A different fantasy franchise creates a challenge for Argus Filch in the Harry Potter show. The Hogwarts caretaker who was first introduced in the Harry Potter books is played by David Bradley in the movies. He appears in every installment except Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Despite playing Filch in seven movies, Bradley is not reprising the role in HBO’s Harry Potter show, which features a new cast that will adapt the books. With each season adapting a different book, the show has been touted to be a more faithful adaptation of the source material.
The Harry Potter show’s first casting update from HBO reveals the actors who have been cast in six key roles. This includes John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse as Filch. These are all promising cast choices, especially with Frost being a fan-favorite pick for Hagrid long before the official casting was announced. However, the positive potential of these cast additions does not negate the challenge that comes with playing Filch in the upcoming series.
Game Of Thrones Made The Harry Potter Movies’ Filch Actor Even More Unlikable In Hindsight
Walder Frey Is One Of Game Of Thrones’ Most Despicable Characters
Filch is meant to be an unlikable character in the Harry Potter books and movies, and it is even easier to dislike him after seeing Bradley play Walder Frey in Game of Thrones. While Filch is unlikable, Walder Frey is a despicable character who is one of the architects of the horrific mᴀssacre that becomes known as the Red Wedding. From reveling in the deaths of House Stark to matter-of-factly saying, “I’ll find another” when Catelyn Stark threatens to kill his wife, Bradley makes it easy to hate Walder Frey.
Bradley’s performance makes Walder Frey’s death all the more satisfying and adds new context to seeing him play Filch in Harry Potter. From seeing Filch get excited at the prospect of students being punished to helping Dolores Umbridge enforce her oppressive rules, Filch has plenty of low moments. However, Filch’s lowest moments pale in comparison with the depths of Walder Frey’s depravity. It is difficult to watch Bradley’s Filch without thinking about Walder Frey now.
The Harry Potter Remake’s New Filch Actor May Struggle To Get As Strong Of A Response As David Bradley
David Bradley Nailed The Part
Before Bradley played Walder Frey in Game of Thrones, he already did a fantastic job of playing Filch. His portrayal leaves no ambiguity about how terrible Filch can be as he seeks to make life miserable for Hogwarts students and latches onto someone worse than him, like Umbridge, who validates his behavior. At the same time, Bradley does an exceptional job bringing dark comedy to Filch, like when he wistfully recalls how students used to be punished by hanging from their thumbs in the dungeons.
Bradley sets a high bar, and with the additional context of his Walder Frey performance, Whitehouse will have a challenging time living up to the precedent that has been set.
There is also a sadness to Filch that Bradley captures, which explains why he becomes so fixated on wanting everyone to feel as miserable as he does. Given how flawlessly Bradley balances these elements of Filch’s character, it would be difficult for anyone to play the role. Bradley sets a high bar, and with the additional context of his Walder Frey performance, Whitehouse will have a challenging time living up to the precedent that has been set.
How Paul Whitehouse Can Make Argus Filch As Memorable As His Movie Counterpart
There Can Be More Focus On Filch Being A Squib
In order to make Filch as memorable in the show as he is in the movies, Whitehouse will need to balance the cruelty, dark humor, and sadness that define the character. As for something new that could be brought to the role, it could be beneficial to focus more on him being a Squib in the Wizarding World, which means that he had magical parents, but did not inherit any magical abilities himself. The movies do little to explore what it is like for Filch to spend decades working at a school for magic while being a Squib.
Paul Whitehouse appears in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban as the living portrait of Sir Cadogan, although most of the character’s scenes were deleted from the final cut.
It must be difficult to be surrounded by talented witches and wizards while he lacks what makes them special. By exploring this, the show can more fully tap into the sadness and loneliness that are vital to Filch’s character. In terms of how to make Filch humorous, the Harry Potter show can cast Peeves, who is not in the movies. Peeves loves to antagonize Filch, and the caretaker is always at war with the poltergeist, which can help create an amusing dynamic that was missing from the Harry Potter films.
