Which Tom Riddle do you prefer?

Do you like the Tom Riddle from COS or the one in HBP in the memories with Slughorn? For me, I like the one from COS, but the Riddle from HBP was a creepier. That's my opinion.

I liked the one from COS better. He seemed more Tom Riddle-ish to me. The Riddle from HBP was creepy though.

COS, The voice off the one in HBP was so creepy..it made me cringe listening to it...it went right through me...and i think the HBP one was to proper, and spoke too clearly..

do you get what I mean?

the Tom in CoS was HOT! ok, i know i shouldn't think that about the future destroyer of the WW, but in the series, it's always mentioned how handsome Voldemort was, so i've always imagined that about him.

I liked Christian Coulson (CoS) more. He gave a great performance and felt really right for the part. Frank Dillane (HBP) was creepy and played the part well, but made less of an impact as a young Voldemort imo :)

The Tom Riddle in CoS was pretty good looking like Riddle supposed to be, and the older Tom Riddle in HBP was creepy enough, but I have to say that I liked the younger Tom Riddle in HBP the best. He was portrayed perfectly! I love how he seemed to keep to himself and be very sneaky in his misdeeds. I really got that vibe from him!

I like Tom Riddle's appearance better in CoS, but I liked the acting so much more in HBP.

I liked the first Tom Riddle better. But the second one did a very nice job acting wise. He was really creepy and evil :scared:. It really foreshadowed what he was to become. Someone without a soul. Truly evil.

COS- He was more how I imagined him. Plus, he was good-looking.. and the HBP one reminded me of my cousin!! :lol:

I liked the cos-riddle, he was so pretty :> But the hbp one, especially 11 year old Riddle, was more how I'd imagined him. And christian coulson/cos-riddle doesn't exactly look like 16, does he? XD

Erm, I don't remember Tom from HBP. :hmm: Well, the first one that comes to mind is the one from COS, but I can't say for sure. :huh:

Mmmmm, let's say that Frank Dillane was a convincing young Voldemort, but I would date Coulson anyway, hands down.

I definitely liked the Riddle from COS better in the appearance department. The books always describe how good looking he was, and I thought Coulson fit that role. As far as acting goes however, the HBP Riddle was much better. He was INCREDIBLY creepy, and I could see the older Voldemort within him. That streak of evil that made him inhuman was already evident, and yet he was so well spoken and charming to others when he needed something.

I liked the one in HBP much more than CoS.

Frank Dillane, by far. Excellent acting, and looked the age of the character (unlike Christian Coulson).

^ Agree. Christian Coulson was too old for the role, and the acting wasn't appropriate to the character. HBP versions were far, far better in portraying Voldemort.

Frank was great. He looked exactly like the grown-up version of Hero-Fiennes. Wonderful casting, honestly! :) I'm surprised. Frank has the evil look in his eye (and face) that Tom always had.

I liked the Riddle from HBP better... he was so suave in such a creepy way, you know? Exactly how I imagined Tom Riddle to be. In CoS, he was... I don't know, too "obviously insane"? Yes, I know that Voldemort is completely mental, but he usually keeps a very calm persona.

Christian Coulson was too old for the role, and the acting wasn't appropriate to the character. HBP versions were far, far better in portraying Voldemort.

I don't think the "new" Tom Riddle was appropriate to the character either. Sure, he was super creepy, but let's not forget that teenage Tom Riddle was supposed to be handsome, charming and charismatic. He charmed the socks off most of his teachers (with the exception of Dumbledore) and kids at the school admired and worshipped him. If I had been a student at Hogwarts during Tom Riddle's time, I would have never been charmed by Creepy McCreeperton. CoS Tom Riddle would have fit that image much better, although I have to say the acting would probably not have matched up.

Hands down the youngest won - he's a great little actor. I liked the older one also tho. The middle one didn't have a very large role tho, I don't think.

Personally I liked the one in CoS better. He looked really good and I thought that was an important characteristic of young Tom Riddle.
But that said I liked both their acting in CoS and HBP respectively. I though in CoS Tom Riddle did appear to be like Percy Weasley in the flashback and was pure evil in the last scene. The Tom Riddle in HBP was the sort of fellow who knew how to win the confidences of others, was capable of getting what he wanted done and that was how he had to be in that scene.

I think it's interesting how most of Christian Coulson's fans are girls. =\

Don't forget that Coulson was poorly directed by Columbus, while Dillane was directed by Yates.
Yates has his flaws, but he's a great director of actors and acting, that's why many people here say 'Coulson fitted my personal image, but Dillane was better'

I think it's interesting how most of Christian Coulson's fans are girls. =\

Well, he is visually pleasing, you know...

Hands down the youngest won - he's a great little actor. I liked the older one also tho. The middle one didn't have a very large role tho, I don't think.

I somehow like to think that it's because he is Ralph Fienne's nephew.

Anyways, I prefer the CoS Tom Riddle. The one in HBP is a little too goody goody student but still creepy type (maybe.. it's his hairdo :whistle:), which imo doesn't fit how Voldemort was described; charming, good-looking etc

I don't remember the other Tom Riddle well but the one in HBP seem to fit the role perfectly. So creepy.

HBP definitely. Dillane really impressed me. He maintained control over his emotions (a trait I've always felt Voldemort possessed as a student), whereas Coulson appeared a little more ragged, like his collected persona was crumbling.

Also, Dillane bares greater similarity to Adult Voldie. In fact, the casting director really excelled in HBP; from Hero to Dillane to Fiennes, very believable progression.

The older one in HBP. I really loved his acting, and his face and voice when he asked about Horcruxes was amazing.

I prefer Hero. He's soo cute. And creepy at the same time.

Dillane was just weird and he kind of looked like a girl to me. And the way he was speaking was just extremely weird. I hate watching that part of the movie because I cringe at the waay he is speaking.

Coulson I didn't mind but he looked a little too old.

Ralph Fiennes is the second best in my opinion.

I seem to be among the minority here, but I much preferred the Riddle from HBP. I thought he was handsome in a creepy way.

And the way he was speaking was just extremely weird. I hate watching that part of the movie because I cringe at the waay he is speaking.

But that is the way Voldemort's voice is. Unusual. In COS book memory Riddle is described as having a "high and cold" voice. Also later Voldemort is described with the same voice. I think that was what you found strange, that his voice was kind of high? I'm not really sure what exactly bothers you about his voice. Maybe if you explained it?

Concerning the point of this thread, I think it was to discuss mainly Coulson Vs. Dillane. A lot of us are adding input on the two Fiennes. While I think that is okay the focus I think is really on who played 16 year old Voldemort better.

I am still very satisfied with Coulson's performance. However, if I had to choose it would be going to Dillane as the best teenage Voldemort.

Coulson had too much of a temper in it. He was too outward, and almost I hate to use the phrase, "extroverted." Meanwhile, Voldemort is anything but a reactive extrovert! Secondly, I think Coulson was given a down-graded script. But then Dillane was giving pretty much everything necessary for the horcrux scene. Dillane was more subtle, and quiet type of energy, which is the facade Voldemort always showed.

And personally, I found Dillane to be hotter than Coulson. :love:

Oh, and I wanted to add that Hero Fiennes performance was also very good. However, the script did not give him all the goods to work with. I wanted to see the impulsive side of Riddle. Where was the orphan who screamed at Dumbledore, commanding, "Tell the truth?" And what about that smile that was almost bestial after finding out he was a wizard? While it wasn't Hero's fault, it did detract from the power the scene could have had. Instead he was flat-lined and seemed too expressionless, lacking of affect.

I like the CoS Riddle more.
Everyone here says that the HBP Riddle(s) is(are) creepier, but in my opinion both of them were not creepy at all. And the HBP Riddles were totally not how I imagine Tom Riddle, the CoS Riddle looks almost exactly like my personal image of Riddle.
The CoS version also acts better in my opinion and is scarier than the HBP Riddles.

I say as many others have said: CoS Riddle is pervfect lookwise, whereas Frank Dillane had better acting, he was more creepy and manipulative than CoS Riddle was, and I think it was more in character. And Hero was also very good, though could have done better with a better script !

Quick Question: Is Hero Fiennes the son of Ralph, who plays Voldy? Anyway, Hero is just an overly cute name for a boy :)

I like the CoS Riddle more.
Everyone here says that the HBP Riddle(s) is(are) creepier, but in my opinion both of them were not creepy at all. And the HBP Riddles were totally not how I imagine Tom Riddle, the CoS Riddle looks almost exactly like my personal image of Riddle.
The CoS version also acts better in my opinion and is scarier than the HBP Riddles.



But you and others merely say this because Coulson was the first Riddle you ever saw! One can argue that is probably the reason you perceive him as better. If Dillane had played Riddle in COS, you would be saying he was better, simply because he came first! You imagine Tom Riddle as Coulson in the role, merely because that was the first time you saw it done!

And also, how can one, not just you in particular, but how can one say that COS Riddle looks exactly like Riddle? What have we to go on? You've never seen anything but Dillane to compare to. We've never seen or never will see a real Tom Riddle.

Furthermore, if anything Dillane should look better for the role. Why? Because the resemblance, as others have pointed out here is much stronger between that of Dillane, Hero and Ralph! Meanwhile, Coulson does not bare this resemblance and therefore, does not look best for the part.

The one from COS looked more what I imaged Tom Riddle would look like (very handsome), but acting-wise, I think the older kid (Dillane?) from HBP did the best job. He was absolutely chilling.

i liked the Cos one much much better. tom riddle in HBP was far too creepy. i have no idea how he would be able to charm any teachers if he was like that with Slughorn. and Cos Riddle looked the part more too and got the acting down like perfectly. He was polite and uncreepy with teachers (except dumbly) and super creepy and awesome in the Chamber.

Personally I liked the one in CoS better. He looked really good and I thought that was an important characteristic of young Tom Riddle.
But that said I liked both their acting in CoS and HBP respectively. I though in CoS Tom Riddle did appear to be like Percy Weasley in the flashback and was pure evil in the last scene. The Tom Riddle in HBP was the sort of fellow who knew how to win the confidences of others, was capable of getting what he wanted done and that was how he had to be in that scene.

in the real world, if Voldy acted like he did in HBP, theteacher would be telling him to get out, give him detention, take points away. You dont ask about Horcruxes while being super creepy, you do it by acting innocently curious and polite and being careful, which Dillane did NOT do

HBP definitely. Dillane really impressed me. He maintained control over his emotions (a trait I've always felt Voldemort possessed as a student), whereas Coulson appeared a little more ragged, like his collected persona was crumbling.

I think that he was perfectly controlled with his teachers but in the Chamber, he portrayed the anger about being beaten by a 1 year old much better

The older one in HBP. I really loved his acting, and his face and voice when he asked about Horcruxes was amazing.
i couldn't even concentrate on how he was vocally because i was so annoyed at how he was smirking so obviously evil lol

I prefer Hero. He's soo cute. And creepy at the same time.
Hero is definitely the best :love:


Ralph Fiennes is the second best in my opinion.
i love ralph :D

But you and others merely say this because Coulson was the first Riddle you ever saw! One can argue that is probably the reason you perceive him as better. If Dillane had played Riddle in COS, you would be saying he was better, simply because he came first! You imagine Tom Riddle as Coulson in the role, merely because that was the first time you saw it done!
being an obsessed voldy fangirl, i actually kind of hoping for an even better Voldy because i still didn't think Coulson was perfect but Dillane SERIOUSLY disappointed me. I've gotten pretty good at ignoring how actors look, because i know that they're never going to get a perfect match, and either way, who's to say that my riddle is what he looks like? Hwoever, how he acts is clearly defined in the books and i honestly dont know why people think ti's good that Dillane acted really creepy.

Furthermore, if anything Dillane should look better for the role. Why? Because the resemblance, as others have pointed out here is much stronger between that of Dillane, Hero and Ralph! Meanwhile, Coulson does not bare this resemblance and therefore, does not look best for the part.

Funny thing is that i think Coulson looks way more like Hero than Dillaine did, all we would need is a Dillaine wig :p. Dillane's face is much longer proportionally than what hero's face looks like

Voldemorts8thHorcrux, you can't even spell an actor's name right. How can I respect your argument if you're that ignorant to his very name? Dillane, not Dillaine.

Unrepetant, Hero is Ralph's nephew.

LJ essentially got all the points across I wanted to make.

