Ralph Fiennes improvised Voldemort’s most awkward Harry Potter moment

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 may have come out over a decade ago, but fans haven’t forgotten the film’s most awkward moment: the hug between Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) that takes place right before the Battle of Hogwarts.

Many viewers cringed as the Dark Lord attempted to bring Draco to the Death Eaters’ side, hugging him in a way that felt both creepy and slightly out of character. One can’t be blamed for wondering why the filmmakers would have included such a strained moment, but as it turns out, they didn’t. The hug was actually improvised by Fiennes.

During an appearance at Dragon Con in 2011, Felton revealed that the hug wasn’t planned. “That wasn’t in the script,” the actor said. “We did that take like 25 times. He only hugged me once. It was a one-off thing that he just threw at me. Honestly, I was like, ‘What the hell is he doing? Why is he hugging me in this weird fashion?’ So, it was very strange. It was a surprise to me. I was baffled. I’m even more baffled that that was the take they used.”

Harry Potter fans had mixed reactions to the Voldemort hug

Felton noted that the hug evoked different reactions depending on who was watching. “In England, it’s considered a very chilling moment, so the whole audience kind of goes dead quiet,” he said. “Nobody really knows what to say or do. Over here [in the U.S.], it’s hilarious. Literally, the audience burst into laughter, which is great.”

The U.S. reaction does explain all the memes that have cropped up over the years. However it affected people, it’s now hard to picture Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 without the Voldemort hug.

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