Harry Melling, who played Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films, has revealed he never wanted to be 'shackled' to the franchise. The actor, now 35, appeared in five of the eight films from 2001 onwards, but has since pursued a varied career including roles in The Queen's Gambit and the new BDSM film Pillion.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Melling said: 'Harry Potter is this huge, huge franchise, and I never wanted to be in any way shackled to it. I always wanted to have a really big career and try lots of different things.' He compared the experience to writing an article at age 10 that becomes your defining work, adding: 'It is a really interesting relationship you enter when dealing with something as huge as Potter.'
Melling also shared his early passion for theatre, stating: 'Even when I was doing Harry Potter, I was obsessed with theatre. Theatre was my main love in a strange way. Even as a 10-year-old, I knew that I wanted to learn how to speak Shakespeare properly and to be a stage actor.' He credited the senior actors in the Harry Potter films as inspirations for his theatrical ambitions.
His latest film, Pillion, directed by British filmmaker Harry Lighton, explores a BDSM relationship between a biker (Alexander Skarsgård) and a parking attendant (Melling). The film has been described by Metro's Tori Brazier as 'delightfully smutty and obscene', featuring explicit content such as naked wrestling and genital piercings. Skarsgård revealed that his father, Stellan, enjoyed the film and offered 'no notes'.
