Harry Melling (actor) explained

Harry Melling
Birth Name:Harry Edward Melling
Birth Date:17 March 1989
Birth Place:London, England
Alma Mater:London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation:Actor
Years Active:2000–present
Relatives:Patrick Troughton (grandfather)[1]
Known For:Dudley Dursley in Harry Potter

Harry Edward Melling (born 17 March 1989) is an English actor known for playing Dudley Dursley in five Harry Potter films and Harry Beltik in The Queen's Gambit (2020). His grandfather was actor Patrick Troughton.[1]

Early life

Harry Edward Melling was born on 17 March[2] [3] 1989 in London, England.[4] [5] He studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[3] [6]

Career

In his early career, Melling performed in stage productions of The Provoked Wife, King John, Antigone, and Plenty. He appeared in five of the Harry Potter films as Harry Potter's spoiled cousin, Dudley Dursley. He was first cast in the role at age 10, in 1999, and played the character until 2010 and his appearance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.[3]

In 2009, Melling starred in a revival of Mother Courage and Her Children at the Royal National Theatre. He appeared in "The Sorcerer's Shadow", an episode of the BBC television series Merlin, playing a young warlock who intends to use magic to help him win Camelot's legendary tournament. He also played Robert Brown in the BBC television series Just William.[7] In 2009, it was announced that Melling had lost so much weight since his last appearance in Harry Potter that he was now "unrecognisable". The role of Dudley was almost recast for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, but Melling was able to reprise the part by wearing a fat suit. He said of the change, "I can now shed the child actor thing, like the fat, and start a new career, because no one sees me as Dudley."[8]

In 2014, Melling made his playwriting debut at HighTide Festival with his one-man show Peddling.[9]

In 2018, Melling starred alongside Liam Neeson in the Coen brothers' Western The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.[6] [10] Of Melling's performance, New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane wrote:

[I] came away haunted by a scattering of sights and sounds—above all, by the recitations of the limbless man, which thrum with genuine yearning. He is beautifully played, with a little help from C.G.I., by Harry Melling, who was once the odious Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films. Funny how people grow up.[11]

In 2020, Melling played evangelical preacher Roy Laferty in the Netflix thriller The Devil All The Time. That same year, he appeared in the Netflix series drama The Queen's Gambit as Harry Beltik, a chess player, friend, and competitor of Beth's in Kentucky.[6]

Melling appeared in a Coen brothers film a second time as Malcolm in The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021).[6]

In 2022, he had a starring role as a young Edgar Allan Poe in the film The Pale Blue Eye.[6] [10] [12] [13]

In May 2024, it was announced that Melling would be starring alongside Alexander Skarsgard in Pillion, a romantic comedy produced by Element Pictures.[14]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2010 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
2016 The Lost City of Z William Barclay
2017 The Current War Benjamin Vale
2018 The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Harrison Segment: "Meal Ticket"
The Keeper Sergeant Smythe
2019 Waiting for the Barbarians Garrison Soldier 4
2020 The Old Guard Steven Merrick
Say Your Prayers Tim
The Devil All the Time Roy Laferty
2021 The Tragedy of Macbeth
2022 Please Baby Please Arthur
The Pale Blue Eye
2023 Shoshana Geoffrey J. Morton
2024 Harvest Post-production

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2005Friends and CrocodilesYoung OliverTelevision film
2010MerlinGilliEpisode: "The Sorcerer's Shadow"
Just WilliamRobert Brown4 episodes
2011Garrow's LawGeorge Pinnock3 episodes
2013Joe MistryJoeTelevision film
2016The MusketeersBastienEpisode: "Fool's Gold"
2019The War of the WorldsArtillerymanMiniseries, 2 episodes
His Dark MaterialsSysselmanEpisode: "Armour"
2020The Queen's GambitHarry BeltikMiniseries, 4 episodes
2024Thomas WriothesleyPost-production

Stage

YearTitleRoleVenue
2009 Mother Courage and her Children Swiss Cheese Royal National Theatre
2010 Bedroom, Dens and Other Forms of Magic Theatre503
Women Beware Women Young Ward Royal National Theatre
2011 The School for Scandal Sir Benjamin Backbite Barbican Centre
When Did You Last See My Mother? Ian Trafalgar Studios
2012 I Am a Camera Southwark Playhouse
2013 Smack Family Robinson Sean Robinson Rose Theatre, Kingston
The Hothouse Lamb Trafalgar Studios
King Lear Fool Minerva Theatre, Chichester
2014 King Lear Fool Brooklyn Academy of Music
peddling Boy HighTide Festival
The Angry Brigade Morris
Commander
Prophet
Snitch
Manager
Jim
Theatre Royal, Plymouth
Oxford Playhouse
Warwick Arts Centre
Watford Palace Theatre
2016 Hand to God Jason/Tyrone Vaudeville Theatre, London
King Lear Edgar The Old Vic
2017 Jam Kane Finborough Theatre

Video game

Notes and References

  1. News: Jardine. Cassandra. Harry Potter star: My life after Dudley Dursley. subscription. live. The Telegraph. 6 October 2009. 10 February 2022. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/harry-potter/6262567/Harry-Potter-star-My-life-after-Dudley-Dursley.html. 12 January 2022.
  2. Web site: Scull, Eric. Harry Melling Shares His Thoughts with MuggleNet on the Black Comedy 'Smack Family Robinson'. MuggleNet. en. live. 22 March 2013. 25 April 2022. December 17, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141217091348/https://www.mugglenet.com/2013/03/harry-melling-shares-his-thoughts-with-mugglenet-on-the-black-comedy-smack-family-robinson-in-an-exclusive-interview.
  3. Web site: Harry Melling: 'It feels like the Dudley Dursley narrative is changing'. 12 January 2023 . NME. 22 January 2023.
  4. Web site: Harry Melling. en-US. live. Rotten Tomatoes. January 13, 2023. 3 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230103212749/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/harry_melling.
  5. News: Harry Melling. Times of India. en. live. January 13, 2023. 15 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221015055357/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Harry-Melling.
  6. Web site: 'People want to hold onto their experiences of Harry Potter': Harry Melling on the wizarding franchise, the Coen bros and The Pale Blue Eye. The Independent. 31 December 2022 . 22 January 2023.
  7. Web site: Just William (2010) . British Comedy Guide . 22 January 2023.
  8. News: Jardine. Cassandra. Harry Potter star: My life after Dudley Dursley. The Telegraph. 6 October 2009.
  9. News: Collins-Hughes. Laura. New York Times. A Lost Boy, Trying to Find His Way. 2 May 2014. 22 December 2020.
  10. Web site: The Haunting of Harry Melling . 6 January 2023 . Vanity Fair . 22 January 2023.
  11. The Fractious, Frustrating Thrills of 'Widows' [Desperate Measures] ]. Lane . Anthony . November 19, 2018 . The New Yorker . 2018-11-24. en-US.
  12. Web site: 'The Pale Blue Eye' Review: Christian Bale Is a Detective Who Teams Up with Edgar Allan Poe in Scott Cooper's Gloomfest Murder Mystery. Variety. 22 December 2022 . 22 January 2023.
  13. Web site: The Pale Blue Eye review. The Independent. 22 December 2022 . 22 January 2023.
  14. Web site: Ritman . Alex . Harry Melling to Play Alexander Skarsgard’s Submissive in Kinky Queer Romance ‘Pillion’ From Element Pictures, Cornerstone Launching in Cannes . Variety . 11 May 2024 . 8 May 2024.