Well, as the books always described Tom Riddle as being charming and handsome, I think that the actor in Chamber of Secrets was better at 16 year old Riddle than the actor in Half-Blood Prince. But I think, for young Riddle, the actor they got was pretty spot on. But I pictured 16 year old Voldemort as being more attractive, I guess, as opposed to creepy and weird-ish. And I didn't think he was charming.. more like, creepy beyond belief.

in the real world, if Voldy acted like he did in HBP, theteacher would be telling him to get out, give him detention, take points away. You dont ask about Horcruxes while being super creepy, you do it by acting innocently curious and polite and being careful, which Dillane did NOT do

being an obsessed voldy fangirl, i actually kind of hoping for an even better Voldy because i still didn't think Coulson was perfect but Dillane SERIOUSLY disappointed me. I've gotten pretty good at ignoring how actors look, because i know that they're never going to get a perfect match, and either way, who's to say that my riddle is what he looks like? Hwoever, how he acts is clearly defined in the books and i honestly dont know why people think ti's good that Dillane acted really creepy.

B]Funny thing is that i think Coulson looks way more like Hero than Dillaine did, all we would need is a Dillaine wig :p. Dillane's face is much longer proportionally than what hero's face looks like[/B]

First off you are entitled to your opinion. In my earlier post I tried not to strike down your opinion. All I said was your perceiving Coulson as better, perhaps, perhaps because he came first.

If you think Dillane was too creepy, that is only your opinion. It is all subjective. This is all based on your perspective of how he played the part. I for one, think that Dillane did act creepy and at the same time innocent. But whatever. It's almost moot to the point I was making before....I actually pointed out that it matters not how the actors look.


And you can say Coulson looks like Hero. But Dillane also does. And then we know for a fact that Hero Fiennes Tiffin and Ralph Fiennes are related, and they looked alike. I think it was more important to this movie that Hero look like the older Voldemort. It does not matter if he looks like Coulson, audiences won't even think of it. Although we may.

The one from COS looked more what I imaged Tom Riddle would look like (very handsome), but acting-wise, I think the older kid (Dillane?) from HBP did the best job. He was absolutely chilling.

Yeah I agree, his voice really got to me! It just sounded scary! And when he did that weird quirk-of-his-lips smile thing!:scared:

Much preferred the one in HBP. A lot of you seem to like the one from CoS because he was better looking... interesting.

In HBP he looked the role to me, and he sounded the role. I always got the impression that Tom Riddle, when younger, was a brilliant orator, spoke clearly and confidently. He really gave the feel of acting curious while having a secret agenda. He was perfect in my head.

Cheers

First off you are entitled to your opinion. In my earlier post I tried not to strike down your opinion. All I said was your perceiving Coulson as better, perhaps, perhaps because he came first.
Well, my previous post was my first post in this thread, but i was just saying why i thought that Coulson was better was not because he came first.

If you think Dillane was too creepy, that is only your opinion. It is all subjective. This is all based on your perspective of how he played the part. I for one, think that Dillane did act creepy and at the same time innocent. But whatever. It's almost moot to the point I was making before....I actually pointed out that it matters not how the actors look.
I understand it's my opinion,but i want to know why others think that being creepy is a good thing for a teenage voldemort when the book says that he's supposed to be charming.

And you can say Coulson looks like Hero. But Dillane also does. And then we know for a fact that Hero Fiennes Tiffin and Ralph Fiennes are related, and they looked alike. I think it was more important to this movie that Hero look like the older Voldemort. It does not matter if he looks like Coulson, audiences won't even think of it. Although we may.
i was just saying that i think that Hero looks more like Coulson than Dillane does



Voldemorts8thHorcrux, you can't even spell an actor's name right. How can I respect your argument if you're that ignorant to his very name? Dillane, not Dillaine.
Sorry I know that it's Dillane, i just always randomly feel that there should be an I there. And it's not about an argument, it's just my opinion. I'm not trying to change anyone else's views but the title of the thread is "Which Tom Riddle do you prefer". Sorry if i was acting a bit hotheaded back there, but it wasn't my intention. I dont think either actors are perfect and I think with different directing, both Dillane and Coulson probably could've done a better job but the fact remains that I preferred Coulson a bit more as Tom Riddle.

The HBP version is a little too creepy. To the extent that it seems unlikely that he could hoodwink so many people. You think more people would pick up on his creepiness.

I liked him in the Orphanage scene because he wasn't trying to butter anybody up, but in the scene with Slughorn, he was a little off.

Yeah I agree, his voice really got to me! It just sounded scary! And when he did that weird quirk-of-his-lips smile thing!:scared:

:lol: that's the one thing that really distracted me. If i go watch it again, maybe i'll like his performance much better now that i'm ready for it

I prefered the CoS Riddle. the second seemed a little too obvious that there was something off about him. I got the impression that the teenage Riddle had everyone fooled. Honestly, I also thought he was better looking...but that's just my opinion... No one knew, even Dumbledore, what he could become. the way the HBP scene was done, I could almost hear the Lost In Space robot saying "Danger, Will Robinson. Danger." I am re-reading the books again now, but that is what I felt from what I remembered from previous reads...

The HBP version is a little too creepy. To the extent that it seems unlikely that he could hoodwink so many people. You think more people would pick up on his creepiness.

I liked him in the Orphanage scene because he wasn't trying to butter anybody up, but in the scene with Slughorn, he was a little off

-

I prefered the CoS Riddle. the second seemed a little too obvious that there was something off about him. I got the impression that the teenage Riddle had everyone fooled

We are of the same mind. :cool:

-



We are of the same mind. :cool:

yep :D

it's not about an argument, it's just my opinion. I'm not trying to change anyone else's views but the title of the thread is "Which Tom Riddle do you prefer". Sorry if i was acting a bit hotheaded back there, but it wasn't my intention. I dont think either actors are perfect and I think with different directing, both Dillane and Coulson probably could've done a better job but the fact remains that I preferred Coulson a bit more as Tom Riddle.

Definitely, this is a discussion and not an argument, as you said. In fact, in my opinion you've produced the most cohesive case for Coulson thus far. All his other supporters seem to say is "He was pretty.":rolleyes:

Okay, I just recently viewed HBP again. I'd have to say that Riddle from COS fit the part better than Riddle from HBP. I think if we had seen Tom again in HBP, when he comes to ask for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, then Riddle from HBP would've fit the part better. He was indeed creepy, and therefore I believe he'd have fit better there. :shrug:

Definitely, this is a discussion and not an argument, as you said. In fact, in my opinion you've produced the most cohesive case for Coulson thus far. All his other supporters seem to say is "He was pretty.":rolleyes:
Thanks :) and I think its a bit annoying that people like dillane better because he was creepier since he wasn't supposed to be, though I think in the gaunt scene, dillane wouldve been much better than the anger coulson portrayed. In my mind, dillane brings to life the more "private" riddle and coulson portrays the manipulative but seemingly model student
Okay, I just recently viewed HBP again. I'd have to say that Riddle from COS fit the part better than Riddle from HBP. I think if we had seen Tom again in HBP, when he comes to ask for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, then Riddle from HBP would've fit the part better. He was indeed creepy, and therefore I believe he'd have fit better there. :shrug:
yates really didnt do dillanes acting justice, or really tom riddle at all. Even ignoring the acting, the costume and makeup and the special effects seriously overplayed the creepy vibe while tom riddle was portrayed very differently in cos

Christian Coulson was much better. Yes the HBP Riddle was creepier and that seems to be why people pick him. But that's the point. Riddle wasn't ever supposed to be creepy!!! All the teachers loved him and thought he could do no wrong in their eyes. JK always said that Dumbledore was the only one who never liked Riddle as much as everyone else did. You don't become loved by everyone by being creepy and scary looking. He was the handsome, talented, somewhat reserved, but still charming Tom Riddle.

Christian Coulson was much better. Yes the HBP Riddle was creepier and that seems to be why people pick him. But that's the point. Riddle wasn't ever supposed to be creepy!!! All the teachers loved him and thought he could do no wrong in their eyes. JK always said that Dumbledore was the only one who never liked Riddle as much as everyone else did. You don't become loved by everyone by being creepy and scary looking. He was the handsome, talented, somewhat reserved, but still charming Tom Riddle.

'ear 'ear :D. Didnt even harry, knowing he was the young voldy think he did a good job acting innocent?

See I think the scene with Dillane was creepy, not necessarily the acting. As I said earlier he did a good job of being curious but also making it obvious (for the viewers) that he had a different motive.

If you were to take out the background, the special effects done with his eyes, and the music, the scene would not be nearly as creepy, in fact it would just seem like a normal student asking a professor a question.

It was the mood of the scene that made it so creepy, and so I do believe that Dillane played the part of the model perfect student, articulate, good looking, inquisitive, friendly, courteous. They were all there. If you were professor Slughorn at the time you would not see anything wrong.

Do not confuse the acting of an actor with the mood set by the director :cool:
Or maybe I am biased, at my university there were a ton of students that presented the name personality, as Dillane did in that scene, when asking questions in a classroom, and I'm pretty positive they weren't plotting world domination. Soooo yeah, in conclusion, the scene made it creepy, not necessarily the actor.

I don't feel like quoting your entire post but basically you said what I said too, directing :lol:. But anyways, even ignoring the scenes, his tone of voice, his facial expression all said creepy to me. He was smirking, his eyes were narrowed in a trying to be creepy fashion rather than the crease lots of people get when pondering things, his tone of voice reminded me of like some kind of evil vampire businessman, etc. I liked the scenery just fine, but I wouldve like the scenry and music to set the tense and creepy mood rather than dillane himself.

I would have to say I like the Tom Riddle from the CoS, even though I think the one in HBP suited him more.

At the moment it's the Tom from CoS but that's not surprising. After just one viewing it takes quite a lot to improve your feelings about a character if you already liked the first one. After seeing HBP a few more times I might change my mind but for now it's an easy choice.

I thought both Tom Riddle's in HBP were better than the one in CoS. CoS Tom Riddle mainly came off as arrogant, HBP Tom Riddle also pulled off chillingly evil. To be fair to the CoS Tom, they didn't have as much backstory then.

I like hero fiennes-tiffin and the CoS Tom. The HBP Tom was creepy, but I thought he was a girl at first, no offense. CoS Tom had more Tom Riddle to him in my opinion.

I am surprised. I liked the older Tom in HBP the best so far. When he was facing the fireplace turning his father's ring on his finger and said the word 'murder' that did it for me. Though i like the other three Tom's as well. No complaints all around.

Do you like the Tom Riddle from COS or the one in HBP in the memories with Slughorn? For me, I like the one from COS, but the Riddle from HBP was a creepier. That's my opinion.
I prefer the Tom Riddle in CoS hands down.

It's true that Frank Dillane looks creepier than Christian Coulson, and that's just the point. Tom Riddle when he was young was supposed to be good-looking (like his father) and a charmer. He wasn't supposed to be creepy at all. Only Dumbledore had doubts about him, and those doubts were not based upon his looks. I think Coulson conveyed the hidden malevolence perfectly. As played by Dillane, Tom Riddle would never had charmed poor old Hepzibah Smith out of her secrets about her treasures (the locket and the cup), or all the professors at Hogwarts except for DD (who didn't say or do anything about his doubts) into being made Prefect and later Head Boy, not to mention wheedle the secret of where the tiara was from Helena Ravenclaw. Dillane is OK-looking, but I wouldn't call him handsome, or charming.

The only thing Dillane has going for him, apart from looking creepy (he must be a very good actor btw) is that he is very believable as an older version of Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (also a good actor, he's really quite cute when he's not playing Tom Riddle, I've seen pictures.)

ETA - TX Grindenwald, I only saw your post after I posted mine. We say exactly the same things in barely different words. Great minds think alike and all that. ;)

I am surprised. I liked the older Tom in HBP the best so far. When he was facing the fireplace turning his father's ring on his finger and said the word 'murder' that did it for me. Though i like the other three Tom's as well. No complaints all around.

But that is a problem. You can tell he's really not so good. As many people here already noticed, he's supposed to look charming, not creepy. We all know what kind of person he became later, but at that time, no one knew. Because it could not be seen.

I disagree. In this scene with Slughorn, Tom Riddle gives himself away. In the book, Slughorn gets very nervous at the end wondering if he shouldn't have said what he said. The other Tom, in CoS, was supposed to be the regular charming Tom and so was this Tom at the beginning of the scene when they are talking about the professor retiring and the candies he gave Slughorn. I think they both did great jobs being the charming Tom in those moments when they were supposed to be.

