David Thewlis as Remus Lupin

[AceOfDiamonds8]

I liked David Thewlis as Lupin. I think he's a good actor and portrayed the character really well. The only thing I didn't like about him was the mustache. Lupin doesn't have a mustache!! Not in my imagination, anyway.
Other than that, he looked pretty much how I imagined him and he's a great actor

[PupilOfBinns]

I thought he was very, very good His hair was a lot shorter than I'd pictured in the books, but I liked both versions of him equally, and Thewlis's acting was perfect for the role, especially in POA.

[sekhmetlion]

Originally Posted by padfootmarauder

bout the mustache. I sort of somehow imagined him with longer hair. Performance is great but in third year Lupin is this really really fun guy and a teacher. He was serious but you could somehow see how he was a marauder. Here he just seemed extra serious. JMO though

Totally agree! that's the point, he is serious, he is the good teacher, but you can still sense the marauder under, you feel like suddenly he is going to take his wand and start the action (fighting or wathever) that is what he does in the end.

And I am sorry, but David Thwelis looks nothing near the Lupin in my mind. I am not sure but I heard they were about to choose Ewan McGregor (for me he would have been perfect for the role) he would have had that air of "now I am here all serious and in a moment I am fighting to the end".

[PeerlessKid]

Originally Posted by sekhmetlion

Totally agree! that's the point, he is serious, he is the good teacher, but you can still sense the marauder under, you feel like suddenly he is going to take his wand and start the action (fighting or wathever) that is what he does in the end.

And I am sorry, but David Thwelis looks nothing near the Lupin in my mind. I am not sure but I heard they were about to choose Ewan McGregor (for me he would have been perfect for the role) he would have had that air of "now I am here all serious and in a moment I am fighting to the end".

That's a really good shout out about Ewan McGregor! Were they really close or is it just a rumour? Ewan with David Thewlis's hair in that movie is how I pictured him, but having said that I really liked David Thewlis regardless. Nothing like I imagined but it doesn't deter anything away for me, after my first sadness that it's not who I pictured I instantly accept him as the on-screen Lupin I disagree on the seriousness part though, I think he captured the 'maruader underneath him' characteristic quite well especially in the scenes where you see him looking at Harry in that affectionate way that he did. He just radiates off the look of 'I've been round these parts many a time myself, and I know exactly what you do also and I'm proud of you '

Or that's how it came across for me at least

[Slartibartfast]

I think he was just fine as Lupin. In fact i think his voice in particular is very fitting. Thewlis has this sort of depressed nasal sound to his voice and as Lupin is described as downtrodden, it fits. Plus the fact that Lupin looks older than he is, i think its good match. His appearance, i really dont have a problem with. It may be because i saw the films before reading the books. Although when i read, i picture Thewlis without the 'stache. lol!

[HirallyFloo]

Originally Posted by AceOfDiamonds8

I liked David Thewlis as Lupin. I think he's a good actor and portrayed the character really well. The only thing I didn't like about him was the mustache. Lupin doesn't have a mustache!! Not in my imagination, anyway. :P

Yes! I loved Thewlis' acting, but the only problem was that I didn't picture him having a mustache either! But his acting was great. I thought he portrayed Lupin very well, especially showing how kind Lupin really is despite his troubles. PoA was really good because of him, I think.

[Sophia_Weasley]

I LOVE him as Lupin he is one of my favs! I can not wait to see how he does in the fight with Harry in DH i think it will be interesting to really see that side of Lupin

[Lady_Snape]

I've seen a few of his movies when I was younger and always thought he was rather attractive, so maybe I'm somewhat biased, but I absolutely loved him as Lupin. For me, he is exactly how I pictured the character. I just wish the poor man got more screen time.

And am I the only one who doesn't mind the 'stache? In fact, I kinda dig it.

[fullofwish]

Originally Posted by Lady_Snape

I've seen a few of his movies when I was younger and always thought he was rather attractive, so maybe I'm somewhat biased, but I absolutely loved him as Lupin. For me, he is exactly how I pictured the character. I just wish the poor man got more screen time.

And am I the only one who doesn't mind the 'stache? In fact, I kinda dig it.

