Harry Potter Franchise a Showcase for Actors with Accents

The Harry Potter franchise is proving to be an ideal vehicle for the advertisement of actors with accents. There is a reason, of course, that so many talented pros find their way into the Harry Potter franchise. The first two films had to be held up on its foundation by such big time actors as Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith. After all, the most important parts in the first film were played by relatively inexperienced and completely unknown kids.

It showed. Here we are in the fourth film and Daniel Radcliffe is still trying to turn Harry Potter into an interesting character in his own right. Rupert Grint meanwhile has blossomed into a young comedic actor with terrific timing. Tom Felton has gotten stuck playing a stock villain in the role of Draco, who might as well be twirling a Snidely Whiplash mustache with every line; the fact that Draco is still enjoyable is a testament to his young talent.

But the true miracle of the kid actors has to be Emma Watson who has taken Hermione from one of the most annoying characters in recent years in the first two films and done something amazing in the last two. She has actually managed to make Miss Granger almost as interesting as the adult characters who surround the whiz kids.

But it is the adult actors in the Harry Potter franchise that really makes these movies stand out. I'm not a fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I think the only thing those movies are good for are curing insomnia. And when I think of the talent wasted in those films, it's appalling. The Harry Potter movies, on the other hand, give plum parts to plum actors and these guys rarely disappoint.

The most recent additions are Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Richardson. Although Hollywood has tried to turn Fiennes into a romantic lead, it's obvious that this man's talent lies in finding his dark side. While his title role in The English Patient isn't necessarily a villain, that guy has enough problems going to make it impossible to declare him a hero. Clearly, Fiennes is the guy who should have played Anakin Skywalker in the prequel had it been made on the heels of the first trilogy.