Tom Riddle then in HBP asks Slughorn about horcruxes and Tom Riddle gives himself away and Slughorn knows that Tom knows he gave himself away. That is why Slughorn goes into hidding. Slughorn knows that he did much damage by telling Tom Riddle what he told him and hides the memory because he knows that. Tom Riddle knows that he gave too much away in asking these questions and wants to kill Slughorn because of it that is why he is searching for him.

That is the purpose of this memory. This is not a moment when Tom Riddle is charming, but a moment when he gives his true self away to Slughorn. I think it showed that and was a great scene and that is why i think he was the best Tom so far.

Though as i said, i like all the Toms, they have done great casting with them.

It's true that Frank Dillane looks creepier than Christian Coulson, and that's just the point. Tom Riddle when he was young was supposed to be good-looking (like his father) and a charmer. He wasn't supposed to be creepy at all. Only Dumbledore had doubts about him, and those doubts were not based upon his looks. I think Coulson conveyed the hidden malevolence perfectly. As played by Dillane, Tom Riddle would never had charmed poor old Hepzibah Smith out of her secrets about her treasures (the locket and the cup), or all the professors at Hogwarts except for DD (who didn't say or do anything about his doubts) into being made Prefect and later Head Boy, not to mention wheedle the secret of where the tiara was from Helena Ravenclaw. Dillane is OK-looking, but I wouldn't call him handsome, or charming.
I think Dillane is decently good looking but he was far too creepy to be anything remotely close to charming

I disagree. In this scene with Slughorn, Tom Riddle gives himself away. In the book, Slughorn gets very nervous at the end wondering if he shouldn't have said what he said. The other Tom, in CoS, was supposed to be the regular charming Tom and so was this Tom at the beginning of the scene when they are talking about the professor retiring and the candies he gave Slughorn. I think they both did great jobs being the charming Tom in those moments when they were supposed to be.

Tom Riddle then in HBP asks Slughorn about horcruxes and Tom Riddle gives himself away and Slughorn knows that Tom knows he gave himself away. That is why Slughorn goes into hidding. Slughorn knows that he did much damage by telling Tom Riddle what he told him and hides the memory because he knows that. Tom Riddle knows that he gave too much away in asking these questions and wants to kill Slughorn because of it that is why he is searching for him.

You make a good point, but in the book, and i'm rereading it right now so i know i have my facts right, but first, Slughorn says that Tom could become Minister of Magic, but Tom acts very humble about it.

And then the scene in the memory:


it was very well done, thoguht Harry, the hesitancy, the casual tone, the careful flattery, none of it overdone.
bold and italic by me. Dillane was nowhere near casual, or careful, or hesitant to me. He was just trying to be creepy and evil.

His voice was carefully controlled, but Harry could sense his excitement.
Well, Dillane had a carefully controlled voice in a way, but it was careful in the trying to be evil way, than the trying to hide things from your professor way.

It was only like halfway in when he starts going to

But Riddle's hunger was now apparent, his expression was greedy, he could no longer hide his longing.
IMO, Coulson would've done that better as well. like his performance when he was in the Chamber and the expression he had when Harry was poisoned, before Harry went for the diary. Dillane was very flat the entire time, but very obvious, and not in the wild longing kind of way either.

Overview: Riddle is supposed to be charming and humble and curious at the beginning, then halfway through, when he knows he's got Slughorn where he needs him, that's when his longing and evil starts unfolding, and i didn't get either emotions from dillane's performance. But kudos to Jim Broadbent, he portrayed Slughorn in that scene like perfectly. :D Except the looks part :p

The only thing Dillane has going for him, apart from looking creepy (he must be a very good actor btw) is that he is very believable as an older version of Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (also a good actor, he's really quite cute when he's not playing Tom Riddle, I've seen pictures.)
he's adorable even when he is playing voldemort :lol:. I have new appreciation for how adorably evil young voldy must of been :D

:clap: Excellent argument! I agree with everything you said. I still don't get why some people think Dillane did such an amazing job, considering he doesn't at all follow the Tom Riddle we know from the books. Tom was pretty much the most popular boy at Hogwarts at the time. I just don't see Dillane as being the type of person that students would flock to in admiration.

Calling someone a creepy-*** is not helping your argument at all. It's making you personally look very bad and disrespectful. You try portraying the Dark Lord sometime, then get back to me. Maybe then you can call Frank Dillane or any of the other Potter actors a creepy-***.

Sorry for being hostile, but I got slightly offended there. I don't think any Dillane supporters have called Coulson anything of that nature. I could call him a pretty-boy pansy. But I won't.

I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to offend or be disrespectful at all. I wasn't thinking when I typed that. :scared: I'll edit my comment.

it was very well done, thought Harry, the hesitancy, the casual tone, the careful flattery, none of it overdone.
I disagree. I think that the older Tom in HBP succeeded in being casual, hesitating, flattering, etc. I think he did all of these things. It was only the moment when Tom asked about splitting his soul into seven that Slughorn looked slightly worried.

His voice was carefully controlled, but Harry could sense his excitement.
I think his voice was very controlled throughout the entire thing. He only became disturbing when he stated how many horcruxes he wanted to create and when he said the word 'murder' and that is only, for me, because i know that he is twisting his father's ring on his finger. The father he murdered and took the ring from and turned into a horcrux.

But Riddle's hunger was now apparent, his expression was greedy, he could no longer hide his longing.
I think he did hold himself together until he got what he wanted. Then he sort of lost it when he said murder and gave himself away. I think it was very like the book. Tom Riddle gave the game away in that moment and he knew it because of how Slughorn reacted and that is why he wanted to kill Slughorn which is what happen in the book and in the film.

His voice was carefully controlled, but Harry could sense his excitement.
I think his voice was very controlled throughout the entire thing. He only became disturbing when he stated how many horcruxes he wanted to create and when he said the word 'murder' and that is only, for me, because i know that he is twisting his father's ring on his finger. The father he murdered and took the ring from and turned into a horcrux.
I think it's controlled in the wrong way. the book implies that he was trying to control it so that it didn't seem like he was really excited, and controlling it to sound merely casual and curious, which I dont think Dillane did well. the entire time Dillane did it, it sounded controlled in the reigning in his inner dark nature, which i didn't mind, but his voice didn't sound anything close to trying to be innocent, which is what the book seemed to imply, but just trying not to show that he was excited.

I just asked my friend what he thought dillane seemed like at the beginning of the memory and he said obnoxious....i dont think so but does anyone else agree? i just thought he seemed too obvious

But Riddle's hunger was now apparent, his expression was greedy, he could no longer hide his longing.
I think he did hold himself together until he got what he wanted. Then he sort of lost it when he said murder and gave himself away. I think it was very like the book. Tom Riddle gave the game away in that moment and he knew it because of how Slughorn reacted and that is why he wanted to kill Slughorn which is what happen in the book and in the film.
I wish i could've argued this a few days after i watched the film, but i just remember that near the end, he might have pushed up the creepy vibe just a little bit, but there was no bestial hunger or happiness or anticipation or excitement.

Dillane was...really creepy as Riddle. I mean, we didn't have the countless other memories to judge his portrayal. Only the Slughorn one. And in that one, Riddle reveals his true self. So I can understand why we might not have seen the humble, charming Riddle, because in that particular scene, he dropped the facade.

I believe the youngest riddle is played by Ralph Fiennes nephew? He's got it in his blood doesn't he?

I think I prefer the teenage Riddle in HBP, the one in COS was certainly less creepy but considering the darkness of HBP I think it was appropriate for him to be creepier.

Dillane was...really creepy as Riddle. I mean, we didn't have the countless other memories to judge his portrayal. Only the Slughorn one. And in that one, Riddle reveals his true self. So I can understand why we might not have seen the humble, charming Riddle, because in that particular scene, he dropped the facade.

I think we got the creepiness part just fine from Mini Tom. And i dont think the creepiness is quite as important to the plot or his character as showing how he got what he wanted

I think the Tom Riddle in HBP was best for that particular movie. I could totally see the young Tom from the orphanage growing up to become the Tom in Slughorn's office. They both had an eerie quality about them that worked for the portrayal of the character that they were going for.
The Tom in CoS was definitely less obvious about his evil side, but the movies showed two different interpretations of the character and it's hard to judge which was better without comparing them to the books.
Personally I liked HBP better in general so I preferred that interpretation of Tom Riddle.

Definitely, this is a discussion and not an argument, as you said. In fact, in my opinion you've produced the most cohesive case for Coulson thus far. All his other supporters seem to say is "He was pretty."

He is pretty, isn't he? :lol: I think Coulson's looks more like that charming psychopath, his handsomeness sort of draws you in.

Coulson had a very intense, almost angry look to him when he was talking. The whole time he seemed like he was doing his best to suppress his temper. Plus when he was ranting about his awesomeness man, did he look like a completely whacked-out, sadistic crazy maniac! When I re-watched it closely for his acting I noticed that before he says "Voldemort is my past, present, and future" he has this totally evil scary grin. :whistle:

In the black/white memory he seemed totally innocent & normal and not a psychotic serial killer; I think he pulled off the innocent mask much better than Dillane. (Dillane was like, hey I'm obviously-glaringly evil!) When he met Harry again his use of facial expressions changed so much it was like he was almost a completely different person.

Then again, he had this arrogant-basturd aura around him. He didn't give much dimension to Riddle though, but re-reading CoS Rowling didn't give Riddle nearly as much depth as she did in HBP, so Coulson didn't have much to work with in the first place.

Frank Dillane was really good too! I liked his little pauses in between his words, although in the book his hesitancy was supposed to sound like unsureness but in the movie it sounded like he was taking his time thinking how to phrase his lie. I understand that he couldn't be completely subtle about his evil-ness because he only had like 2 minutes to convey his evil so better bring it out quick. :lol: I wish they'd give him more screentime though, it's hard to judge his acting.

Fiennes-Tiffin was brilliant... what an outstanding 11-year old kid. (man, I fail at description).

My favorite would have to be Fiennes-Tiffin.

A note about book Riddle in HBP, Slughorn-Horcrux scene: When he was excited, his sentences were all cut-up/choppy and he looks all excited and figidity, and his face was animated... I think JK Rowling was picturing his mannerisms perhaps maybe like Ted Bundy's last interview. XD But that would have looked really stupid on screen, so it's all cool that they had a chillax, laid-back, slow-talker Riddle.

I Loved Coulson wayy back in COS then when i heard he wouldn't be coming back to do HBP i was a little upset

but now i thought Frank Dillane was deffinatly the best he seemed the most evil and the most like a true Voldemort

and Hero-Fiennes-Tiffin was very good too when i seen him in the teaser trailer for HBP i loved him immediatley more than COS Riddle

My favorite Riddle list
1.Frank Dillane
2.Hero
3.Coulson


can't wait for Ralph Fiennes to do his voldemort in movie seven he's awesome in his role too

what do you think about him?

I both love and hate Fiennes. On one hand, he's exactly how i pictured grown up voldy in how he acted and talked and moved and somewhat looked. On the other hand, did he have to scream "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" at the end of the graveyard scene like ever cliched movie villain out there? :p i still get agood laugh out of that every time though :D

My Voldy scale goes

1. Hero
2. Ralph
3. Coulson

Dillane isn't awesome enough as Voldy in his scene to make it on, even if i'm sure he would've done great in the Gaunt house memory

I liked the Young Tom Riddle from HBP most, just for creepy factor. He made my skin crawl, but not in a way I could acually put my finger on.

The one from CoS. He was really close to what I had pictured the young Tom Riddle to be. He was handsome, arrogant, uncaring, ambitious, and had an evil air about him that was chilling. He would have been good for the Tom who was asking about the Horcruxes. Also, wouldhave been good if they'd had a scene with him coming to Dumbledore seeking a position at Hogwarts.

I really can't see Coulson's Riddle growing up to be Lord Voldemort.

Do you like the Tom Riddle from COS or the one in HBP in the memories with Slughorn? For me, I like the one from COS, but the Riddle from HBP was a creepier. That's my opinion.

I prefer the 2 actors who portrayed Riddle in HBP. Perfectly cold, underlying creepy, possibly evil, definitely unnerving. They both did a great job in my opinion. Wouldn't want to be in the same room with either of those Riddles....:eeep:

COS was only a memory from a certain point in time, so I think that was fine for what it was supposed to portray.

Haven't got a problem with any of them.

