Interview with Dolores Umbridge
Great interview in Parade magazine with actress Imelda Staunton, who plays Dolores Umbridge:
PARADE.COM: So much for your serious acting career.
IMELDA STAUNTON: [Big laugh] Down the drain now, do you think? Actually, this part was a great challenge. It wasn’t a dawdle, to keep her very real.
P: She reminds me of that perfect little girl who is really evil.
IS: I don’t think her own childhood was particularly happy. She’s the sort of person who should never be given power, and of course, she’s given it and abuses it terribly. She’s unusual and cruel which makes it a great role. If you pay attention you’ll notice that she’s a fashion icon. Pink is going to catch on now.
P: What did you expect from Daniel Radcliffe in such a demanding movie?
IS: I expected the best. I worked with Daniel before he did Harry Potter. I did David Copperfield with Daniel for the BBC when he was 10. (Funny, but Maggie Smith was in that, too.) Then I get to torture him. I loved working with him when he was 10, and I loved working with him now. Just to see the development in him is great.
P: How would you describe the difference?
IS: He was a little boy. Now he’s a young man, and he has gained so much experience working with great scripts, great actors–up until me! What an apprenticeship. I think he’s responded remarkably well to everything.
P: I have to know if you ever felt guilty putting poor Daniel as Harry through all that torture?
IS: It was a difficult scene to do. An uncomfortable place. To be the sort of person who could do that to someone. Not nice. Plus, it’s a woman doing it. I think that makes it more cruel.
P: Were there hugs after the scenes. Did you apologize?
IS: He can handle it! If he can’t take that what can he take? Don’t talk about me, talk about Voldemort. He’s got a lot more horrors to face than Umbridge.
P: You’ve been around a lot of show-business people. Daniel’s one of the most famous kids in the world. Did you have fears about what that attention can do to a young person?
IS: I didn’t. Because he’s got very grounding parents. And the producers of Harry Potter care about him a great deal. The kids all have people around them to make sure that they stay level-headed. Because there’s madness around all of this. The important thing is to do this job well and the rest of it is their lives, private lives.
P: The three of them have matured. But I know that there are jokes and pranks and giggles. Aren’t they still kids?
IS: Most actors are just extending their childhood. Our job is about dressing up and telling stories, so a lot of actors are childlike. It keeps the vitality on the set to have young people. They are so enthusiastic.
P: There’s real pressure around your role. Every kid wants to know, “How is Umbridge? What’s the name of that actress who plays her? Is she like that character?”
IS: I’m glad there’s some mystery, and they can’t wait to see her. You tell anyone who asks that I’m exactly like that woman. (No better not, I’m not like her). Just remember she’s not a villain at all, not in her head. She’s doing the best for this place, Hogwarts. She has no scruples, but she has a great belief that she is the one person who can save all of these children.
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