Nope, I dig the 'stache as well ... its kinda sexy

He is EXACTLY the Lupin I pictured in the books. I thought he brought a really great energy to the role - where he was gentle and kind, but also firm when he needed to be. And I think that as the films progressed you can see the change in Remus that happened within the books. He became more tired, weathered, stressed. He has been through two wars, lost a lot in the first and with a new relationship and baby he has even more to lose. I thought that was a significant change in the character which in the books was shown most clearly in the fight he had with Harry in Grimmauld Place. I think the great job that Thewlis has done can be seen in the fact that even though we don't get to see that scene with Harry, we still get that sense of character progression from him in the limited time he has on screen (at the Burrow for example).

[Snapes_Girl]

David Thewlis portrays Remus to perfection! I wish could say the same for Michael Gambon's portrayal of DD in PoA and GoF.

[THE_MANIA]

Originally Posted by sekhmetlion

Totally agree! that's the point, he is serious, he is the good teacher, but you can still sense the marauder under, you feel like suddenly he is going to take his wand and start the action (fighting or wathever) that is what he does in the end.

Yeah I completely agree with you here but I really think that David Thewlis is perfect a Lupin, he was so good being serious as well as mischievous.

[Gemini123]

I imagined Lupin to be more subtle, serene with a hoarse voice. Also imagined lighter, longer hair and a weak frame. Overall he was an okay actor and slightly grew on me but not quite. I was really disappointed when I saw the 3rd movie considering he was my favourite!

[Marina]

Being just a little less forgetful than Neville, I can't remember if I posted in this before, but now after having seen all the films, I can give a better opinion.

Anyway, I really loved how he portrayed Lupin in the third film--had that air of gentility about him, and really had the role of good but firm teacher really nailed down. We can tell that he is an excellent teacher who does not play favourites amongst his pupils, but Thewlis also brought out that more strict (within reason) side. He isn't overly strict with his pupils, and especially not Harry, but also not overly relaxed either. Now before this morphs into a discussion about Lupin as a character, as my fingers are itching to do, I'll move on.

In the fifth film, he was a lot more serious, reflecting the gradual somberness and darkness the films are getting. The way he tries to hold Harry back after Sirius falls through the veil, and that expression of shocked grief in the Dept. of Mysteries was very well done acting, keeping in line with Lupin in the books.

Unfortunately I don't remember much of Lupin if he was in the sixth movie at all (it's been yonks since I saw it, and saw it only once).

By the seventh film, Lupin seemed a lot more harsher, a lot more...grizzled for a lack of a better way to put it, especially when he slams Harry against the wall and demands to know what was in the classroom the first time he saw Harry Potter (a grindylow). Definitely a lot more tense and grim than we see in PoA. But I think that's also very realistic; a lot of soldiers in real life who've seen lots of terrible things happen would probably find themselves a lot changed from who they were. I know it definitely happened to a lot of soldiers after the World Wars, and I would confidently assume any other war as well.
But it seems that after death, he is more himself again, more relaxed and much less tense like we see at near the end of DH2. Perhaps because he was in the next world, he was out of the war, knowing he had died to make the world a better place for his and Tonks' son.

[Coldwindblows]

What's all this fuss about the 'tache?

It's just a rogue piece of un-trimmed hair under the nose!

It broke my already broken heart when Lupin died (previously broken from all the previous deaths), and I truly wished he'd survive.

David Thewlis (who I once thought was named "David Delvish") was the perfect Lupin. Everything I imagined in him was right there. I mean, the 'tache was just fine. I pictured him without one at first too... but come on, welcome the 'tache. It's an unabridged power.

Mr. Thewlis does a fine job. I commend his performance.

[SparksChaser24]

Lupin was one of my favourite characters, but David looked nothing like the image of Lupin in my mind, but I wasn't dissapointed, he portrayed him wonderfully.

[Lonnie]

I guess he played the part well?

I dunno, I'm not a fan of him as Remus. I don't know him well as an actor in general, so it's nothing personal.

I just think he had the wrong look. I can't explain what the RIGHT look is though. Believe me, I've tried. I just know that I'd recognize it if I saw it.

Also, he had this weird aura about him in the movies. I didn't like his presence. I can't really explain it beyond that.

Remus is one of my favourite characters. Maybe I'm just picky. Then again, Sirius was one of my favourites, too, and I think Gary Oldman was a terrific choice despite not looking right. He had the perfect presence and preformed wonderfully. So I don't know what my deal with Thwelis!Lupin is. I just don't like him for some reason or another.

