Who played Voldemort in Harry Potter?

Prior to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’s release in movie theaters in 2001, the muggle world was becoming familiar with the Wizarding World through J.K. Rowling’s books. And little did we know it, but one of pop culture’s biggest, baddest villains had been born in the pages of those books.

From the very first book, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was introduced as a fearsome wizard who was well versed in the dark arts. Not only that, but his killing sprees were merciless. And the only one who ever faced him and lived to tell the tale was the Boy Who Lived himself, Harry Potter. Leaving only a scar on his head, Harry went on to be saved from his home in Godric’s Hollow, and the two went on to be foes for many years following his adolescence.

With the villain being teased on screen, we got one of our first small glimpses of the Dark Lord when he appeared in the first film — albeit, on the back of Professor Quirrell’s head. But in the following films, as he regained his strength, the dark wizard finally let himself be known to the world. And we would come to recognize the pale, noseless figure as the iconic villain in the Harry Potter franchise.

So, you might be wondering who plays the powerful wizard Lord Voldemort? Well, the answer isn’t simply one actor. There are multiple people who’ve played the roles in the Harry Potter films!

Every Voldemort actor in Harry Potter

If you’re wondering who plays Voldemort in his most iconic look, that would be actor Ralph Fiennes. The actor first appeared as the character in the fourth film, The Goblet of Fire. And after that, Fiennes reprised his role in the fifth film The Order of the Phoenix, as well as the last two films from book seven, The Deathly Hallows Parts I and II. The British actor has been in the business for quite a long time. Though, most recently, you may have seen him as M in the Daniel Craig James Bond movies.

In the first film, there is a flashback scene of the day that Voldemort entered the Potters’ home, and a cloaked Voldemort was played by actor Richard Bremmer. Next, in the same film, when Voldemort is revealed to be on Quirrell’s head, Screen Rant reports that Quirrell actor Ian Hart also provided the voice for the CGI character on the back of his head.

Next, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, we get the reveal of Voldemort’s past identity as a young student at Hogwarts: Tom Riddle. That version of him was played by actor Christian Coulson. And finally, we got two more even younger versions of the character later in the films.

In The Half-Blood Prince, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin played the young version of Riddle that was visited by Dumbledore at the orphanage. And if that name looks familiar, it’s because he’s the nephew of the adult Riddle himself, Ralph Fiennes.

Lastly, in other flashbacks for The Half-Blood Prince, we get just a slightly older Riddle played by Frank Dillane. For the Game of Thrones fans out there, Frank is the son of Stephen Dillane, who plays Stannis Baratheon in the fan-favorite series.

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