If you’ve ever rewatched the ending ofHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secretsand thought,“Wait, did Lucius Malfoy almost Avada Kedavra a 12-year-old?”— you’re not alone. And now, thanks toJason Isaacshimself, we finally have an answer. Yes, healmostdid. And yes, it was a total accident. Speaking at FanExpo Denver during a panel moderated by Collider’sMaggie Lovitt, Isaacs opened up about thatnot-so-subtlewand flick at Harry Potter outside Dumbledore’s office — the one where he utters “Avada…” before getting Dobby’d straight to the ground. According to Isaacs, the moment wasn’t scripted that way at all.
He told audiences:
“There was a bit when we were standing up talking — and, you know, I’m meant to pull my wand out and someone said, ‘You should start a spell' and I thought ‘I don’t know any spells! ’ And so I asked and looked around, and there was a guy doing the lights, […] and there’s caterers and one guy holding a mic, and there’s this one bloke, and he goes ‘Well there is one, it’s Avada Kedavra’. […] When the film comes out a year later, 100,000 people write letters to me going: ‘You were going to kill Harry Potter!’”
Turns out, Isaacs was improvising — and may have gotten just a little too into it. While he wasn’t permitted to do the full stunt, he revealed that he was able to do the part where his head hits the wall, and nearly gave himself a concussion doing so.
“It was day two on the set. I wasn’t that familiar with everything going on. I got overenthusiastic. I knocked myself out.”
Yes, you read that correctly. In addition to nearly committing on-screen murder, Isaacs also accidentallyknocked himself outduring filming because he was desperate to do the stunt where Lucius is knocked off his feet byDobby.
When Did Jason Isaacs Almost Kill Harry Potter?
The scene in question happens just after Dobby is freed. A furious Lucius turns to Harry and begins, “Avada—” before being blasted backward by the newly liberated house elf. Fans long assumed the spell henearlycast was the infamousAvada Kedavra, the killing curse. According to Isaacs, that wasn’t exactly the intention — more of a method actor moment gone rogue.
In other words, Lucius Malfoy probably wasn’t supposed to murder Harry Potter in a school corridor. But thanks to some ad-libbing and a very committed performance from Isaacs, the scene became one of the most meme-worthy moments in the franchise — and gave birth to one of fandom’s most hilarious debates. Mystery solved. Harry lived. Dobby got a sock. And Jason Isaacs nearly gave Warner Bros. a panic attack.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates from FanExpo Denver.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
