Harry Mellingmay be best known for his role in theHarry Pottermovies as Harry’s detestable cousin Dudley Dursley, but since the last of those films in 2010, he’s proven himself to be a much more complex actor with a staggering amount of range in movies and on TV. As a beloved book series before the movies came out, nearly everyone had an idea of what each character would look like and how they would act. When Harry Melling appeared on-screen asDudley Dursley to torment Harry(Daniel Radcliffe), it was immediately apparent he was the perfect fit.
For nearly 10 years, audiences watched Melling grow up, as they did most of the kids who appeared in theHarry Potterseries. While he did a very admirable job in the role, it was unclear what Melling’s career would look like after the magical series. He clearly had talent, butfew people would have guessed just how impressive a career he would end up having in both television and movies. There’s an argument to be made that he’s been the most successful of allthe child cast post-HarryPotter, with even his smaller roles showcasing his capabilities.
Just Williamis a one-season BBC One series that was broadcast in 2010 for four episodes. The show is an adaptation of the book series of the same name by Richmal Crompton and is the first adaptation of the stories since the 1990s. The show follows William Brown (Daniel Roche), a trouble-making and perpetually angry little boy who gets into trouble around his neighborhood. William’s older brother, Robert, is played by Harry Melling.
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William looks up to Robert and also bothers him as much as possible. While it’s not a major role and the show only went for four episodes,it was one of the first post-Harry Potterroles that Melling took on and was a far cry from the thuggish brute most audiences knew him as. This part opened the door for viewers to see the actor as more than just Dudley, Harry’s cousin.
The Devil All The Time
Cast
The Devil All The Time is a thriller set in the 1950s and 1960s in rural Ohio. It follows several interconnected storylines that involve corrupt law enforcement, religious fanaticism, and serial killers. The ensemble cast includes Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgård, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, and Harry Melling,
InThe Devil All the Time, a Southern Gothic psychological thriller based on a book by Donald Ray Pollock, several stories and characters in small towns in Ohio and West Virginia are woven together. Set between the end of WWII and the 1960s, an ensemble cast of desperate characters from all walks of life unknowingly come into contact with one another. Harry Melling plays Roy Laferty, an odd and charismatic preacher who loses his mind after a venomous spider bites him.
Donald Ray Pollock also serves as the movie’s narrator.
It’s a harrowing and intense film, with an incredible performance from Melling, who may only appear in one of the storylines but leaves a lasting impression with his commitment to the bizarreness of the character. It’s unnerving to watch, his performance growing even more frightening as the spider’s venom begins to take hold and warp his reality.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a Western anthology film by the Coen Brothers that comprises six distinct stories. Each vignette explores themes of the American frontier, blending humor and tragedy. With a richly detailed setting, the film delves into various aspects of frontier life, showcasing a range of characters from singing cowboys to intrepid prospectors. The distinctive narrative style and evocative cinematography create a compelling portrait of the Old West.
Each of thesix stories inThe Ballad of Buster Scruggsis worthwhile and, together, they make one of the more underrated movies in the Coen brothers' filmography. In the third story of the film, “Meal Ticket”, an aging, destitute, and weary impresario (Liam Neeson) carts around Harrison (Harry Melling), a quadruple amputee who performs Shakespeare for Western towns. The measly money they earn barely keeps them both fed, they seem to have an oddly symbiotic relationship, though not necessarily a friendly one.
It is a mesmerizing and dark tale, andMelling is sadly pitiful as he is carted around by someone who is more or less his owner. Then, when it’s time to take the stage and recite Shakespeare, Melling gets to show his dramatic acting chops, making the movie audience as engaged as the gathered townsfolk come to see the spectacle.
The Pale Blue Eye
Based on the novel by Louis Bayard, The Pale Blue Eye is a horror/mystery film starring Christian Bale and Harry Melling as Augustus Landor and Edgar Allan Poe. A former detective, Augustus, is brought in by the U.S. Military to investigate a potential murder at the West Point Military Academy in New York. Aided by a young military cadet, Poe, Augustus stumbles upon grizzly details and even more murders that will drag the two into an increasingly dangerous situation.
