Whatever Happened to ‘Harry Potter’ Actor Harry Melling?
"Thirty-six! But last year, last year I had 37!" With a single hissy fit, Harry Melling introduced fans around the world to Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter's dreadful cousin, in the 2001 big-screen adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Over the next decade, Melling grew up on screen, terrorizing Daniel Radcliffe's Boy Who Lived across Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and getting attacked by a Dementor in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — all before saying goodbye in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.
Now that HBO Max has announced the cast will be coming together on New Year's Day to celebrate Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, we got to wondering what Melling's been up to since his days as Dudley Dursley. Read on to find out...
His First Film Role
Melling's memorable turn as dear old Dudders was his very first film role, and it launched the young actor's career, which extends all the way to the current day. In fact, just one day after the seventh Harry Potter movie premiered in the U.K. and U.S., he guest starred in a Season 3 episode of the BBC One fantasy series Merlin, and spent the first half of the decade making appearances on the likes of fellow BBC fare Just William and Gallow's Law.
Smaller Roles and Bit Parts
The actor's next film role, however, didn't come until 2016, when he landed a small part in The Lost City of Z alongside Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller and Tom Holland. Since then, he's also appeared in Netflix's The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, British biopic The Keeper, Charlize Theron's 2020 superhero film The Old Guard and more, as well as numerous stints on stage throughout London.
High-Profile Projects and Critical Darlings
More recently, Melling has taken on a number of high-profile projects, from a guest appearance in His Dark Materials with Lin-Manuel Miranda to reuniting with Holland and Pattinson for Netlix's 2020 psychological thriller The Devil All The Time.
However, it's an Emmy-winning sensation that Melling is most recognized for by Muggles these days.
Last year he starred as Harry Beltik, a friend and chess competitor of Anya Taylor-Joy's Beth Harmon in the Netflix smash The Queen's Gambit. While showrunner Scott Frank recently shot down any hope for a second season of the critically-acclaimed chess drama, Melling should be just fine. After all, he has two films wrapped and in post-production at the moment.
Expect Joel Coen's The Tragedy of MacBeth to hit select theaters on Christmas Day before streaming on Apple TV+ in January. Meanwhile, '50s-set greaser gang drama Please Baby Please will likely premiere sometime next year.