I think Dillane is decently good looking but he was far too creepy to be anything remotely close to charming




And I disagree with you completely Voldemorts8thhorcrux, I thought he was careful, he was hesitant, and did have a casual tone, it was very apparent on my third viewing of the movie. But like I said, and nobody else picked up on, from a previous post, was that the mood made the entire thing creepy, not the actor. Take out all the sound, place the actor outside on a sunny day, and you would see that Dillaine did do all those things.

And I disagree with you completely Voldemorts8thhorcrux, I thought he was careful, he was hesitant, and did have a casual tone, it was very apparent on my third viewing of the movie. But like I said, and nobody else picked up on, from a previous post, was that the mood made the entire thing creepy, not the actor. Take out all the sound, place the actor outside on a sunny day, and you would see that Dillaine did do all those things.

i'll argue with you on that as soon as i watch the movie again :lol:. My memory's even fuzzier than last week, but i just remember the smirk and the very sly tone of voice, i'll see if i can dig up at least some of the scene from various sneak previews and trailers....

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2605/3739732220_5ea66ddbc2.jpg

I dont know what you call it, but i call it a highly untrustworthy looking smirk that was certainly not present in the books :D

hmmm....he does look kind of like a girl in photos....:hmm: whatever, he just needs to act like Tom Riddle

Yeah he does have a certain feminine quality to his appearance. I dunno, I don't see that smirk as evil really, I smirk like that quite often and I don't think I'm an evil person :upset:

Yeah he does have a certain feminine quality to his appearance. I dunno, I don't see that smirk as evil really, I smirk like that quite often and I don't think I'm an evil person :upset:

im not saying its evil, i'm saying it seems untrustworthy in the context of trying to innocently weedle out information

I did find a few vids on youtube by the way but i wont post them because they might not be legal and the only definitely legal clips i could find were the one second when dillane disappears into black smoke but even without the audio and i did my best to ignore his settings and the lighting, his facial expressions and body language seemed very not innocent.

I find it interesting that WB seemed to have much more confidence in Hero's Voldemort abilities to put him in like all of their trailers and Dillane in none :lol:, but that might just be to not end up in a war with Coulson fans

ummm... i think i liked the teenage riddle in HBP best, he scarrred me and his personality was just like i imagined voldemort's

I liked both but I'd probly put the teen Riddle as #1

I re-watched Chamber of Secrets... Coulson's acting was kind of dorky/cheesy/over-exaggerated.

Like when he said, "To finish off Salazar Slytherin's noble work" or "...become the greatest sorcerer in the world" -- the way he stressed the syllables "Sal-", "nooo-ble", and "sor-cer-rer" was kind of laughable. :lol:

However, when he says "Did you really think I'd keep my filthy father's name" (something like that) and "Funny, the damage a silly little book can do, in the hands of a silly little girl" -- I thought that was well said with the right pauses/hesitation in speech as well as the perfect tone... very in-character in terms of Tom Riddle.

Dillane didn't really creep me out, it's just the dark lighting & sharp contrasts that makes him look scarier than he is. *shrug* He seemed so out-of-character from the books... it was good acting, but still out of character. I like it when he pauses and flicks his gaze downwards (?) before saying "...Horcruxes?" That was awesome. :-D And when he does that smile and goes, "It'll be our little secret."

Chamber of Secrets. the HBP's looked more baby faced.
and Voldy's supposed to be tough, right? :)

Young Tom isn't supposed to have ***!Evil!One! tattooed on his forehead. Dumbledore meeting a disturbed 11 year old, stated that he had no inkling of what Tom would become. At Hogwarts Tom made an excellent impression on the teachers.

Young Tom isn't supposed to have ***!Evil!One! tattooed on his forehead. Dumbledore meeting a disturbed 11 year old, stated that he had no inkling of what Tom would become. At Hogwarts Tom made an excellent impression on the teachers.

:lol: well, the 11 year old Tom was supposed to be someone Dumbledore was wary of. but i totally agree with the hogwarts tom

:lol: well, the 11 year old Tom was supposed to be someone Dumbledore was wary of. but i totally agree with the hogwarts tom

That's true... Tom Riddle as a youngster wasn't supposed to appear evil at all--that's why so many people were shocked to find out that this handsome, charming, appearing to be friendly/innocent boy would end up like somebody like Voldemort. It's like, nobody would have guessed back in the 40's, you know?

But the problem is they didn't have to time to develop much of Riddle's character in the 6th movies so they decided to make Voldy's character appear evil from at birth.

The one from CoS. Tom Riddle is supposed to be handsome, and the one in HBP is CREEPY! But the one in CoS is HOT!!! :drool: :p

Is dillane really that awful looking? :hmm:

But the problem is they didn't have to time to develop much of Riddle's character in the 6th movies so they decided to make Voldy's character appear evil from at birth.

I don't think Tom's character was developed in the books at all: he merely progresses from crime to crime. He is already a criminal when we meet him at the age of 11 and each of the pensieve memories show him doing something pretty bad: wheedling info on horcruxes from Slughorn; preparing to murder Hepzibah and the Riddles.

Is dillane really that awful looking? :hmm:

I would never call a child "awful looking". He is pretty ordinary, and was directed to present as somewhat creepy, without being over-the-top.

I think I prefer how Tom Riddle was portrayed in CoS. I think Coulson's Riddle was more how he was described in the book - handsome, charming, and only hints of evil (to the teachers). Meanwhile, Dillane's Riddle was displayed, as others have said, as somewhat creepy and, in my opinion, very perfect in appearances. I would not label Dillane's Riddle as "handsome," as in the books, but his features are, as I see it, almost untouched and perfectly carved. I can certainly see how Dillane's Riddle could be charming to teachers, but I think his slightly creepy "charm" would have hidden nothing from Dumbledore.

I think Tom Riddle's portrayal in HBP was successful for the film, but in terms of how I imagine the character, I prefer CoS's Riddle.

I don't think Tom's character was developed in the books at all: he merely progresses from crime to crime. He is already a criminal when we meet him at the age of 11 and each of the pensieve memories show him doing something pretty bad: wheedling info on horcruxes from Slughorn; preparing to murder Hepzibah and the Riddles.
I could write a pretty decent bio on Tom Riddle, including some reasons why he's evil, what drove him toward some of his crimes, his personality traits other than creepy and evil. Of course a lot of it is just infered and comes from simply JKR's message, but either way, so much more than the movies


I would never call a child "awful looking". He is pretty ordinary, and was directed to present as somewhat creepy, without being over-the-top.

I haven't heard it on here, but in many other places, people seem to always say that he looks ugly or something. I mean he's not the best looking guy, but it's a bit unfair to call him "ugly"

I agree, I think that the character of Tom Riddle is very well defined in the HBP by Dumbledore. Almost every interaction between Dumbledore and Harry is trying to understand Tom Riddle so the determine what items he would use, and therefore what Harry should be looking out for.

Dumbledore really tries to delve into Tom's mind and forces Harry to realise that Tom in just a person and that he can be defeated.

I agree, I think that the character of Tom Riddle is very well defined in the HBP by Dumbledore. Almost every interaction between Dumbledore and Harry is trying to understand Tom Riddle so the determine what items he would use, and therefore what Harry should be looking out for.

Dumbledore really tries to delve into Tom's mind and forces Harry to realise that Tom in just a person and that he can be defeated.

Exactly, Dumbledore tries to get Harry to really understand Tom to know his strengths and weaknesses, which is partly how Harry figured out that he had hidden the diadem in the Room of Requirement, rather than dismissing seeing it as something unrelated, and the cup in Gringotts. It's not random guesswork, it's understanding Voldemort

The one from CoS. Tom Riddle is supposed to be handsome, and the one in HBP is CREEPY! But the one in CoS is HOT!!! :drool: :p

Voldemorts8thHorcrux, as I have said before, you present the most cohesive pro-Coulson argument, but with comments like this on your side, it makes it hard to appreciate Coulson's supporters as a whole. They seem to appreciate him for his looks and not his acting abilities. :hmm: Dillane's supporters like him because of how we perceive his acting. Of course, you appreciate Coulson for his acting, but it seems all the other positive comments about him are "omg he's hawt!!!11". :whistle:

The boy Tom Riddle, when Dumbledore meets him for the first time at the orphanage. Both in the book, when he was potrayed exactly as I would have seen him as a child and in the movie where the actor looked like a spitting image of the boy Tom Riddle that i imagined. He was a good looking kid, yet looked really evil at the same time.

Voldemorts8thHorcrux, as I have said before, you present the most cohesive pro-Coulson argument, but with comments like this on your side, it makes it hard to appreciate Coulson's supporters as a whole. They seem to appreciate him for his looks and not his acting abilities. :hmm: Dillane's supporters like him because of how we perceive his acting. Of course, you appreciate Coulson for his acting, but it seems all the other positive comments about him are "omg he's hawt!!!11". :whistle:
What bothers me about people "appreciating" Dillane is appreciating him for the wrong reasons. Yes, he should be slightly creepy, but I very rarely see any compliments on how he's being charming, while I have heard quite a few people say that Coulson is charming


The boy Tom Riddle, when Dumbledore meets him for the first time at the orphanage. Both in the book, when he was potrayed exactly as I would have seen him as a child and in the movie where the actor looked like a spitting image of the boy Tom Riddle that i imagined. He was a good looking kid, yet looked really evil at the same time.

Actually, the book Tom was a bit more....ragged? with the whole "TELL THE TRUTH!" and wild happiness.

I personally prefer the Riddle from CoS, and not just for Coulson's looks. IMO he just seemed much more like how I pictured Tom from reading the books- handsome, charming, with just a touch of creepy showing through. I do feel Hero Fiennes-Tiffin gave a fair attempt at playing the younger version, but Dillane I think was just overall a poor casting choice. I mean, I'm not trying to be overly critical, but he looks WAY too young for a teenage Riddle, who I always picture looking very mature for his age, and just seems like kind of a "pretty boy" rather than handsome, for lack of a better term. I don't think his acting was all that great besides.

I greatly prefer the Tom from HBP. Coulson, apart from being far to old for the role, allows his voice to fluctuate too much and shows his emotions far too clearly. Not that that's at all bad, he's definitely a decent actor, but he doesn't get across the almost over-done politeness which Dillane captures perfectly. I think it is far easier to understand with Dillane why certain teachers would have fallen under Tom's spell; while Dumbledore, having seen Tom in more unguarded moments and being more intuitive on the whole, never trusted him.

Just my two cents. =D

I greatly prefer the Tom from HBP. Coulson, apart from being far to old for the role, allows his voice to fluctuate too much and shows his emotions far too clearly. Not that that's at all bad, he's definitely a decent actor, but he doesn't get across the almost over-done politeness which Dillane captures perfectly. I think it is far easier to understand with Dillane why certain teachers would have fallen under Tom's spell; while Dumbledore, having seen Tom in more unguarded moments and being more intuitive on the whole, never trusted him.

Just my two cents. =D

Well, the Tom in Cos showed his emotions in the Chamber and not in front of Dippet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwWJLdYaNtI at the beginning he has his emotions pretty well reined in (i'm guessing this is legal because even the audio tracks have been removed from youtube a few months ago due to legal reasons and I know that the full movie isn't on youtube either and they most likely wouldn't have missed this snippet)

I personally prefer the Riddle from CoS, and not just for Coulson's looks. IMO he just seemed much more like how I pictured Tom from reading the books- handsome, charming, with just a touch of creepy showing through.

Really? Coulson didn't come off creepy at all, at least to me. I can't even believe his Riddle grows up to be Lord Voldemort.

Really? Coulson didn't come off creepy at all, at least to me. I can't even believe his Riddle grows up to be Lord Voldemort.

really? after his performance in the Chamber?

And actually, thats the point. If you can't believe that his Riddle grows up to be Voldy, he did his job as an actor. Even Dumbledore didnt think that Riddle would grow up to be so evil

I didn't really like any of the two's performances. Tom Riddle in CoS, overall, gave a satisfying performances, however, I felt that he didn't delivery his lines so well, sometimes. He wasn't as "creepy" as I wanted him to be, nor was he really frightening as I imagined him to be. He definitely acted evil and malicious, but the creepiness factor wasn't in there for me. I also liked his intensity, if that makes sense. :lol:
Based on his appearance, he was pretty much what I imagined him to look like: the sleek black hair and a sort of pale complexion to his skin. Not too much to criticize about his looks. :lol:
As for the one in HBP, he got the creepiness factor down perfectly. I was definitely creeped by his performance. :lol: His voice and delivery of lines were just so eerie and he sounded like a killer, which he turns out to be. However, I'm not sure he sounded as malicious as the CoS Riddle; he sounded more creepy than evil. As for appearance, he looked fine as Riddle. The same black hair, as described in the books, and a bit of a pale complexion that I imagined.
So, I think both Riddles played their parts well.

