NEW YORK -- Oscar nominee Imelda
Staunton wasn't exactly flattered when a friend first suggested
she'd be perfect for the part of Harry Potter's first female
nemesis, Dolores Umbridge.
"I read the book, and Umbridge is described as a short, ugly,
toadlike woman," Staunton told Newsweek. "I thought, 'Oh, thanks
very much.'"
But Staunton ended up playing the villainess as an "apple-cheeked
schoolmarm -- drenched in pink angora," the magazine says. In
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth movie based
on the J.K. Rowling series, Umbridge is a new teacher at Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry bent on restricting free
thought.
"There can't be any mess or individuality," Staunton said. "But, of
course, that leads to brainwashed people."
Staunton, who was nominated for a best-actress Academy Award for
playing Vera Drake in the eponymous 2004 movie, says the Potter
role is no joke.
"You may think that it's just a bunch of hand-waving, but there's a
lot of proper acting going on," she said.
Emma Watson, who plays Hermoine, has decided to continue that
acting in the final two films, Newsweek said.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is to be released July
13.