Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy

[River_Slytherin]

Originally Posted by Night_Sarabande

At the end of "Chamber of Secrets" when he realized that Harry had given Dobby a sock, we got a good glimpse of a very mad Lucius. He was terrifying.

terrifying and cool at the same time.

[SirDobster]

Originally Posted by Night_Sarabande

At the end of "Chamber of Secrets" when he realized that Harry had given Dobby a sock, we got a good glimpse of a very mad Lucius. He was terrifying.

Everything about him -- his delivery of his lines, his facial expression, his posture -- was perfection.

No matter how many times I watch that scene, he's so good, that I still have a tiny fear that he's going to do something truly violent.

[ShadowSonic]

It makes me a little sad that Lucius wasn't a bigger villain in the books, or at least not a more effective villain in the books. Isaacs took what could have been a bland character and made him somewhat striking.

[slytherin001]

Originally Posted by ShadowSonic

It makes me a little sad that Lucius wasn't a bigger villain in the books, or at least not a more effective villain in the books. Isaacs took what could have been a bland character and made him somewhat striking.

I concur with this sentiment. The way Isaacs handled Lucius when he found out Dobby was no longer his made me really hopeful for a canon Lucius who would turn out to be this mega villain and go berserk on everyone. There was a TON of potential for Lucius' character after CoS that unfortunately, IMO, wasn't utilized. Oh well, I actually prefer Isaacs' Lucius to the one in the books.

[ccollinsmith]

This is an interesting idea, but I also kind of like that JKR made Lucius a failed villain. (Not failed in the sense that Draco was - i.e., being unable to enjoy villainy once he gets a real taste of it - but failed in the sense of losing his position in the DE because of his failure at the Dept. of Mysteries).

Being a failed villain leads to amazing - if brief - performances by Mr. Isaacs in DH1 and DH2. The taking of Lucius' wand at the start of DH1 is utterly chilling, largely due to the way Jason Isaacs plays the scene. He actually makes you feel the humiliation.

[ShadowSonic]

It might've worked better if Rowling had done more to establish him as a credible villain beforehand. We get a glimpse in CoS, but then we have to wait until OOTP for any villainy from him again and we get a rather pathetic showing.

If she'd shown him as a successful villain who actually managed to win some battles/plots, then his "fall" would've been more poignant.

[ccollinsmith]

I thought what she did was credible. I just think she had a different direction in mind for Lucius than being a successful villain. Voldemort's return was not something Lucius was looking forward to, and it signalled the beginning of the end for Lucius.

His fall is largely about a fall from social prominence - only one aspect of which is his place in Voldemort's circle. Going from aristocratic wizard to broken ex-prisoner is quite poignant I think.

Or at least it is in the way Jason Isaacs plays it (to return to the topic at hand).

I think what's remarkable about his performance is that Lucius is really a horrible person (and I do think that is successfully established in both the books and the movies), yet Isaacs manages to make him into a minor tragic figure. His choices, inspired by his shortcomings, lead directly to his downfall just as they do in Greek and Shakespearean tragedy. And Isaacs gets the audience to experience the suffering this creates for Lucius.

[ShadowSonic]

It actually goes both ways with Isaacs. He made Lucius a more interesting character than he otherwise would've been and like you said he gave him a minor tragic element.

However, unlike the books which gave no explanation of what happened to Lucius after the final war other than him being pardoned and not in jail (a major miscarriage of justice) Isaacs said something about how the Malfoy name was now permanently associated with the Death Eaters and how he more or less would never be forgiven for his crimes by society or his own family. So Isaacs gave Lucius the justice-fate he deserved.