In the movies of Harry Potter, Jason Isaacs plays the character Lucius Malfoy. However, this is not the only role the actor has taken on.
Who plays Lucius Malfoy? In the role of Draco Malfoy’s father, the actor Jason Isaacs could be seen in the film adaptations of Harry Potter.
He made his first appearance in “The Chamber of Secrets.” Even then, he seemed highly sinister and untrustworthy – which was partly due to his arrogant demeanor and way of speaking.
In Jason Isaacs’ voice, there was always something cold during his portrayal of Lucius Malfoy. One could not imagine that he could be warm as a family man and husband.
The creative minds behind the films likely thought similarly. For during the time of “The Chamber of Secrets,” Isaacs was spontaneously engaged for a second role. However, this was never widely communicated, which is why only a few knew about it at release.
A Voice in the Wall
Whom else did Isaacs play? PLAYING a villain was probably not enough, so the actor took on yet another, even more horrific role. We are talking about the Basilisk, the great monster from “The Chamber of Secrets,” which is one of the most dangerous creatures in Harry Potter.
While the giant snake is only seen in full glory at the end of the film, Harry keeps hearing its voice throughout the school year. In some scenes, he walks alone through the corridors of Hogwarts at night and hears a sinister hissing in the walls.
It was exactly this “voice” that Jason Isaacs took on. While he was doing some additional recordings as Lucius Malfoy during the post-production of “The Chamber of Secrets” in the sound studio, the people in charge liked what the actor could do with his voice. In a conversation with Sky Cinema, Isaacs explains:
I was in there (in the studio) and was probably goofing around at the microphone and making funny voices while everything was being prepared. And Chris Columbus (director of Harry Potter 2) said: “You are good with voices and accents. How about a snake?” And I said: “I don’t know any snakes. I don’t know what their voice sounds like.” Chris replied: “No, I mean the Basilisk.”
Jason Isaacs via Sky Cinema
In the studio, Isaacs’ voice was experimented with. It was altered in pitch and manipulated with effects. Thus, the actor managed to appear twice in the same film.
The result is impressive: The scenes where the Basilisk is heard in the walls are among the eeriest in the 2nd film. Even as Lucius Malfoy, Jason Isaacs made a wonderfully fearsome figure and rightly finds himself in the following list on MeinMMO: Harry Potter: The 10 most dangerous Death Eaters in the Power Ranking
