Skip to main content
Games Radar Newsarama Total Film Edge Retro Gamer SFX
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The smarter take on movies
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
A stack of board games on a wooden table beside Life in Reterra and Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, all behind a GamesRadar+ logo
Board Games The best board games 2025, with over 25 recommendations tested, reviewed, and rated by experts
GamesRadar+ logo and 'new Lego' text on a white and orange background, with a Lego Death Star set beside it
Toys & Collectibles Here are all the new Lego sets for October 2025, including a truly massive Death Star kit and adorable throwbacks
Huntrix performing in KPop Demon Hunters on Netflix
Toys & Collectibles The KPop Demon Hunters vinyl is now up for pre-order, which is good news if you can't stop thinking about that soundtrack
Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan in The Thursday Murder Club
Netflix The Thursday Murder Club director says new Netflix murder mystery’s idealistic manor home is like Hogwarts for retirees
Harry Potter
Fantasy Movies The best Harry Potter movies ranked from worst to wand-erful
The Lego Hogsmeade Village - Collectors' Edition set laid out in a line on a wooden table
Toys & Collectibles Hogsmeade just got a makeover with this Harry Potter Lego set, and it's everything I wanted
Next James Bond
Action Movies Next James Bond: The 27 actors who could replace Daniel Craig as the new 007
A screenshot of Gandalf standing in Bywater during the Lord of the Rings game, Tales of the Shire
Games I've played 15 hours of Tales of the Shire and these are my favorite Lord of the Rings easter eggs that I've spotted so far
Cillian Murphy
TV Cillian Murphy addresses Voldemort rumors for Harry Potter TV series
The best witch movies
Horror Movies The 15 best witch movies that will have you cackling this Halloween
An Arithmancy puzzle door in Hogwarts Legacy
Action RPGs How to solve Hogwarts Legacy door puzzles
Emma Thompson as 'Barb' in Dead of Winter
Thriller Movies Harry Potter's Emma Thompson goes full Liam Neeson in snowy Taken-esque thriller
The cover of SFX issue 397 and the gifts that come with it.
Movies Get some great It: Welcome to Derry gifts with the latest issue of SFX
Superman mural DCU
Superhero Movies James Gunn says Superman's hero-filled mural contains two characters that are "important" in an unknown DC script
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean minifigures, Hogsmeade, the Star Wars advent calendar, and Arkham Asylum divided by white lines, with a GamesRadar+ 'new Lego' badge in the middle
Toys & Collectibles Pirates of the Caribbean and Arkham Asylum are the best new Lego sets in September 2025, if you ask me
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

10 British Legends For Hogwarts

Features
By Dan Goodswen published 3 July 2009

Icons for Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Michael Sheen

Michael Sheen

The Legend: Iconic, chameleonic actor known for his ability to transform into any role cast his way, from Tony Blair to David Frost and Brian Clough.

Who He Could Play: Pius Thicknesse – Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and later Minister for Magic.

Key Scene: When he ascends to the position as Minister for Magic, Thicknesse is interviewed by David Frost, also played by Sheen.

Sheen/Sheen turns into the television event of the decade.

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet

The Legend: Our finest working screen actress, with a record number of Oscar nominations to her name. Her pedigree for Potter is more than apparent.

Who She Could Play: Helena Ravenclaw aka the “Grey Lady” - the ghost of Ravenclaw House.

Key Scene: In a flashback to the moment when Helena is murdered by The Bloody Baron, Winslet squeezes every ounce of emotion from the 30 second role, and earns another Oscar nomination.

She wins the Golden Globe for her performance, but is yet again denied Oscar.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Peter O'Toole

Peter O'Toole

The Legend: From Lawrence of Arabia to Venus , his career has spanned over 50 years. He’s practically royalty.

Who He Could Play: Percival Dumbledore – Father of Albus. Percival is described as "a good-looking man with eyes that seemed to twinkle," and never have eyes twinkled like O’Toole’s.

Key Scene: Percival’s ghost appears to Harry, riding in from the distance on a camel.

Starting as a speck on the horizon, he gradually gets closer until he meets the boy, only to forget what he was going to say. He rides off again, leaving Harry mostly confused.

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Paddy Considine

Paddy Considine

The Legend: Hard working character actor known for moving and intense performances in Dead Man’s Shoes and In America .

