Harry Melling (actor)

Harry Edward Melling (born 17 March 1989)[1] is an English actor, known for playing Dudley Dursley in five Harry Potter films, and for his role as Harry Beltik in The Queen's Gambit. His grandfather was actor Patrick Troughton.[2]

Harry Melling
Melling during the 2018 Venice Film Festival
Born
Harry Edward Melling

(1989-03-17) 17 March 1989[1]
London, England
Alma materLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
OccupationActor
Years active2000–present
Known forDudley Dursley in Harry Potter
RelativesPatrick Troughton (grandfather)[2]

Career

In his early career, Harry Melling performed in stage productions of The Provoked Wife, King John, Antigone, and Plenty. He appeared in five of the Harry Potter films as Harry Potter's spoiled cousin, Dudley Dursley. In 2009, he starred in a revival of Mother Courage and her Children at the Royal National Theatre. He appeared in "The Sorcerer's Shadow", an episode of the BBC television series Merlin, playing a young warlock named Gilli who intends to use magic to help him win Camelot's legendary tournament. He also played Robert Brown in the BBC television series Just William.

In October 2009, it was announced that Melling had lost so much weight since his last appearance in Harry Potter that he was now "unrecognisable". The role of Dudley was almost recast for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, but Melling was able to reprise the part by wearing a fat suit. He commented positively about the change, "I can now shed the child actor thing, like the fat, and start a new career, because no one sees me as Dudley."[3]

In 2014, Melling made his playwrighting debut at HighTide Festival with his one-man show Peddling.[4]

In 2018, Melling played alongside Liam Neeson in the Coen brothers' Western The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Of Melling's performance, New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane wrote:

[I] came away haunted by a scattering of sights and sounds--above all, by the recitations of the limbless man, which thrum with genuine yearning. He is beautifully played, with a little help from C.G.I., by Harry Melling, who was once the odious Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films. Funny how people grow up.[5]

In 2020, Melling played Evangelical priest Roy Laferty in the Netflix thriller The Devil All The Time. That same year, he appeared in the Netflix series drama The Queen's Gambit in which he plays Harry Beltik, a friend and one of Beth's competitors in Kentucky.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2001Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneDudley Dursley
2002Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2004Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2007Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2010Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
2016The Lost City of ZWilliam Barclay
2017The Current WarBenjamin Vale
2018The Ballad of Buster ScruggsHarrisonSegment: "Meal Ticket"
The KeeperSergeant Smythe
2019Waiting for the BarbariansGarrison Soldier 4
2020The Old GuardSteven Merrick
Say Your PrayersTim
The Devil All the TimeRoy Laferty
2021The Tragedy of MacbethMalcolm
2022Please Baby PleaseArthurPost-production
TBAThe Pale Blue EyeEdgar Allan PoePost-production

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2005Friends and CrocodilesYoung OliverTV movie
2010MerlinGilliEpisode: "The Sorcerer's Shadow"
2010Just WilliamRobert Brown4 episodes
2011Garrow's LawGeorge Pinnock3 episodes
2016The MusketeersBastienEpisode: "Fool's Gold"
2019The War of the WorldsArtilleryman2 episodes
2019His Dark MaterialsSysselmanEpisode: "Armour"
2020The Queen's GambitHarry Beltik4 episodes

Stage
Year Title Role Venue
2009Mother Courage and her ChildrenSwiss CheeseRoyal National Theatre
2010Bedroom, Dens and Other Forms of MagicTheatre503
2010Women Beware WomenYoung WardRoyal National Theatre
2011The School for ScandalSir Benjamin BackbiteBarbican Centre
2011When Did You Last See My Mother?IanTrafalgar Studios
2012I Am a CameraChristopher IsherwoodSouthwark Playhouse
2013Smack Family RobinsonSean RobinsonRose Theatre, Kingston
2013The HothouseLambTrafalgar Studios
2013King LearFoolMinerva Theatre, Chichester
2014King LearFoolBrooklyn Academy of Music
2014peddlingBoyHighTide Festival
2014The Angry BrigadeMorris
Commander
Prophet
Snitch
Manager
Jim		Theatre Royal, Plymouth
Oxford Playhouse
Warwick Arts Centre
Watford Palace Theatre
2016Hand to GodJason /TyroneVaudeville Theatre, London
2016King LearEdgarThe Old Vic
2017JamKaneFinborough Theatre

Video games
Year Title Role Notes
2007Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixDudley DursleyVoice

References
  1. Scull, Eric (22 March 2013). "Harry Melling Shares His Thoughts with MuggleNet on the Black Comedy 'Smack Family Robinson'". MuggleNet. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  2. Jardine, Cassandra (6 October 2009). "Harry Potter star: My life after Dudley Dursley". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  3. Jardine, Cassandra (6 October 2009). "Harry Potter star: My life after Dudley Dursley". The Telegraph.
  4. Collins-Hughes, Laura (2 May 2014). "A Lost Boy, Trying to Find His Way". New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  5. Lane, Anthony (19 November 2018). "The Fractious, Frustrating Thrills of 'Widows' [Desperate Measures]". The New Yorker. Retrieved 24 November 2018..
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.