However, even if it doesn't count, I think kid-Riddle, played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin, was the best out of the Riddle portrayals. Definitely creepy, DEFINITELY showing signs of an "evil" being, and he is adorable! :lol: But I think he captured kid-Riddle VERY well. :D

I didn't really like any of the two's performances. Tom Riddle in CoS, overall, gave a satisfying performances, however, I felt that he didn't delivery his lines so well, sometimes. He wasn't as "creepy" as I wanted him to be, nor was he really frightening as I imagined him to be. He definitely acted evil and malicious, but the creepiness factor wasn't in there for me. I also liked his intensity, if that makes sense. :lol:
Based on his appearance, he was pretty much what I imagined him to look like: the sleek black hair and a sort of pale complexion to his skin. Not too much to criticize about his looks. :lol:
As for creepiness, are you talking about in the memory or in the chamber? Because even Harry wasnt creeped out my Tom Riddle in the diary, he even thought that he made a mistake in framing Hagrid



However, even if it doesn't count, I think kid-Riddle, played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin, was the best out of the Riddle portrayals. Definitely creepy, DEFINITELY showing signs of an "evil" being, and he is adorable! :lol: But I think he captured kid-Riddle VERY well. :D

I really want to give kid tom a hug now :lol:

As for creepiness, are you talking about in the memory or in the chamber? Because even Harry wasnt creeped out my Tom Riddle in the diary, he even thought that he made a mistake in framing Hagrid


I really want to give kid tom a hug now :lol:

In the diary, I think he was just trying to make Harry think he wasn't the bad guy, which is sticking to canon, so he played him well there.
In the chamber, though, I don't think he was creepy enough.To be fair, I don't think Tom Riddle was supposed to be majorly creepy whilst explaining everything to Harry, more angry and evil. But I still wanted a little creepiness out of him, because he IS a creepy fellow fascinated with dark magic. His delivery seemed a little forced at times, while I imagined Riddle to say it like he was talking to a friend about a science project he just conducted. Maybe it's the way I perceived it, but I just wanted some creepiness. :lol:

And yes, upon first appearance, I wanted to pinch kid Riddle's cheeks. Then, hearing him talk to Dumbledore about "making bad things happen to people who are mean to him" made me think twice. :lol: I mean, his delivery of lines and the look on his face really screamed, "I'm Lord Voldemort. FEAR ME." I got chills watching his short, but memorable performance.

In the diary, I think he was just trying to make Harry think he wasn't the bad guy, which is sticking to canon, so he played him well there.
In the chamber, though, I don't think he was creepy enough.To be fair, I don't think Tom Riddle was supposed to be majorly creepy whilst explaining everything to Harry, more angry and evil. But I still wanted a little creepiness out of him, because he IS a creepy fellow fascinated with dark magic. His delivery seemed a little forced at times, while I imagined Riddle to say it like he was talking to a friend about a science project he just conducted. Maybe it's the way I perceived it, but I just wanted some creepiness. :lol:
I think he did a pretty decent job with the creepiness factor but yeah, i did imagine him to be a bit angry, i mean, Harry's the guy who randomly almost killed him when he was a baby

And yes, upon first appearance, I wanted to pinch kid Riddle's cheeks. Then, hearing him talk to Dumbledore about "making bad things happen to people who are mean to him" made me think twice. :lol: I mean, his delivery of lines and the look on his face really screamed, "I'm Lord Voldemort. FEAR ME." I got chills watching his short, but memorable performance.

heehee, i still want to give him a hug :D

The kid riddle in HBP is way more LV-ish to me. You can believe that he grows up to be LV. He is just very, very creepy, while the Riddle from CoS is just an old guy from a diary. I always saw him a Tom Riddle, not Lord Voldemort. I can, however, see the Riddle from HBP as Lord Voldemort. I prefer the Riddle from HBP.

I preferred the original Tom Riddle in Chamber of Secrets although the child wasn't half bad at showing the young Riddle's childish streak!!

I preferred how he was portrayed as trustworthy and almost sincere!! He really only became manic after revealing his name!! It's more believable for me considering there were quite a number of instances where Riddle charmed information and such out of people!! The older Riddle in HBP was a tad too, freakish for my liking!!

Frank Dillane's Riddle in HBP did charm Slughorn well. If you watch Jim Broadbent's face carefully he shows no signs of anxiety until the end of the scene. The filmmakers make us perceive it as creepy because that's how we need to see Voldemort's character in the sense of telling the story. Take out the lighting, cinematography, music and all, and it's actually not that scary. Dillane is simply smiling to himself, most of the time turning away from Slughorn looking interested in the fire.

Frank Dillane's Riddle in HBP did charm Slughorn well. If you watch Jim Broadbent's face carefully he shows no signs of anxiety until the end of the scene. The filmmakers make us perceive it as creepy because that's how we need to see Voldemort's character in the sense of telling the story. Take out the lighting, cinematography, music and all, and it's actually not that scary. Dillane is simply smiling to himself, most of the time turning away from Slughorn looking interested in the fire.

Tom doesn't smile or look into the fire in the book...but i agree that the setting made up a lot of the creepiness, but if it was Coulson in there, it would've been drastically reduced.

I don't think Tom's character was developed in the books at all: he merely progresses from crime to crime. He is already a criminal when we meet him at the age of 11 and each of the pensieve memories show him doing something pretty bad: wheedling info on horcruxes from Slughorn; preparing to murder Hepzibah and the Riddles.

I would never call a child "awful looking". He is pretty ordinary, and was directed to present as somewhat creepy, without being over-the-top.

No, Riddle's character was never developed much, but the problem is that he masked his evil so well nobody would have guessed he would turn out like a train wreck.

In the book, everybody is supposed to be fooled by his mask of innocence and charm, and if Dillane was Riddle, people would obviously see that he's a very disturbed kid and NOT normal.

He isn't supposed to appear creepy, he's supposed to appear normal. That's what psychopaths do, and do very well.

So that's why I think it's out of character for Dillane to act so creepy.

I sort of think at this point we all need to go see HBP and watch the scene with teenage Riddle again. I just didn't see the extreme creepiness. I actually didn't think he seemed any creepier then the guy in CoS. The thing about all Riddle scenes that make them creepy for me is that i know Riddle is Voldemort.

I prefer the Riddle from CoS. This, however, doesn't necessarily mean that Coulson is a better actor than Dillane nor that he played his part better, he was just the first to portray young Riddle on screen so, naturally, he influenced our image of him. Most people were expecting to see in HBP a young Voldemort that resembled Coulson and were probably a bit disappointed.
Anyway, as many of you already said, Dillane did seem too creepy, and not charming enough.

I liked the on in HBP. I thought all of them were good. But I could sort of feel it,you know, when the little kid says something like "I can hurt them if I want." and "I can speak to snakes too. They find me. Whisper things.". It's creepy! Very creepy. But again that's what I liked about him. He didn't grow up to be the darkest wizard of all times for nothing.

I liked Christian Coulson more. I always pictured young Riddle as someone who could engender trust, not unlike Jean-Luc Picard of Star Wars fame. He would be handsome, charasmatic, charming, compassionate when necessary, kind when necessary; a teen toying with the concept of evil but not yet turned truly evil. To find any evil, you'd need to look very, very closely. Dillane's Riddle would have engendered no trust, in anyone. His Riddle was already as evil as can be. I can imagine Dillane's Riddle being bullied, while I could not imagine Coulson's Riddle being bullied, simply because people would like him too much. Dillane was good, don't get me wrong, but I prefered Coulson.

In the book, everybody is supposed to be fooled by his mask of innocence and charm, and if Dillane was Riddle, people would obviously see that he's a very disturbed kid and NOT normal.



Assured and articulate, Dillane came across as a Head Boy type.

I don't know what you are talking about.

I always pictured young Riddle as someone who could engender trust, not unlike Jean-Luc Picard of Star Wars fame.

I think you probably mean Star Trek. :)


He would be handsome, charasmatic, charming, compassionate when necessary, kind when necessary;

To find any evil, you'd need to look very, very closely.

Yes, this is how I imagined the teenage Riddle's facade that he presented to the world to be like. I thought Christian Coulson captured that balance extremely well. I did like Dillane's self-assurance of speech. He also seemed project a very creepy and unnerving aspect. I felt Christian Coulson was better at the charasmatic and simulating compassionate and empathy when needed.

I thought Hero Fiennes Tiffin was brilliant. He captured the mysteriously dark edge and Riddle's curosity and eagerness to be special/unique even among the wizarding world.

Assured and articulate, Dillane came across as a Head Boy type.

I don't know what you are talking about.

I'm mostly assured and articulate, i'm not class president or even completely liked by my teachers.

Assured and articulate, Dillane came across as a Head Boy type.

I don't know what you are talking about.
He may have come across as the Head Boy type because of these qualities, but some of us think he lacked the charming and supposedly friendly air that belonged to the young Tom Riddle as a character!! Assured and articulate are qualities that belong to Head Boys like Percy!! In contrast Tom Riddle was supposed to be perceived as consistently trustworthy with the only person not fooled by his charade being Dumbledore!!

Frank Dillane's Riddle in HBP did charm Slughorn well. If you watch Jim Broadbent's face carefully he shows no signs of anxiety until the end of the scene.

Slughorn may have appeared charmed by Dillane's Riddle but to me, it just made him look like a blind fool!!

I absolutely loved the Riddle from COS. I haven't seen that movie in a while though, so I'm not sure wether I like it more than the riddle in the HBP. The on in the HBP was great too.

Christian Coulson's version of Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort was the best.

The child who played Riddle when he first encountered Dumbledore sounded incredibly dozy. The one who played Riddle in his interaction with Slughorn was considerably superior.

And Ralph Fiennes is solid as Voldemort himself, even though he's a little over-theatrical.

Coulson would have been awesome in the flashback scenes from Half Blood Prince had the producers cared about giving Voldemort's character some depth, which unfortunately they did not.

Slughorn may have appeared charmed by Dillane's Riddle but to me, it just made him look like a blind fool!!

No idea what you mean.

I LOVE the one from HBP! He's so evil! I wish I could be like him! (even though everyone already says that I creep the living hell out of them! lol)

I LOVE the one from HBP! He's so evil! I wish I could be like him! (even though everyone already says that I creep the living hell out of them! lol)

I would prefer to be Coulson, creepy when I need to be and charming when i need to be, which i guess i've got down to an extent :p. charming when you need to be is more useful :p

No idea what you mean.I mean that he was overly creepy as opposed to charming in anyway!!

Thought the HBP Riddle was awesome, really suited certain traits of Voldemort but I think the CoS Riddle was more fitting to the way JKR wrote him.
The CoS Riddle was by far the most realistic, but i prefer the HBP Riddle because his performance was awesome, everytime he spoke he gave me the 'spooks'.

HBP Riddle is better. He is creepy. He's sort of mysterious and downright scary with his expressions and looks. The CoS Riddle wasn't that bad himself but I just prefer the new one. The way he said, "Horcrux" gave me chills.... O_O

the tom that i liked the best was the 1 from the orphanage in HBP, he was absolutely PERFECT for the part :D the older 1s from HBP and COS both were just odd in my opinion, but i think i liked the COS tom better than the older HBP tom because the older HBP tom's his voice was just like so different and i didn't like it, it just sounded...kinda out of place

i disagree with you loonylovegood77, I'm sorry, i liked the Tom Riddle from CoS way better, i thought he looked great, but, i also liked the one from HBP also..... but i think the CoS Riddle was the best......

the looks he got on his face, was perfect for a young voldemort, especialy after what we find out in DH, after some of the things he did, i thought he was great......

I preferred Christian Coulsen (CoS) as Tom Riddle; I thought it was easy to see that he could be the boy who charmed all of his teachers and was very smooth. Tom Riddle was supposed to be extremely likable, as well as handsome and charismatic. I saw those things in Coulsen's acting. Frank Dillane's portrayal was, well, kind of creepy. I wasn't able to see him as much more than a somewhat oily character who was obvious in his attempts at manipulation, and I suppose it doesn't help that I didn't think he fit the "handsome" requirement we hear a lot of in the books when discussing Tom Riddle before all of his changes.