The Pale Blue Eyeis a criminally underseen Gothic mystery thriller that follows a veteran detective in 1830, Augustus Landor (Christian Bale), who is called out of retirement by the military to solve the case of a murdered cadet. To help him solve the case, he secretly asks for help from another young cadet, Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling). Poe and Landor encounter more murders as they investigate a black magic cult that could be more closely linked to them than they realize.
He’s intelligent, clever, a bit charming, and also very heroic, despite not being a particularly active character.
It’s a much different part for Melling than any of his previous roles, turning him into a character approaching Sherlock Holmes in temperament. He’s intelligent, clever, a bit charming, and also very heroic, despite not being a particularly active character. Despite the tone ofThe Pale Blue Eye, Melling is having a lot of fun in the part of the semi-action thriller lead.
The Old Guard
Based on the comic book of the same name by Greg Rucka, The Old Gaurd stars Charlize Theron as Andromache of Scythia, a centuries-old immortal woman who, along with a group of fellow immortals, works as a mercenary using her vast knowledge from her long life in order to protect people. When a new immortal is revealed to exist, the team must work to protect her and evade capture by a pharmaceutical executive who wishes to discover what causes the immortals' miraculous healing powers.
The Netflix filmThe Old Guard, based on the comic book of the same name by the film’s screenwriter Greg Rucka, follows a team of immortal mercenaries and is one ofthe best action movies of 2020. Led by Andromache ‘Andy’ of Scythia (Charlize Theron), the team has spent millennia fighting as warriors for hire, working to help the underprivileged. Steven Merrick (Harry Melling) is a pharmaceutical CEO looking to use their regenerative properties for his business.
Far from being an altruistic scientist, Merrick is more interested in keeping other companies from discovering the immortal mercenaries and looks forward to torturing them forever for his own benefit. Melling is sadistic and frightening in the role, and it’s one of his most villainous performances. Though he’s been cruel in past performances, he’s never been so menacing, andhe plays his evilness with subtlety, making it feel all the more real.
The Tragedy of Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a cinematic adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic play, following Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, who is driven by prophecy and ambition. Influenced by his wife, he murders King Duncan to seize the throne of Scotland, setting off a chain of power struggles and guilt.
The Tragedy of Macbethby Joel Coen, the first Coen film that only has one brother involved, is an adaptation ofMacbethby William Shakespeare. Allthe main characters ofMacbethare here: Macbeth (Denzel Washington), Lady Macbeth (Frances McDormand), Banquo (Bertie Carvel), Macduff (Corey Hawkins), King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson), and Malcolm (Harry Melling). Malcolm, the son of King Duncan, is named the prince of Cumberland, setting Macbeth on the path to ruin.
In this version of the story, Malcolm is not quite the patriotic, trustworthy king that he’s portrayed as in the play. This version paints Malcolm as a petulant child, who believes he’s owed the throne. He does not care about the people he is set to rule over, making his conflict of a different flavor than the one in other adaptations of the play. Melling can perform Coen dialogue as well as any young actor, andthe Coens seem to be forming a relationship with the young actor between this andThe Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
Shoshana
Shoshana is a historical thriller directed by Michael Winterbottom, set in 1930s Tel Aviv. It explores the complex romance between a British police officer and a Jewish woman against the backdrop of political unrest and inevitable conflict during British control of Palestine.
Shoshana, a British biographical film set in 1930s/1940s British Mandatory Palestine, follows the tragic love story between Shoshana Borochov (Irina Starshenbaum) and the British police officer Tom Wilkin (Douglas Booth). Based on a true story, Borochov was the daughter of Ber Borochov, one of the founders of socialist Zionism. A very relevant film for the time period,Shoshanais a compelling and deep look at the Zionist movement of the 1930s.