Who He Could Play: Selwyn – One of Voldemort’s Death Eaters.

Key Scene: Selwyn, along with fellow Death Eater Travers, arrives at Xenophilius Lovegood’s house to capture Potter.

Paddy’s wearing the gas mask from Dead Man’s Shoes . Sneaking around in the shadows, he suddenly appears at a window and scares the bejesus out of everyone.

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Judi Dench

Judi Dench

The Legend: A staggering screen career spanning 50 years, Dench won an Oscar for her 8-minute appearance in Shakespeare in Love .

Who She Could Play: Wakanda – The elderly witch who works at the Ministry for Magic.

Key Scene: In her solitary scene in a ministry elevator, she wrings every ounce of emotion from her 30 seconds screen-time and bags an Oscar for it. In your face Winslet.

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Brian Blessed

Brian Blessed

The Legend: An actor born to play kings, he certainly never fails to deliver a king size performance, as roles in Flash Gordon , Hamlet and Henry V will attest to. Should be in every film ever made.

Who He Could Play: Beedle the Bard - The only known image of Beedle is a woodcut that shows him as a bearded man, and Brian Blessed has a beard! Yay!

Key Scene: While Hermione reads from her book “The Tales of Beedle The Bard”, we flashback to a scene where Beedle, dressed as Prince Vultan from Flash Gordon , attempts to climb Everest.

He fails, and sits down to compose a song. This scene should last approximately an hour and be completely ad-libbed by Blessed.

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Sacha Baron Cohen

Sacha Baron Cohen

The Legend: Home grown comedy talent who has leapt to international fame thanks to his Ali G, Borat and Bruno personas.

Who He Could Play: Betty Braithwaite – Reporter for The Daily Prophet.

Key Scene: Forget Bruno, meet Betty - wizard interviewer extraordinaire. Pops in at various junctures throughout the film, poking fun at “her” subjects while highlighting underlying racist attitudes toward Muggles.

Gets sued a lot, for “creative editing” that makes subjects “appear prejudicial”, but no-one gets a penny.

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Keira Knightley

Keira Knightley

The Legend: Quite possibly the most successful British actress of the decade, she’s a one-woman industry with an Oscar nom to boot.

Who She Could Play: Hermione Granger – With Emma Watson sick of fame and off to University, the role is recast, and producers go for A-List with Knightley.

Key Scene: Sweating in the sweltering summer heat, Hermione leaps into the fountain in just her sheer underwear, and emerges dripping wet to a stunned crowd of Hogwarts students…

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Jamie Bell

Jamie Bell

The Legend: Child-star of Billy Elliot , Bell has grown into one of our finest young talents.

Who He Could Play: Harry Potter – With Emma Watson gone, Daniel Radcliffe follows suit and buggers off to be a serious actor, stating “Harry Potter wears too many clothes, man”.

Bell replaced Radcliffe as the lead in the play "Equus", and takes the reigns here at the last minute.

Key Scene: Squaring off against Voldemort, Bell distracts the Dark Lord with a movement from Swan Lake, before delivering the final blow.

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Chris Morris

Chris Morris

The Legend: Cult hero of faux-news programmes “The Day Today” and “Brass-Eye” – notorious for prank news stories, interviews and embarrassing Phil Collins.

Who He Could Play: Albus Dumbledore – Morris could play the headmaster during his more rebellious years.

Key Scene: In one flashback, Dumbledore convinces Phil Collins to endorse a fake campaign to stop Elf harm, called SELF HARM.

Phil Collins appears on-screen wearing a t-shirt and baseball cap emblazoned with the campaign slogan "SELF HARM NOW!" - urging the audience to “Self Harm as soon as possible.” Collins is humiliated once again.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Dan Goodswen
See more Movies Features
Read more
Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan in The Thursday Murder Club
The Thursday Murder Club director says new Netflix murder mystery’s idealistic manor home is like Hogwarts for retirees
 
 
Harry Potter
The best Harry Potter movies ranked from worst to wand-erful
 
 
The Lego Hogsmeade Village - Collectors' Edition set laid out in a line on a wooden table
Hogsmeade just got a makeover with this Harry Potter Lego set, and it's everything I wanted
 
 
Next James Bond
Next James Bond: The 27 actors who could replace Daniel Craig as the new 007
 