None of them - they are all evil. :err:

Seriously though, I think they all did an excellent job, however - I did think that Christain Coulson was scary. He seemed to embody likeableness with evil, just as I would imagine pure evil to be.

I really like CoS Riddle, his portrayal if Tom Riddle was excellent. He was everything the book describes him to be; Handsome, Charming and Evil. I seriously don't like the HPB Riddle :grumble: He was really creepy :no: Tom started to be creepy when he started splitting his soul for the Hocruxes. But I do like the child Riddle in HPB :D

CoS Riddle will always be the one in my head when I'm reading the books :)

I really like CoS Riddle, his portrayal if Tom Riddle was excellent. He was everything the book describes him to be; Handsome, Charming and Evil. I seriously don't like the HPB Riddle :grumble: He was really creepy :no: Tom started to be creepy when he started splitting his soul for the Hocruxes. But I do like the child Riddle in HPB :D
I completely agree!

Listed by favorite:

1. Ralph Fiennes in GoF
2. Frank Dillane in HBP
3. Ian Hart in PS
4. Hero Fiennes-Tiffin in HBP
5. Christain Coulson in CoS
6. Ralph Fiennes in OotP
7. Richard Bremmer in PS (he was good, but didn't really do anything :lol:)

I liked them both ,but I honestly think Frank Dillane´s performance was as creepy as it needed to be and was just perfect, I dont think Coulson could have managed to be as creepy.

I liked them both ,but I honestly think Frank Dillane´s performance was as creepy as it needed to be and was just perfect, I dont think Coulson could have managed to be as creepy.
But Montse, don't you see? The teenage Tom Riddle, when he was a student at Hogwarts, is not supposed to be creepy at all! He's supposed to be attentive and charming and thoughtful towards professors. Coulson would have been perfect with his polite, attractive outside appearance and the carefully hidden malevolence in his eyes and his body language.

I'm in complete agreement with Mexicant, Bunny, Camzy and Loony here. :agree:

Christian Coulson's version of Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort was the best.
[...]
Coulson would have been awesome in the flashback scenes from Half Blood Prince had the producers cared about giving Voldemort's character some depth, which unfortunately they did not.
I'm in total agreement with Aldebaran Black in these two statements too. :tu:

Originally Posted by AldeberanBlack
Christian Coulson's version of Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort was the best.
[...]
Coulson would have been awesome in the flashback scenes from Half Blood Prince had the producers cared about giving Voldemort's character some depth, which unfortunately they did not.

i wholeheartedly agree with you....i can't belive they didn't get the same guy..... they producers just throw everything in there all messed up like and don't put things in the correct order or anything.....makes me so mad....

Christian Coulson's version of Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort was the best.
...
Coulson would have been awesome in the flashback scenes from Half Blood Prince had the producers cared about giving Voldemort's character some depth, which unfortunately they did not.

i wholeheartedly agree with you....i can't belive they didn't get the same guy..... they producers just throw everything in there all messed up like and don't put things in the correct order or anything.....makes me so mad....
I couldn't agree more. :agree:

Frank Dillane's just too smarmy. No Headmaster in his right mind, even Dippet, would make him Head Boy. I can't see him charming his way into old Hepzibah Smith's graces. Can you see Tom Riddle played by Dillane presenting Hepzibah with flowers in a sufficiently gallant and convincing manner? I don't.

I have great admiration for Dillane, he's a great actor. I've seen his real-life pictures, and he's nowhere as creepy as he makes Tom Riddle to be in HBP. But that's just the point. Tom Riddle was not creepy in any way, shape or form. He was the star student and the ultimate charmer, successfully hiding his evil-ness from everyone but Dumbledore. Plus (sorry, Frank!) he's nowhere as good-looking as Tom was supposed to be. I can't see Merope Gaunt falling for him about 5 years from HPB. She had enough creeps around her with her father and brother, she wouldn't fall for a third one. That's my opinion and I'll stick to it.

I disagree that Riddle is not supposed to be creepy in the memory scene. I think the scene is exactly as it was in the book. If you just heard the conversation without knowing the context, it wouldn't be that creepy, but the fact is that we know Riddle is Voldemort and we know he is discussing murder and we know he is wearing his grandfather's ring meaning he has killed his father. That is what is creepy.

This is the scene where Voldemort gives himself away to Slughorn. That is why Voldemort is trying to find Slughorn to kill him because he realizes that this day he said too much. This is not a moment where Riddle is supposed to be the average student, but the moment when he shows his true self.

i wholeheartedly agree with you....i can't belive they didn't get the same guy..... they producers just throw everything in there all messed up like and don't put things in the correct order or anything.....makes me so mad....

Coulson is in his early 30's now: he would be absurd as a teenager.

Coulson is in his early 30's now: he would be absurd as a teenager.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Henderson Shirly Henderson, in her 40s, plays a teenager even younger than Tom. With enough makeup and special effects, he would look perfect as a teenager

*coughTOPICcough*

:whistle:

*nudge in the right direction*

Young Tom Riddle the one in CoS :)
Dont know if you would call that young or not?

But Montse, don't you see? The teenage Tom Riddle, when he was a student at Hogwarts, is not supposed to be creepy at all! He's supposed to be attentive and charming and thoughtful towards professors. Coulson would have been perfect with his polite, attractive outside appearance and the carefully hidden malevolence in his eyes and his body language.

Yeah you are probably right, but I must admit I liked the creepiness of Frank Dillane´s Riddle, it pleased me . In my imagination you see, I did always think Riddle had this air of creepiness when his true self came visible. So I cannot complain with Dillane´s performance.
I was pleased with Coulson´s performance too, cause I too agree Riddle was charming and had this gift for being likable, so like I said , I liked them both.

the little kid is awesome!! I remember watching him for the first time in the trailer, that close up of his face... I thought he was perfect...

Now COS Riddle and HBP Riddle are the same 16 year old Riddle, but in two completely different situations. COS Riddle being really evil, trying to kill Harry and Ginny and revealing his true nature. HBP Riddle being all charming, and polite and subtle to convince a teacher to get what he wants.
I didnot like COS Riddle's performance very much, I don't think it was that good. Maybe HBP Riddle's performance was a little creepier, but remember that we are not seeing it from Slughorn's point of view, even though it was Slughorn's memory... so I guess I'd stick with HBP Riddle

I like Riddle from HBP. The one from CoS, to me, doesn't give justice to Voldemort as a character. He is a little bit different in CoS, but in HBP we learn about how he got interested in Horcruxes to begin with. Other than the teen Voldemort in HBP, I do like the "grown" one too. It is pretty cool learning about Voldemort as a kid, learning about his past, and then seeing what he is like as an adult.

I don't know. None of them convinced me. I didn't think of Tom Riddle in COS as Voldemort funnily enough. He was just too "normal" and talked to the audience :whistle: Otherwise he was okay and I understand why the teachers liked him. The one in HBP reminded me more of Voldemort, but he was perhaps way too creepy...
The little kid at the orphanage was perfect and gave the character some depth. I particularly liked this line: "I can make them hurt...If I want."

I personally like both HBP-Toms Riddle's better than the COS-Riddle.
COS Riddle was handsome, and charming but I think he was too average (and maybe a little bit too emotional ?)
Tom Riddle as a child was very good imo, I immediately liked him the first time I saw him in the trailer. He looks so cute, I wanted to hug him, but he also looks dangerous enough, that I probably wouldn't. :lol:
Teenage Tom Riddle in HPB was closer to how I was imaginating him. Handsome, pretty and good at talking, but surrounded by some creepy, dangerous aura. And through his facial expression it was hard to guess what he was thinking. I don't think he was too creepy, he had what I was missing in COS-Riddle's performance.

Wow, I'm seeing a lot more Christian Coulsons than Frank Dillanes...

Personally, Frank Dillane's scenes in HBP were some of my favorite parts. For me, he completely nailed the creepy persuasiveness of young Tom. Christian Coulson was not bad, and had a good interpretation of Riddle, but personally Frank Dillane emitted the voice and tone of the Riddle I imagined in HBP. I'd pick Frank Dillane any day.

I think all versions of Riddle were great, the essence of the character was nicely played by all different actors, but the young one is beyond creepy, definetely!

I think all the actors capture different aspects of Tom Riddle because they show him in different situations and as such I found something I enjoyed in all of them. I preferred Frank Dillane because his acting was outstanding, he showed many different aspects of the character in a very brief time and shows a more developed character than Christian Coulson from A chamber of Secrets. Also the aspects of Tom Riddle that he showed were those I ultimately found most interesting; not all aspects of Tom Riddle are equally fascinating in my book.

I think Christian Coulson did a good job of showing the Riddle who is charming on appearance, as well as the Riddle who is a bit flat and unemotional (the start of the Chambers scene). Unfortunately for him he also has to show the Tom Riddle who is angry, contemptuous and losing control , which is easy to overdo, especially in the delivery of his lines. The direction is mainly to blame here, I suspect, but still the end result is not very good.

Those who prefer Coulson seem to focus on Voldemort's qualities as a outwardly charming person as well as his appearance and in this respect Coulson fits the bill. I've never had a very definite image of Tom Riddle's appearance, so this is not central to me, all of the actors are good choices. Frank Dillane, however, is shown as someone who can also be handsome in a more mysterious way, which fits how Riddle enjoys creating an aura of mystique around his own person. This is, of course, also due to the cinematography in HBP, which was marvellous.

I did not find Riddle's ability to charm the teachers as incredible or as it seems to be for others. He is handsome/pretty, he is very talented and at the same time curious and polite, something which easily will fool quite a lot of persons and put them off their guard. What I find particular and scary about Tom Riddle is his voice, how he seems to lack remorse, his quiet, but strong self-confidence, how he enjoys controlling/manipulating others and the mysterious aura he likes to create around his persona (which is essentially just an emblem of his vanity).

All of these qualities Dillane captured perfectly. At the start of the first memory scene he is confident and charming, knowing that he is among followers who admire him and a teacher who likes and trusts him more than any other teacher. In the scene with Slughorn he is not just with any teacher, but a teacher who is particularly liable to trust him. Alsol we see him as a person who gives himself away and shows his underlying evil, in the book as well as the film. In the book as in the film, Slughorn is not charmed, but unnerved. To play Riddle as the regular prince charming in this scene would be very wrong as well as downplay the importance of the scene.

It is true that this is scene is changed in the movie, the hesitancy of Tom Riddle is exchanged with a careful and deliberate, but more forceful person. Still I think it fitted Tom Riddle's personality, especially how he sometimes looks quietly down and the effect created by the pauses when he is speaking.

The second film one was hotter. Why didn't they get him?!!?

The second film one was hotter. Why didn't they get him?!!?

Probably due to his age - he's 31 now. But I think he could still play the part. :whistle: And as shallow as it is for me to say this, hotness kind of should be a factor; Tom Riddle was supposed to be extremely handsome and winsome and kind of genial even. People just did not see the creepy at all, no matter what he was doing or saying. He tells Harry that Dumbledore was the only one who was ever suspicious of him and mentions how he was always able to charm anyone he needed to. I just did not see that in Dillane at all. He was smarmy. Not at all how I picture a young charismatic Tom Riddle.

I agree, I wish they would have stuck with Coulson but I'm not so sure he could have pulled off (now I show how rusty I am at my HP facts) 16-17 year old. Here is a photo that is already a few years old

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39420000/jpg/_39420000_riddle1.jpg

I don't know if makeup and special effects could have morphed him into a teenager. Dillane to me came off much more as a brown noser than a charmer. I also missed the angular features that I associate with Riddle, he (Dillane) was too wholesome if that makes any sense at all.

The second film one was hotter. Why didn't they get him?!!?

Maybe he didn't want to know. None of the roles in the HP films are challenging for adult actors.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39420000/jpg/_39420000_riddle1.jpg



Wow! He's changed a lot.

I don't know...here is one of him from this past September:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v85/vegancookielover/th_ccoulsen.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v85/vegancookielover/?action=view&current=ccoulsen.jpg)
That doesn't look too bad to me; I think with makeup it could work. If a man is clean-shaven, it helps a lot with how old he looks. Hairstyle can also play a major role in apparent age.

I also thought Dillane looked a little too young; he hadn't yet lost his "baby fat" on his face and while some young men don't until they hit their late teens and early twenties, I just can't categorize that as being handsome. "Handsome" brings to my mind a certain maturity in features, otherwise I'd stick with words like "cute" that can span the gap.

