Movie Musings: Disney and More

David Thewlis: A Werewolf of a Talent

If you grew up on the Harry Potter series like I did, you remember a series is full of extremely fascinating. Whether good or evil, each of J.K. Rowling’s characters are interesting for their own special reasons, and Professor Remus John “R.J.” Lupin is no exception. Although he has a werewolf for an alter ego, he is a kind-hearted man devoted to protecting Harry. His first appearance is in the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. And in this blog, I’d like to tell you some interesting facts about the actor who brought that character to life on the big screen in five out of the eight Harry Potter films, David Thewlis.

David Thewlis was born David Wheeler on March 20th, 1963 in Blackpool, England. His father, Alec Raymond Wheeler, owned a wallpaper and toy shop, in which his mother Maureen also worked. As a teenager, David aspired to be a musician, and he played lead guitar in a punk rock band called Door 66. After graduating Highfield High School in Blackpool’s Matron Area, he went with Door 66 to London to try to book gigs, but later decided to try acting instead and enrolled at Gulidhall School of Music and Drama. He graduated in 1984.

While pursuing acting, he adopted the name David Thewlis (Thewlis was his mother’s maiden name) and booked his first two jobs in 1985: the British sit-coms Up the Elephant and Round the Castle, and Only Fools and Horses. His first truly professional acting job, however, was in a production of the play Buddy Holly at the Regal in Greenwich. After taking small roles in UK-produced films such as Little Dorrit (1988) and Damage (1992), Thewlis landed his breakout role in the black comedy Naked (1993). He made his American film debut the following year in Warner Bros. remake of Black Beauty (1994).

Throughout the 1990’s, David Thewlis became an extremely busy working actor, starring in the films Total Eclipse, Restoration, and the short film Hello, Hello, Hello. He also made The Island of Dr. Moreau opposite Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer, Dragonheart opposite Dennis Quaid, and he was hired by Disney to provide the voice of the Earthworm in the live-action/stop-motion animation hybrid film James and the Giant Peach. In 1998, he made The Big Lebowski with Jeff Bridges, and in 2000 he provided the voice of Judas Iscariot in the stop-motion animation biopic of Jesus Christ, The Miracle Maker.

When the Harry Potter series was green-lit at Warner Bros, Thewlis tried out for the role of Professor Quirrell in the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001). He lost that role to Ian Hart, but when Alfonso Cuaron was hired to temporarily take over directing duties on the third film, “Prisoner of Azkaban,” Curaon’s first choice to play Lupin was Thewlis. Ironically, Ian Hart personally told Thewlis that Lupin “was the best part in the book.” At the time he took the role, he had seen the previous two movies, but only read part of the first book. He read the third book after he was cast in the movie, and became very excited that he was making a kids movie. His favorite prop from the film was the “Marauder’s Map,” and his favorite word from the series was “boggart.” 

Making Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban reunited David Thewlis with his co-stars from “Dragonheart,” Julie Christie (Madame Rosmerta) and Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy). Later Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) reunited him with Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) who voiced Jesus in “The Miracle Maker.” Thewlis also made his debut as a novelist that year, writing the Black Comedy The Late Hector Kipling.    

Thewlis also had a robust “non-Harry Potter” career: He was directed by Steven Spielberg in War Horse (2011). He starred in the Steven Hawking biopic, The Theory of Everything (2014), played the evil Ares in Wonder Woman (2017) and Justice League (2017), received a Golden Globe Nomination for his performance as V.M. Varga in the series Fargo (2014-present). He also has an unknown role in the upcoming sequels Avatar 2 which will be released in 2021 and Avatar 3 which will be released in 2023. 

David Thewlis is a wickedly talented and versatile actor. It’s difficult to imagine anyone in the role of Lupin other than him. In addition to the “Harry Potter,” series Thewlis has played several roles that have made us laugh, some that have scared us, and some that might have also made us weep just a bit. And it will be exciting to see what he does next in the “Avatar,” sequels.