In deference to those who’d like to remain spoiler free, let’s just say Helena Bonham Carter certainly leaves her mark as the diabolically dark witch Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1. But the actress, who already terrorized young audiences this year as the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland, wasn’t originally supposed to play Bellatrix. Helen McCrory (The Queen) originally had the part for 2007′s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but had to bow out after she got pregnant. “So they came to me,” says Bonham Carter. “And I loved it. I love magic, I love witches, I love the whole [Harry Potter] world. I was all too happy to play a witch.” (McCrory was eventually cast as Bellatrix’s sister Narcissa Malfoy for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and the two Deathly Hallows films.)
So how did Bonham Carter bring one of Harry Potter’s biggest enemies on screen? When she first showed up on set for the fifth Harry Potter film, “There wasn’t a huge amount on the page originally,” says the actress, 44. “I think I probably made her a bit more insane and unhinged then she was meant to be. I wanted to be conspicuous. So the [rotten] teeth was my idea, because she had been in prison so long. I wanted her to be quite savage. And I wanted that corset. It was sort of an Amazon thing. Bellatrix means a warrior. I wanted her to be sexy and revolting at the same time. At one point she might have been attractive, but no longer.” Most important of all: Bellatrix’s dense thatch of hair. “Here’s the thing: If you have messy hair, you don’t have to worry all the time about making it all perfect. It was a lot to do with keeping [all the hair and makeup people] away.” 
Of course, playing one of Voldemort’s most eager minions wasn’t just about the look; you also had to get the magic right. “We went to wand school for about three weeks,” Bonham Carter says of herself and her fellow Death Eaters. “We took it very very seriously. I actually got a wand blister on the [middle] finger. They kind of had different names for all the different moves, Latin ones. It was sort of based on fencing. You also always have to have an intention behind the spell. You just feel totally emasculated on set when you’re waving a bit a wood around and nothing’s coming from it. It’s very difficult to remember that you’ve actually got the intention to kill behind it. It’s not all fun and laughs; it’s actually quite hard work.” So when Bonham Carter got to cast a spell as Bellatrix actually setting Hagrid’s hut ablaze in The Half-Blood Prince, the chance to get to see the fruits of her magical labor with her own eyes was, according to Bonham Carter, quite like a rather popular iPhone game about a pack of furious fowls. “I actually pointed my wand and it blew up! The power! The power was just like Angry Birds, but big [as] life.” Naturally.
For more on the Harry Potter Villains, including Voldemort, Severus Snape, and Lucius Malfoy, pick up this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly.
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I love her! I think it worked out the way it was meant to be cuz I can’t imagine anyone else playing Bellatrix but Carter.
Bellatrix is my favorite character, partly because of Helena Bonham Carter. She is one of the most magnificent actresses and she perfectly brought to life how I thought Bellatrix would be like. For that, I love her.
I know her and Alan Rickman play their characters to a tee and really bring them off the page. Actually the whole cast does a wonderful job.But there are some who stand out more than others.
She is fantastic in this movie!
She is Bellatrix, so sadic and crazy. Perfect. I can’t wait to watch her fight with Molly in the final movie.
**IF** that is included….
Come on, Sam, you dont think they’d really cut that out??
“Not my daughter you bitch!” is one of the classic HP lines!
She is so charming! Love her!
She is perfect as Bellatrix. I can’t imagine the other chick playing this role. She’s fine as Narcissa but doesn’t seem strong or crazy enough to play Bellatrix. Helena Bonham Carter is who you think of when you want bizarre and crazy.
NOBODY does bizarre and crazy like Helena Bonham Carter. I can hardly wait for the final showdown between Bellatrix and Mum Weasley. I want to see Julie Walters as Molly W. throwdown some serious Mama Weasley Bear business!
You totally had me going until you threw in the Palin reference, with the ‘Mama Weasley Bear’ line. Hopefully, that will get out of my head by the time Part 2 comes out in July.
seriously Stevex not everyone thinks of she-who-must-never-be-named when someone says “Mama Bear.” she didn’t invent the two words! get real! I completely agree with ya badstroller.
I died of laughter when I got to “She-who-must-never-be-named.”
LOL!!! She-who-must-NEVER-be-named! And HBC not just plays crazy, she plays STRONG, POWERFUL CRAZY. She totally pulls off the “strong evil witch” character.
The “Mama…Bear” was meant to be punny and ironic because, seriously, She-Whose-Name-Should-Never-Ever-Be-Mentioned makes me gag. Too bad I can’t toss a “Crucio” her way (a totally “forgiveable” curse, in this case).
Crucio is too nice. AK’ing her would be more like it.(Do both) And yes in her case they all would be forgivable
Oh, to be able to toss those “Crucio” curses at reality stars.. politicians .. the lessons … the power, stronger than voting.. (dreamy sigh)
I LOVE Helena as Bellatrix. She kicked up her game in this one. Believe it or not she is even more nuts. Every Mother is a Mama Bear ” She-Who-must-not-be-named” didnt invent it. She probably likes to think she did. But whatever.
MOLLY’S now infamous line had better be in Part 2. I cant imagine why it wouldnt.
I have to be the voice of dissent here- I think her portrayal of Bellatrix is so over the top at times…That is one problem I have w/ certain actors in this series; sometimes they take the eccentricities too far…Another example for HP7 was Xenophilius throwing himself at the door in the scene at Luna’s house, did not come across as genuine to me…
She is so sexy, even as Bellatrix. Amazing actress, and seems like the coolest woman.
I agree.Beautiful and insane at the same time!
I don’t think HBC’s Bellatrix is anything like the book’s and that has always really bothered me.
I like her as an actress, generally. But in HP…no. She’s distracting and annoying.
I love Helena Bonham Carter’s portrayal of Bellatrix. She’s is so delightfully evil. She’s so much fun to watch in these movies. And that cackle is awesome! Great actress.
Helena Bonham Carter does everything well … but few do “insane” better than she does. She’s certainly been one of the best parts of these movies.
I would love her to win an Oscar for The King’s Speech.
Severus Snape is not a villian, who wrote the article in EW? I think all the casting has been spot on and I commend the people responsible.
We should be used to it, they tend to mess up facts BUT Shhh!( not supposed to tell). I know I have slipped that before. Hopefully you all on here have read the books.
Not that I’d give up an interview with Alan Rickman about the character, though. I’d love to read that. Hopefully, HE made it clear to EW that he is not playing a villain. Or, is that still too much of SPOILER ALERT material?
They’re talking about the movies right now, so technically Snape should be looked at as a villain at this point.
Heck, by the end of the series, Lucius isn’t so much a villain anymore either. He’s just pathetically trapped and being punished for his “misdeeds” by Voldemort. Or, punished for his real misdeeds by karma.
I like Bonham Carter as Bellatrix. Think she is wonderfully crazy. Not quite like the book, but still really fun.
I think the casting has been perfect for the movies. Love Ralph Fiennes. Love Helena Bonham Carter. Love Jason Isaacs. Love Alan Rickman.
And why did you not include Imelda Staunton in these interviews? She is playing much more of a villain than Alan Rickman.