Probably due to his age - he's 31 now. But I think he could still play the part. :whistle: And as shallow as it is for me to say this, hotness kind of should be a factor; Tom Riddle was supposed to be extremely handsome and winsome and kind of genial even. People just did not see the creepy at all, no matter what he was doing or saying. He tells Harry that Dumbledore was the only one who was ever suspicious of him and mentions how he was always able to charm anyone he needed to. I just did not see that in Dillane at all. He was smarmy. Not at all how I picture a young charismatic Tom Riddle.

Well, we all have different images of Tom Riddle, but I'm quite puzzled that so many seems to think he always should appear charming. Was Riddle supposed to be charming when he controlled the doings of fellow students at Hogwarts? Was Riddle's popularity with fellow Slytherin students, which comprised most or all of the students present at the meeting with Slughorn, based mainly on the fact that he was typically charming?
Had he not already at this time long ago charmed Slughorn enough, so he wouldn't need to use a lot of charm to accomplish what he needed? Wasn't Riddle's relation to Slughorn closer than it was with other teachers, although he was popular with everyone (except Dumbledore)? And isn't Dillane, by focusing on Slughorn's difference from the other teachers, also trying to humour him, which is a kind of charm in its way?

When you consider the memories about Tom Riddle from HBP (the book), do they not focus rather on situations where Riddle shows his true self (knowingly or unknowingly), rather than about Riddle as the regular charmer? And wouldn't it be particularly so in the situation when he is talking about the Horcruxes, where it's quite clear in the book, that Slughorn was unnerved/uneasy several times?

I would also say that Dillane shows a kind of charm, a mysterious charm and the charm of someone who's extremely confident.

Note that I do not dislike Coulson, I think he did a good job showing certain aspects of Tom Riddle, but Dillane made a greater impression on me and had a better general control of his performance, especially how he used his voice.

Well, we all have different images of Tom Riddle, but I'm quite puzzled that so many seems to think he always should appear charming. Was Riddle supposed to be charming when he controlled the doings of fellow students at Hogwarts? Was Riddle's popularity with fellow Slytherin students, which comprised most or all of the students present at the meeting with Slughorn, based mainly on the fact that he was typically charming?
Actually, nowhere in the book does it state this; we know he controlled some kids at the orphanage but I don't recall this happening at school.
Harry looked around as Dumbledore appeared beside him and saw that they were standing in Slughorn's office. Half a dozen boys were sitting around Slughorn, all on harder or lower seats than his, and all in their mid-teens. Harry recognized Voldemort at once. His was the most handsome face and he looked the most relaxed of all the boys.
I will note that Slughorn does mention by name Lestrange and Avery, and we can likely deduce them as being in Slytherin. I've always thought he was looked up to by all the students for not only his brilliance but his seemingly easy camaraderie with teachers as well.

As far as why I think he is always charming, well, that comes from CoS:
"If I say it myself, Harry, I've always been able to charm the people I needed."
"It was my word against Hagrid's, Harry. Well, you can imagine how it looked to old Armando Dippet. On the one hand, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school prefect, model student...on the other ahnd, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls...but I admit, even I was surprised how well the plan worked. ... Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed...Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did..."
We're given to believe from the books that he practically had everyone but Dumbledore eating out of the palm of his hand during his school years and I just don't get that sort of feeling from Dillane's performance whereas I can believe it from Coulsen's.
Had he not already at this time long ago charmed Slughorn enough, so he wouldn't need to use a lot of charm to accomplish what he needed? Wasn't Riddle's relation to Slughorn closer than it was with other teachers, although he was popular with everyone (except Dumbledore)? And isn't Dillane, by focusing on Slughorn's difference from the other teachers, also trying to humour him, which is a kind of charm in its way?
No, I don't think he had charmed Slughorn enough to just sort of get by on his previous years of "work" - Harry describes Tom's manner of asking very well.
It was very well done, Harry thought, the hesitancy, the casual tone, the careful flattery, none of it overdone. He, Harry, had had too much experience of trying to wheedle information out of reluctant people to not recognize a master at work. He could tell that Riddle wanted the information very, very much; perhaps had been working toward this moment for weeks.
I just wasn't able to really feel that from Dillane's performance. Mostly, I found him rather creepy. :shrug:
When you consider the memories about Tom Riddle from HBP (the book), do they not focus rather on situations where Riddle shows his true self (knowingly or unknowingly), rather than about Riddle as the regular charmer? And wouldn't it be particularly so in the situation when he is talking about the Horcruxes, where it's quite clear in the book, that Slughorn was unnerved/uneasy several times?
In every memory we see of Tom Riddle where he wants or needs something from someone, he is perfectly charming. When he visited his uncle, he had no reason to be. And Slughorn only begins to grow uncomfortable with the Horcrux conversation when Tom starts asking about how to split your soul and whether or not seven would be an ideal number for such a venture. The book does state that he is troubled and seems to see Tom clearly for the first time.
I would also say that Dillane shows a kind of charm, a mysterious charm and the charm of someone who's extremely confident.
I guess we would just chalk this up to a difference in opinion, then. :lol: I was only thinking about how uncomfortable I would be around Dillane, from the beginning of his scene.

Thanks, those were nice answers!

Actually, nowhere in the book does it state this; we know he controlled some kids at the orphanage but I don't recall this happening at school.

When Harry and Dumbledore talks about Riddle's past in HBP, Dumbledore tells Harry that Riddle gathered around him a group of other students. The group was rigidly controlled by Riddle and their years at school marked by many nasty incidents, but their wrongdoings were never traced to them (which I believe was not mainly due to charm).

Harry looked around as Dumbledore appeared beside him and saw that they were standing in Slughorn's office. Half a dozen boys were sitting around Slughorn, all on harder or lower seats than his, and all in their mid-teens. Harry recognized Voldemort at once. His was the most handsome face and he looked the most relaxed of all the boys.

I will note that Slughorn does mention by name Lestrange and Avery, and we can likely deduce them as being in Slytherin. I've always thought he was looked up to by all the students for not only his brilliance but his seemingly easy camaraderie with teachers as well.

Well, both his brilliance and his easy camaraderie with teachers would be reasons to look up to him. But couldn't it, for a smaller group, also be likely that they were impressed by how he traced his ancestry to Slytherin? Remember that several of these kids would join him as Death Eathers later in life - I don't think this willingness and the beliefs they held came right out of the blue, it was formed during school years.

As far as why I think he is always charming, well, that comes from CoS:
"If I say it myself, Harry, I've always been able to charm the people I needed."

I understand. But there's a big difference between being charismatic or charming in the way for instance Barack Obama can be, just to make a real life example, and to be able to use charm when you need it. I think Riddle knew how to be charming when he needed to, when other kinds of behaviour were needed, he used them instead. Riddle saw other people's weaknesses/personal traits and knew how to exploit them, and knew how to use charm to manipulate, which is not the same as being charming.

"It was my word against Hagrid's, Harry. Well, you can imagine how it looked to old Armando Dippet. On the one hand, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school prefect, model student...on the other ahnd, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls...but I admit, even I was surprised how well the plan worked. ... Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed...Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did..."
We're given to believe from the books that he practically had everyone but Dumbledore eating out of the palm of his hand during his school years and I just don't get that sort of feeling from Dillane's performance whereas I can believe it from Coulsen's.

I understand that, because Dillane is not supposed to appear charming for most of this scene.

No, I don't think he had charmed Slughorn enough to just sort of get by on his previous years of "work" - Harry describes Tom's manner of asking very well.
It was very well done, Harry thought, the hesitancy, the casual tone, the careful flattery, none of it overdone. He, Harry, had had too much experience of trying to wheedle information out of reluctant people to not recognize a master at work. He could tell that Riddle wanted the information very, very much; perhaps had been working toward this moment for weeks.
I just wasn't able to really feel that from Dillane's performance. Mostly, I found him rather creepy. :shrug:

In every memory we see of Tom Riddle where he wants or needs something from someone, he is perfectly charming. When he visited his uncle, he had no reason to be. And Slughorn only begins to grow uncomfortable with the Horcrux conversation when Tom starts asking about how to split your soul and whether or not seven would be an ideal number for such a venture. The book does state that he is troubled and seems to see Tom clearly for the first time.

I guess we would just chalk this up to a difference in opinion, then. :lol: I was only thinking about how uncomfortable I would be around Dillane, from the beginning of his scene.

Well, they could age Brad Pitt to an 80 year old man. Special effects these days can do wonders. I'm sure they can reduce Coulson's age-he does seem pretty boyish for a 31 year old man to begin with. In a good way, of course.

I didn't mean to sound fan-girly in my first post, but I guess sleep deprivation can do that to you. Coulson's portrayal of the young Tom Riddle was everything I'd imagined him to be-cool, collected, yet extremely charming. Dillane's Tom Riddle didn't do it for me, he was more sneaky and haughty. (And I felt he had too much hair-cream, but let's not get to that ;)) He was kind of pushy with Slughorn, more direct and forthright. And the scene with the Slug Club, he didn't really exude the charisma Riddle was supposed to have. He basically sat there, smirking in a weird, creepy way which would kind of put off people, if you know what I mean.

Well, I see now that I made a mess out of the quote system in response to Mexicant and also I had to rush off for work, so I couldn't complete the response.

Mexicant wrote:
CoS US paperback pgs. 311-312"It was my word against Hagrid's, Harry. Well, you can imagine how it looked to old Armando Dippet. On the one hand, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school prefect, model student...on the other ahnd, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls...but I admit, even I was surprised how well the plan worked. ... Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed...Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did..."

We're given to believe from the books that he practically had everyone but Dumbledore eating out of the palm of his hand during his school years and I just don't get that sort of feeling from Dillane's performance whereas I can believe it from Coulsen's.

Well, I think this example from CoS (as well as the examples from HBP about the young Gaunt and Hebzibah's house elf who are falsely sentenced for Riddle's crimes) really shows that many teachers and authority figures in the wizarding world jumped to easy conclusions. The person with the lowest social standing or worst track record was the one they were ready to believe would commit a crime. This is a fairly common phenomenon. With Dippet I also believe you can talk about denial, he didn't want to believe anything wrong about Tom Riddle because he usually was polite, well-spoken and very talented. Especially teachers would be susceptible to befascinated by Tom Riddle's magical talent, even more considering that he was raised in an orphanage.

Mexicant wrote:
HBP US paperback pgs. 496-497It was very well done, Harry thought, the hesitancy, the casual tone, the careful flattery, none of it overdone. He, Harry, had had too much experience of trying to wheedle information out of reluctant people to not recognize a master at work. He could tell that Riddle wanted the information very, very much; perhaps had been working toward this moment for weeks.

I just wasn't able to really feel that from Dillane's performance. Mostly, I found him rather creepy.

In every memory we see of Tom Riddle where he wants or needs something from someone, he is perfectly charming. When he visited his uncle, he had no reason to be. And Slughorn only begins to grow uncomfortable with the Horcrux conversation when Tom starts asking about how to split your soul and whether or not seven would be an ideal number for such a venture. The book does state that he is troubled and seems to see Tom clearly for the first time.

In the memory with Hepzibah, the old woman, we see a Tom Riddle who is producing mechanical smiles and flatters her with flowers. It doesn't matter that his charm is forced, because she is besotted with him already. What I'm trying to say again that Tom Riddle knew how to play the charmer, to manipulate people.

it's clear that Slughorn feels uneasy about talking about this subject also in the book - he knows it's not a project for schoolwork, but tries to rationalize why Riddle would ask the question ("it's natural for wizards of a certain calibre.. etc).

I don't disagree that the scene in the film was angled differently than the book, there's no casual tone or hesitancy at the start. What I see, though, is a young man who is very controlled and studious, who knows how to make a good performance with his moves, his pauses, who knows how to mask his emotions when he needs to. This is a very important part of Riddle's personality as I see it. I agree that parts of his scenes were chilling and sinister (also due to the cinematography) and this was something I liked very much, but it didn't lead me to believe that he couldn't act differently in other scenes. I think it's important to show, as also the youngest actor Hero F-Tiffin did, that Riddle had many different faces.

He was kind of pushy with Slughorn, more direct and forthright. And the scene with the Slug Club, he didn't really exude the charisma Riddle was supposed to have. He basically sat there, smirking in a weird, creepy way which would kind of put off people, if you know what I mean.

