The Harry Potter Star Who Almost Played Bellatrix Lestrange Before Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter’s Bellatrix Lestrange ranks among the best villains in the “Harry Potter” franchise (or worst, depending on how you judge evil characters). She’s one of Lord Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) most loyal disciples, and she’s arguably even more sadistic than He Who Must Not Be Named, which is evident by the way in which she gleefully torments her victims. These days, it’s difficult to imagine anyone other than Carter in the role of Bellatrix. Be that as it may, another actor was initially cast as the wicked Death Eater.

According to a 2005 report from The Mirror, the late Helen McCrory was originally set to play Bellatrix in “Harry Potter and the Order and the Phoenix.” However, she had to be recast shortly after getting the part. The reason? McCrory had become pregnant (as Newsround revealed while reporting on the re-casting in 2006), which would have been noticeable during some of the film’s more action-packed scenes featuring Bellatrix.

This didn’t mark the end of McCrory’s run in the franchise, though. She was subsequently cast as Narcissa Malfoy — Bellatrix’s sister — in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and reprised the role in the “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” movies. Carter, meanwhile, was more than happy to replace her co-star as soon as the opportunity arose.

After learning that Helen McCrory was unavailable, Helena Bonham Carter was more than ready to step into the role of Bellatrix Lestrange. In a 2010 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” star revealed that she was already a fan of the “Harry Potter” universe and anything related to witches. So, in a way, playing Bellatrix was a dream come true. What’s more, Carter’s input helped turn her character into the memorable evildoer everyone loves to loathe. As Carter put it:

“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.”

That said, Carter was perhaps too nasty for one of her co-stars. During the filming of a torture scene, she accidentally injured Neville Longbottom actor Matthew Lewis, causing him to bleed internally. While that no doubt sucked for Lewis, one can’t fault Carter’s tenacity and commitment to the role.