[magnolia7]

I really love this guy. He portrayed Lupin great in the films. It's a shame that the screenwriters didn't develop his character enough though. I loved him in POA.

[Kings_Cross]

I thought he was excellent. Though the films made a decision to make all the Marauders/OoTP a tad older looking than in the books, I think it worked.

Thewlis is tall, thin, & worn-looking. You'd think frail, but of course he's quite strong. I think he acted with the gentle grace of POA and then eventually became more desperate and rough in DHP1/2.

Plus, I find him handsome.

[Peakes]

I'm biased, because I rate David Thewlis highly as an actor anyway, but I think he really brought the vulnerability of Remus to the screen well, and it is a shame we didn't see more of his character development.

Seeing Remus and Tonks dead on the floor of the Great Hall is one of those scenes that tears me up every time, and I don't think that would happen if I didn't connect so well with the character.

[Marina]

Originally Posted by LoonyForMoony

I dislike David as Lupin, but I think it's just an issue of him being miscast rather than any problems with his acting abilities; he was really good on other films I've seen. Cuaron translated the character fairly well in PoA (he still had some pretty uncharacteristic mannerisms and lines ... oh well), but in subsequent films I think the Lupin from the books has been completely discarded in favor of some person nothing at all like the character JK wrote. He always seems grumpy and on edge; in the books Lupin is the peacemaker and mediating element in any gathering, and is always the person left to calm people down when they get upset- he's the voice of reason and the shoulder to cry on. In the films, however, it is Lupin himself who always seems annoyed and upset and has to be apologized for; the scene at the Burrow in Half-blood Prince was especially botched, in my opinion. In the book he was completely quiet and not angry at all, even when Harry was being bullheaded about Snape; indeed, he took the time to try to explain to Harry why he's grateful to Snape for his help with the Wolfsbane potion and carries no grudge against him. Harry's the one coming across as obstinate and angry through the conversation. In the film, however, Lupin raises his voice, interrupts Harry ("I'm not--" "Yes. You. ARE!"), gesticulates, and finally gets up and leaves in a huff, leading both Tonks and Arthur to make halfhearted excuses for him.

Apart from that, I just plain don't like the way he looks. The entire Marauder generation was cast a good twenty years older than they were in the books, but I think the change is especially glaring with Lupin. He should have been barely thirty in PoA, and JK makes several references to his youthful face. However, Thewlis's Lupin looks, in my opinion at least, like a scruffy, world-weary fifty-year-old. I always had an image of a very sweet and innocent looking young man, but I didn't get that from the film's version at all. Marta over at ArtDungeon.com does a much better job representing my idea of him: http://www.artdungeon.net/ootp/werewolf3

I absolutely agree with all of this, especially after seeing him in HBP and DH, where, in the latter, he had what I call a "Michael Gambon in GoF moment" (i.e. the infamous "DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE?!" moment ).

That is, I saw his slamming Harry into the wall and having him in a chokehold while demanding to know what creature sat in his office the day Harry met him in his office (referring book PoA because we saw none of the sort in movie!PoA) as being wildly out of character for him. That is way different than in the books:

DH, Fallen Warrior No sooner had Mrs. Weasley bent over her son, then Lupin grabbed Harry by the upper arm and dragged him, none too gently, back into the kitchen where Hagrid was still attempting to ease his bulk through the back door. ... "What creature sat in the corner of my office the first time Harry Potter visited my office at Hogwarts?" he said, giving Harry a small shake. "Answer me!" "A -- a grindylow in a tank wasn't it?" Lupin released Harry and fell back against a kitchen cupboard.

Nowhere does it say that he basically put him in a chokehold. I also agree with you about HBP--that raising his voice and getting fed up with him thing struck me as very un-Lupin-like. Yes, these are tough times, but in the books, he still managed to keep some modicum of calm and humour, and there were even moments I could see that Marauder in him coming through. I just cannot see Thewlis' Lupin, particularly HBP onward, lightly commenting on how James used to call his werewolf thing his "furry little problem", with everyone under the impression he "had a badly behaved rabbit" (paraphrasing mostly here.) Book!Lupin still had that Marauder side of him as well all the way through; I just didn't see that here.

I feel like Lupin in the movies was changed into some grizzled, unshaven veteran soldier (e.g. the likes you may see in a lot of WW2 movies) stereotype, and PoA is definitely where he was closest to the character in the books.