“You’ll Amount to Nothing, Isaacs”: Jason Isaacs Opens Up About His Inspiration Behind Lucius Malfoy

We all know Jason Isaacs as the man behind everyone’s favorite love-to-hate villain, Lucius Malfoy. Recently, however, fans were told by Isaacs at A Celebration of Harry Potter during a panel with the actor exactly where he drew his inspiration from in bringing the sneering character to life, and People Magazine has all the details.

It was a combination of a teacher from drama school who would constantly whisper in this very high voice, ‘You’ll amount to nothing, Isaacs. You will never work,’ and this British art critic, Brian Sewell.

Isaacs also surprised many by stating he initially auditioned for a completely different role, the self-proclaimed master of Memory Charms and “celebrated” author of Magical Me, Gilderoy Lockheart.

Isaacs then went on to talk about the elder Malfoy’s political ideologies, as well as their similarities to modern-day politicians.

There is a very recognizable racist and supremacist [in Lucius Malfoy], acting out of fear and thinking that the past was a better time…and scared of Muggles and scared of the future because it feels like his place was some time ago, when he was part of the super-elite who could look down on the rest of the world. You don’t need to look too far to find many politicians standing on those platforms. Those issues are never more relevant than today, [but] they are dealt with in this kind of magical world.

Isaacs was joined on the panel by Warwick Davis (who played Professor Flitwick and Griphook), Matthew Lewis, and Tom Felton.

Felton offered some positive notes to the audience regarding the heart of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world and how it can help in the Muggle world.

It’s a very powerful and strong message, and going back to the community of it, it has that aspect where it can bring millions of people who might feel disengaged with what’s happening in the rest the world, it gives them something that feels real. It feels like something worth fighting for and worth getting together and campaigning for. Off the back of that, just so much positivity can happen.

What do you think of Isaacs’ portrayal of Lucius Malfoy? Do you think comparisons can be drawn to modern-day politics?