the spine-tingling silk of Voldemort's voice.

He's not a big Harry Potter fan. But then, flippancy gives way to the hallmark Fiennes seriousness.

"I'm not a psychiatrist," he says. "But I do think childhood is the answer. And thank God, J.K. Rowling has done the work for us. Lord Voldemort is a rejected child. Once I understood that, I could locate the rage."