Harry Potterstar Jason Isaacs has a hilarious answer to one of the franchise’s mysteries. After his plan fails, Isaacs' characterLucius Malfoy tries to kill Harry Pottertoward the end ofThe Chamber of Secretsmovie. Lucius begins to utter the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra, before he is stopped by the courageous house-elf Dobby.
While Lucius is upset about Harry foiling his plan, the Death Eater’s attempted murder does not occur in the books. 23 years after the movie’s release, fans continue to debate the mystery of why this change was made in the film adaptation.
PerCollider, Isaacs has now answered this mystery during a panel at Fan Expo Denver, whereScreenRantwas also in attendance.Isaacs explained that he improvised saying the Killing Cursebecause he was asked to say a spell, didn’t know any, and this was the one that was suggested to him. Check out his comments below:
There was a bit when we were standing up talking — and, you know, I’m meant to pull my wand out and someone said, “You should start a spell,” and I thought “I don’t know any spells!” And so I asked and looked around, and there was a guy doing the lights, […] and there’s caterers and one guy holding a mic, and there’s this one bloke, and he goes “Well there is one, it’s Avada Kedavra”. […] When the film comes out a year later, 100,000 people write letters to me going: “You were going to kill Harry Potter!”
It was day two on the set. I wasn’t that familiar with everything going on. I got overenthusiastic. I knocked myself out.
What This Means For Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets
This Behind-The-Scenes Story Adds New Context
Isaacs' answer provides clarity and a new, hilarious behind-the-scenes tidbitforHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Lucius attempting to kill a 12-year-old child inside their school always seemed extreme, but it makes more sense as a moment of improvisation that occurred during only his second day on set, and before he was familiar with the franchise.
What is more surprising is that the improvised moment made it intoThe Chamber of Secrets' final cut. While it is extreme and a divergence from the source material,Lucius trying to use the Killing Curse on Harry does help cement him as a villainand paves the way for him to return as aruthless Death Eaterin later installments.
Our Take On Jason Isaacs' Comments
The Scene Was An Important Step In His Harry Potter Journey
With Isaacs going on to become a veteran of theHarry Pottercastwho would appear in six of the eight movies, it is difficult to imagine a time when he was unfamiliar with the franchise. Thatmakes this behind-the-scenes story all the more charming and relatable, with even an experienced actor like him not knowing what to say.
As for the"100,000"letters Isaacs received after the movie came out, thisgave him a taste of how passionateHarry Potterfans can beand how protective they were of the titular character. This makes him well-suited to now be providing advice to thenewHarry Potterstarscast in HBO’s upcoming television adaptation.
Keeping the attempted Killing Curse in the movie must also berewarding for the crew member who made the offhanded suggestion to Isaacs. Working on aHarry Pottermovie is its own impressive accomplishment, but this individual also has the achievement of making a suggestion that is in the final cut and continues to be discussed more than two decades later.
