'Harry Potter': She's Unpretty in Pink
Newsweek
April 16, 2007 issue - The first female villain hits Hogwarts in
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Imelda Staunton,
Oscar-nominated for "Vera Drake," plays Dolores Umbridge, the new
Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. A year before Staunton got
the part, a friend suggested she would be perfect for it. "I read
the book, and Umbridge is described as a short, ugly, toadlike
woman," Staunton says. "I thought, 'Oh, thanks very much'."
Staunton plays her as an apple-cheeked schoolmarmdrenched in pink
angorawho is restricting freedoms (and free thought) to "protect"
the students. "There can't be any mess or any individuality,"
Staunton says. "But, of course, that leads to brainwashed
people."
With this film, Staunton joins a long list of British luminaries
who have starred in the "Potter" films, including Dame Maggie
Smith, Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh. "Every great British
actor is either in the movies or desperate to get into them," says
Jason Isaacs, who plays Lucius Malfoy. "It's a real badge of
honor." The set can feel like a game of six degrees of separation.
"You either know somebody, or you know somebody who slept with
them," Isaacs says. Still, the roles are no joke. "You may think
that it's just a bunch of wand-waving, but there's a lot of proper
acting going on," Staunton says. Emma Watson, who plays Hermione,
has decided to continue that proper acting in the final two films.
She told NEWSWEEK last fall that she was unsure she would stay past
"Phoenix." "She's a very considered young lady trying to figure out
what the next three years of her life are going to be," says
producer David Heyman. "Clearly, we wanted her back, but it was
important that she make this decision for herself without any undue
pressure." There was enough pressure already.
Sean Smith