 
A screenshot of Gandalf standing in Bywater during the Lord of the Rings game, Tales of the Shire
I've played 15 hours of Tales of the Shire and these are my favorite Lord of the Rings easter eggs that I've spotted so far
 
 
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy addresses Voldemort rumors for Harry Potter TV series
 
 
Latest in Movies
Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in 21 Jump Street
Channing Tatum doesn't think 23 Jump Street will ever be made, and is blaming one person in particular
 
 
Jar Jar Binks
Jar Jar Binks and Kelleran Beq actor Ahmed Best is co-writing a Star Wars comic that will feature a "team-up for the ages" between his two characters
 
 
Demon Slayer Infinity Castle
New anime movie Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is now the highest-grossing international movie ever in the US, beating out an Oscar-winning movie in the process
 
 
Gambit (Channing Tatum) in Deadpool and Wolverine
Channing Tatum says his unmade Gambit movie had something "Marvel and Disney would never do": mutants having sex
 
 
Baraka in Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat III confirmed by writer as well as new footage of Baraka in Mortal Kombat II
 
 
Diane Keaton smiling in Father of the Bride Part II
The Godfather and Oscar-winning Annie Hall star, Diane Keaton, dies at 79
 
 
Latest in Features
Atsu riding her horse in Ghost of Yotei with the black bars disabled
Ghost of Yotei's art director wanted the RPG to look like a "living painting," but the detail required stresses even me out: "When the wind blows, the trees know how strong the wind is"
 
 
Silksong Karmelita boss header image
It took 8 hours of losing to find my favorite thing about Hollow Knight: Silksong
 
 
2XKO trailer still of Vi fighter reveal
Even after 14 years of League of Legends, fighting game 2XKO can do little but make me think of the games I wish Riot was still making instead
 
 
Lex Luthor, Joker, Catwoman, Captain Cold, and Heatwave on the cover of Salvation Run #1
Peacemaker season 2: The finale's comic book history could be hinting at one of DC's biggest villains
 
 
The MTG Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles leap into action at night, with smiles on their faces and weapons drawn
As an '80s kid, MTG Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just feels right... but why can Aunt May and a Pigeon beat Super Shredder?
 
 
One-Punch Man season 3: Saitama punching while in mid-air during the anime One-Punch Man.
After a six-year wait and middling second season, ​​One-Punch Man desperately needs to prove itself again
 
 
  1. Digital storefront key art for Little Nightmares 3 showing the two masked kids holding hands among a clutter of household items as a large figure with a glowing eye menacingly watches them from the background
    1
    Little Nightmares 3 review: "An overly safe, uneven, and half-baked follow-up where co-op is a hindrance instead of the evolution it should've been"
  2. 2
    With a new season on the way, is Blood Bowl's second edition still worth a look?
  3. 3
    Battlefield 6 review: "More refined than innovative, this FPS is on target with multiplayer even if its campaign is just a big shrug"
  4. 4
    Absolum review: "Classic beat 'em up systems pair beautifully with a run-based structure in this fleet-footed, wonderfully varied Hades-like"
  5. 5
    Digimon Story: Time Stranger review: "Finally in competition with Pokemon and Persona, this monster raising RPG is showing rapid evolution"
  1. Tron: Ares
    1
    Tron: Ares review: "Misses out by swapping the Grid for the real world"
  2. 2
    One Battle After Another review: "One of the best studio movies in years and an instant classic"
  3. 3
    The Conjuring: Last Rites review: "Not bold or memorable enough for the Warrens' final chapter"
  4. 4
    Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle review: "Roars past Mugen Train as Demon Slayer's best adventure yet"
  5. 5
    The Long Walk review: "One of the best Stephen King adaptations ever made"
  1. Yelena Belova, Kamala Khan and Blade Knight in Marvel Zombies
    1
    Marvel Zombies review: "A fun expansion of the What If episode with delightful MCU Easter eggs and truly gross R-rated kills"
  2. 2
    Gen V season 2 review: "As strong as the first season, if not stronger"
  3. 3
    Wednesday season 2 part 2 review: "Ortega shines, but it's a zombie who steals the entire show"
  4. 4
    Peacemaker season 2 review: "Darker and sadder than the first year, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids."
  5. 5
    Wednesday season 2 part 1 review: "Complex and exciting but weighed down by too many subplots"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...