Harry Potter Stars Reveal Their Inspirations

Stars of the massive Harry Potter films have revealed that Forrest Gump, Robin Hood, The Little Princess, The Wizard of Oz and Bugsy Malone are among the film influences which set them on their journey to becoming actors.

The cast members revealed their inspirations to FILMCLUB, the nationwide after-school initiative, as part of its new Film Journeys campaign.

Proving that film can be both enjoyable and a source of inspiration, James Phelps, who plays Fred Weasely commented: “I would say the film that made me most interested in films and acting in films when I was growing up was 'Forrest Gump'.  It has always been my favourite film for many reasons; there is no bad guy and the story went into real events in history. Plus Tom Hanks is a great actor, which makes it all so believable.”

Tom Felton spoke of his film journey to becoming bad-boy Draco Malfoy, revealing: “There are a few films that have definitely influenced me on my journey to becoming an actor. I remember as a kid loving Robin Hood and all the James Bond movies were a big inspiration to me as a child.  Those were some of the films that I thought,  “That would be a very cool job to do”. So, I’m very lucky enough to be here.”

Jason Isaacs, who plays Draco’s father, Lucious Malfoy revealed an MGM classic to be his source of inspiration; “A film that changed my life and has throughout my life is The Wizard of Oz.  I first saw it when I was a little kid…on a giant screen and it was overwhelming – it was awash with colours and music and extraordinary looking people… One of the great things about the film is that it makes you think about films.”

Award-winning actress Imelda Staunton, who has appeared in several Harry Potter outings as well as a number of classic British films and TV programmes cited another actress as her influence;  “When I was a kid, I watched a lot of black and white films, and I was very influenced by an actress called Bette Davis, who wasn’t particularly attractive, but really, really good.  A film I really liked was All About Eve.

Bonnie Wright chose family drama A Little Princess; “The film that changed my life was ‘A Little Princess’, which I remember watching when I was a little girl and it made me really believe that inside every girl that there is a little princess.”

Actress Jessica Hynes, who voiced Mafalda Hopkirk in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix said: “I’m a big fan of Bugsy Malone. It’s a classic. Jodie Foster as Tallulah is jaw-droppingly brilliant.  That was one of the first moments when I thought I just want to do that so much.”

Toby Jones who plays Dobby the House Elf in the hit series said, “Films that inspired my journey within the industry include Whistle Down the Wind and Dougal and The Blue Cat – I loved these as a child.  I particularly liked the original Willy Wonka with Gene Wilder. He was fantastically charismatic!”

FILMCLUB is a network of after-school clubs that offers children free weekly access to thousands of classic and popular films, as well as film industry news, events and talent. 4,650* schools across the UK are currently signed up to the initiative with over 125,000 members watching films each week.

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