Harry Melling plays Geoffrey J. Morton, a police officer in the region tasked with hunting for the Zionist militant, Avraham Stern (Aury Alby). This semi-fictionalized version of Morton is a dead-eyed, vicious officer who delights in torturing and murder, using his position of power as leverage. It’s a frightening and bold performance by Melling and the character seems all too possible in today’s world.
Please Baby Pleaseis another example of Harry smelling being interested in taking on roles outside the comfort zones of most actors. In the 2022 musical drama, Melling plays Arthur, also known as Bijou 52 ticket taker. Arthur is newly married to Suze (Andrea Riseborough), and when the pair stumble upon a gang of greasers, they become the fascination of the violent group. At the same time, Arthur becomes entranced by the gang’s leader, Teddy (Karl Glusman).
It’s a complicated and rich story that requires a steady hand to take on the role of Arthur, a task Melling is more than up for.
It’s a complicated and rich story that requires a steady hand to take on the role of Arthur, a task Melling is more than up for. A campy musical,Please Baby Pleaseis gorgeously filmed and the three lead performers are all excellent. Melling is particularly mesmerizing as a neurotic and self-loathing married man who finds release in the gay BDSM scene in Manhattan.
Dudley Dursley
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a multimedia franchise about an orphaned boy who enrolls at Hogwarts School of Wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family, and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world. Adapted from the novels, Harry Potter is an eight-episode film saga that follows the journey of Harry Potter and his friends, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley, as they navigate the tricky world of growing up, school life, and magic. Starting from year one and moving to their seventh year, the films chronicle the students' time at Hogwarts while unfurling a sinister plot that centers around the unsuspecting Harry. With the return of the dark wizard, Voldemort, the students and professors at Hogwarts will fight to carry on as the world around them may change forever. Harry Potter has expanded beyond the world of its films and novels with several video games, a spin-off film series titled Fantastic Beasts, and even attractions at Universal Studios.
At the moment, Dudley Dursley is still what most viewers will recognize Harry Melling for, but he’s doing an impressive job shedding that childhood role. He almost seems like a completely different person at this point.That’s not to say Melling’s performance as Dudley inHarry Potteris bad, it’s actually great. Melling handles the petulance and snobbery of Dudley perfectly, making it obvious why Harry can’t wait to get away from 4 Privet Drive.
Melling is robbed of one of hisbest scenes inHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, however. This deleted scene taken from the book sees Dudley telling Harry, “I don’t think you’re a waste of space,” and smiling as he shakes his once-hated cousin’s hand. It’s a tearjerking and sweet moment and the heightened emotions are almost all due to Melling, who shows exactly why he would soon go on to such an impressive career.
The Queen’s Gambit
Based on the novel by Walter Tevis, the Netflix limited series drama The Queen’s Gambit is a coming-of-age story that explores the actual cost of genius. Abandoned and entrusted to a Kentucky orphanage in the late 1950s, a young Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) discovers an astonishing talent for chess. Haunted by her personal demons and fueled by a cocktail of narcotics and obsession, Beth transforms into an impressively skilled and glamorous outcast, determined to conquer the traditional boundaries established in the male-dominated world of competitive chess.
The Queen’s Gambitis likely the first time viewers sat up on their sofas and said, “Is that Dudley?” For most casual viewers,Harry Melling’s role inThe Queen’s Gambitas Harry Beltik was the first time they saw him in a non-Harry Potterrole. The series also shot Anya Taylor-Joy to mainstream fame, meaning the show won’t be forgotten about for a while. Beltik is the state champion chess player who loses to Elizabeth (Taylor-Joy), only to become one of her biggest supporters.
It’s maybe Melling’s most complete character. He is uptight and full of himself at the beginning of the series, but slowly thaws as he experiences Elizabeth’s true skills. He’s charming and sweet as he tries to court Elizabeth, and appropriately distraught when he realizes he can never have her. The show doesn’t work nearly as well withoutHarry Melling, and he makes sure to take advantage of every moment of screen time.
