Ralph Fiennes Reveals the Real Reason He Wore Tights While Playing Lord Voldemort inHarry Potter

Mar. 15, 2025

Ralph Fiennes in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ in 2007.Photo:Warner Bros./Courtesy of Everett Collection

Warner Bros./Courtesy of Everett Collection

It turns outRalph Fienneswasn’t so scary under all those layers and prosthetics as the iconic villain Lord Voldemort intheHarry Potterfilms.

During an appearance on SiriusXM’sAndy Cohen Liveto promote his new filmConclave, 61-year-old Fiennes shared, “I had to wear tights underneath,” when speaking about his character’s costume.

When Cohen asked why, Fiennes responded: “Because it was for, well, it was for ease. It was for ease of movement, in theory. The tights, over the course of a few hours, the tights, the gusset, the bit between the legs of the tights.”

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“It would come further down, you know, just through moving and talking, so I realized that the way to go was to actually have, what I think, what you guys call a garter belt so that I would have the tights suspended with the gut from my underwear, so I didn’t have … well, each leg would have its own tight. It didn’t have to be connected,” Fiennes added.

Fiennes appeared as Voldemort in fiveHarry Potterfilms: 2005’sHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2007’sHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2009’sHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2010’sHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1and 2011’sHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

The franchise, which isbased on the book seriesof the same name and spans eight films, will soon be turned into a television series, with Warner Bros. Discovery confirming that a “a decade-long series” was in the works. The launch date has not yet been announced butDeadlinereportedthat the series could be aiming for a 2025/2026 premiere.

source: people.com