I agree with you to a certain point. Whilst Coulson's performance in the second film was perfect to display Riddle's mania, the second actor to play the character was pretty good to portray Riddle's cool manner. The actor's delivery and facial expressions did seem sneaky, but Riddle's over-the-top charming demeanor, which was at first established by Dumbledore to make readers understand that Voldemort was a deceitful individual, was not developed in the movie. He was shown to be cunning and manipulative in the sixth film and I think that's what the film makers were targeting at. The second actor did a great job in showing that characteristic IMO. Yes we was calm, too calm I thought, not to mention that his expressions proved that he had a motive for his asking uncomfortable questions, which could only lead to trouble. That was what was so compelling about it. The film didn't need Riddle to be the charming faker that he was. To the average movie-goer, he is the kid who is about to become evil, and the actor's performance was consistent with that notion.

IMO, the Tom Riddle in the 6th movie was not portrayed as well as he could have been. I liked the one in the 2nd one much more, not because of looks (although he does fit the physical appearance better, IMO), but because the actor in HBP seemed to give too much away to Slughorn, you know what I mean? He was supposed to be polite and charming, but I'm pretty sure everyone was able to see right through him, even if they'd never met him before. I think his feelings could have been concealed better. Whereas in the 2nd movie, I see Tom Riddle as a perfect student, always following the rules, until he loses it in the Chamber. That seems more like the Tom Riddle in the books to me, IMO.

I liked the one from HBP better.

They did a better job and making the character.
I thought he seemed just selfish and stuck up like a Draco Malfoy or Lucius Malfoy character in CoS.
I just imagine Voldemort as very intelligent and professional. Like typical serial killers.
Normal but deep inside something evil stirring.

The one who was in Chamber of Secrets was sooo much better than the one in the Half blood Prince. I thought the Riddle who was in book 6 was kind of irritating...So my favourite is the first Riddle.

I don't really have a preference, they all have something and all display the different elements to Voldemort's character pretty well. I thought Frank Dillane was deliciously arrogant, much like Christian Coulson.

To all of you fangirls saying Coulson is hot...so? No offense but that's kind of a shallow thing to say. Canon says Riddle was handsome, not "hot" or "sexy", so you can't use that to back up your argument.

I'll separate this into three scenes and an overview

Slughorns memory: dillane acted far to evil. Its not supposed to be obvious until the very end and he started off creepy right off the bat. Yes Tom is supposed to be confident and all but wen he starts off, he needed to be hesitant and not smirking uncontrollably. If Dillane went up to a real Slughorn like that, he wouldve been kicked right out like Harry was. Sure the audience needs to see his evilness but they also needed to see how manipulative and cunning he was and only Slughorns performance saved that scene from total disaster. If he hadn't been so convincing, dillane wouldve looked far worse than he did. Not to say it was totally his fault, the directors probably told him to be that way and editing didnt help but it still doesnt change anything

Memory from the diary: Coulson was quiet, reserved, with a tiny dash of charm toward Dippet. Still too arrogant for my taste but not as obvious. And when talking to dumbledire, he controlled himself but the audience could still see what Dumbledore mistrusted. When he accosted Hagrid, he seemed believable as someone who thought Hagrid was guilty. He was so much more believable as Head Boy and far more trustworthy

Chamber: he started off normal when he only just took Harrys wand but like in the book, he slowly starts losing it. Its not right off the bat, it seeps in, and when commanding the basilisk, he was just as insane as in the book. A lot of people say they thought he was too not charming in there but seriously, his dialogue in the book was in all caps (smell him) and he wasn't really pretending to be anything different in front of Harry.

Heh, if you want me to get into looks, Coulson is more handsome but not as canon as I imagine, needs a less strong jaw, more hollowed cheeks, could be more elongated face. Dillane has more puffed out cheekbut the basic shape is fine, eyes arena intense and expressive enough. Personally, I wouldve chosen Tom Felton with almost black hair and Coulson hairdo in terms of looks

The two could be identical twins for all I care but Christian Coulsons performance was much more superior. Dillane seems more like a failed Dark Lord wannabe to me

Do you like the Tom Riddle from COS or the one in HBP in the memories with Slughorn? For me, I like the one from COS, but the Riddle from HBP was a creepier. That's my opinion.

i agree! I really liked the one from COS but maybe that was just b/c of his looks. ;) haha.
and yeah, the one from HBP was very eerie; perfect.

The Half Blood Prince Tom Riddle was creepier and that is why I believe that he is the better one of the two mentioned above. However Voldemort is the Best Tom Riddle

I don't really have a preference, they all have something and all display the different elements to Voldemort's character pretty well.

I feel the exact same way :).
To me, both actors played their part very well. And in doing so both were able to display some of the different attributes that a young Tom Riddle had while at school. Coulsen was the definitly the more charming of the two, but Dillane for me exuded arrogance and extreme intellegence. Dillane was (as mexicant rightly said...) very creepy in his scene.

I was also very impressed with young Fiennes, he did a very good job aswell :tu:.

i agree! I really liked the one from COS but maybe that was just b/c of his looks. ;) haha.

I think Emma's hot but that doesn't make me inherently like her acting skills. I like them of course, but they're not a result of her attractiveness.

I just thought of something, in different scenery, Dillane wouldnthave been quite so creepy and might have made a wonderful McLaggen

I just thought of something, in different scenery, Dillane wouldnthave been quite so creepy and might have made a wonderful McLaggen

You think he would fit as McLaggen because he acts so confidently, almost arrogant?

For me the principal difference is between someone who's decently good-looking, but very full of himself and almost totally lacking any charisma and someone who looks fairly good, but also has quite a lot of charisma and knows how to use it. This, of course, is also a matter of opinion. A lot of people seem to emphasize Coulson's good looks and I agree that he looks both pretty and at times dashing. To show charisma/be charismatic in my view requires a quite strong presence, which includes the use of body language, something I often miss from Coulson.

Coulson was good for the role that needed to be played in CoS, which called for a more overtly evil Riddle than the Riddle we see in HBP. But I'd have to say I prefer Dillane in HBP. As others have said, he really had the right combination of a charming, yet creepy and shrewd personality, though I could also see him having the ability to project a more powerful presence like Coulson did in CoS.

You think he would fit as McLaggen because he acts so confidently, almost arrogant?

For me the principal difference is between someone who's decently good-looking, but very full of himself and almost totally lacking any charisma and someone who looks fairly good, but also has quite a lot of charisma and knows how to use it. This, of course, is also a matter of opinion. A lot of people seem to emphasize Coulson's good looks and I agree that he looks both pretty and at times dashing. To show charisma/be charismatic in my view requires a quite strong presence, which includes the use of body language, something I often miss from Coulson.

Coulson seemed to exude the more humble side of Riddle that the audience knows isn't the real him but the staff always saw. He showed that quietly charming personality that Dippet loved about him and I expect Slughorn would like. To me, Dillane just tried too hard to be evil and arrogant. We get that he's evil and shrewd from his actions, but we don't get that he's charming and wonderful to his professors from his behavior

Tom Riddle in Chamber of Secrets was perfectly cast, and he was quietly menacing. Tome Riddle in Half-Blood Prince was creepy, and less subtle in his menacing... but still a great Tom Riddle, either way.

But I think I'm going to choose the Tom Riddle from Half-Blood Prince. When he starts talking about Horcruxes, I don't think I've ever had more creepy chills going up and down my spine. That could be partly due to the way the scene was made, and the music behind it, but still... Really creepy and really good :p

I like every actor that played Tom Riddle. Frank Dillane, to me, looks a lot like Christian Coulson. Christian Coulson had a strong evil aura to him, while Frank Dillane had a sense of likableness to him, while at the same time, you were not sure what kind of person he really was.

I liked the from CoS. He really looked like Tom Riddle. He was the best.

Coulson looks way too innocent/normal to be Voldemort. I think Dillane portrayed charming/confident just as well as he did creepy.

I must also say that Fiennes-Tiffin, the youngest Voldemort in the Orphanage, did a great job too.

I think all the actors who played Voldemort did awesome! I really liked Coulson because he was great a portraying Voldemort as mean and evil. Dillane did well with being mysterious. And tiffin was just creepy lol I don't know, I think I liked coulson more though.

I liked the from CoS. He really looked like Tom Riddle. He was the best.
PotterManiac, you're a person after my own heart. :agree:

While acknowledging Dillane's talent, I will always regret that they did not get Coulson back for the role in HBP. The question of the actor's age is irrelevant. Many actors and actresses (Ben Barnes in Prince Caspian, Emma Thompson in Sense and Sensibility to cite only two examples) played characters younger by about 10 years or more than they themselves were. Even Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson et al. are now quite a bit older than Harry, Hermione, etc. are supposed to be.

I think that the 11-year old Tom Riddle from HBP was the best, it portrays him exactly as you would imagine a child Dark Wizard, although the one in CoS was also acted out well.

I prefer the Tom Riddle from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets seemed. . .worried, in a way. I'm not sure if that's really the word I'm looking for, but he definitely wasn't as egotistical as I always pictured Tom Riddle. However, the Tom Riddle in HBP was. . .perfect. He was attractive, knew how to swindle his Professors, and very, very sure of himself. It's always good for an actor playing a character like Tom Riddle to be able to send shivers down my spine. :tu: XoX

I thought the two in HBP were very good. They seemed very mysterious and dark, which was good for playing a young Dark Lord. The only thing I felt was missing was the charm. Frank Dillane had it a little bit, but not as much as I expected. Maybe I need to see the scene again, but I didn't think he had the right air of flattery and warmth when asking Slughorn about the horcruxes.

Hmm, if I had to choose one, I would say Coulson was better.

COS, he seemed much more evil to me.

All of them were fascinating on their own.

CoS Riddle was overbearing, powerful in demeanor, and manipulative. He was handsome too. The way he spoke was what really made me think of him as Tom Riddle.

HBP 11 year old Riddle: He was spooky and awesome. He didnt really say anything as pointed as he did in the books but the effect was there. "I can make them do things i want them to. I can make them hurt..." The way he says that...brrrr.

HBP Teen Riddle: He has the appearance i was more expecting. He also seems to have the charismatic side. We see very little of him though.

I love all of them, so... can I say Ralph Fiennes?! He's Tom Riddle too, afer all! :-)

I prefer the one from CoS. He was the creepiest, and was just far more convincing. It really ticked me off that he wanted to come back for HBP and they wouldn't let him.

He was too old though by this time. I know what you mean though. I like continuity. They should have picked a younger guy then and maybe he wouldn't have changed so much. I guess they didn't know that they would need him for future films.

Christian Coulson (CoS) was so handsome. Riddle is always described in the books as being good looking.
Hero Fiennes (HBP child) was freaking angry and creepy. You could totally see him being evil and commanding.
Frank Dillane (HBP teen) was so charismatic; another important Riddle characteristic. He was the perfect combination of charming and creepy.

If only they could be combined. Coulson + Fiennes + Dillane = handsome, commanding, charming Riddle.

I would say that the two actors from HBP are way better than Coulson who i felt didnt portray the charcter as well.

The best is Chris. I liked the little boy in HBP but to be honest, he had little to nothing to do. He was so hyped up in the trailer and then his part in the movie was cut down way too much from the book.

I like them all as Tom Riddle, to be honest. They portrayed him well in some way or another. Coulson was the Hogwarts Riddle that I imagined - tall, handsome, the last person you'd expect to be a Dark Lord. Dillane looked very much like a villain. Very Voldy-ish, with that smirk and all. And Hero Fiennes? Totally how I imagined him to be. You could imagine Voldemort to be like him as a kid, all creepy and angry and everything. They all should have had more screen time, it's kinda disappointing how short their scenes were :(

I'd have to say the two boys who played Riddle in HBP, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, who played TR age 11, and Frank Dillane, 16-year-old TR, were both far better than Coulson, who was suppose to be 16 and looked way too old. He also played the part, IMO, almost as a charicature of Riddle, not as a serious role. Dillane, on the other hand, gave me cold chills as he stood talking to Slughorn and turning Gaunt's ring on his finger. He's talking just as cooly about splitting his soul as one would talk about where they might go on vacation.

I think the difference in the portrayal of the character has been that the movies have "grown up" as Harry as grown up. As the plots have gotten darker, they've been portrayed more like serious stories and less like fairy tales.

I like both Tom's to be honest but probably the CoS Tom more. He looked more how I pictured Tom and he acted a bit more evil. that's more how I imagine Tom. I do like the HBP Tom too, though. And I like the little 11 year old Tom and well I also like old Tom Riddle. I like them all1