While the majority of the characters in the Harry Potter franchise are lovable people who will remain in the hearts of millions, the same cannot be said for Dudley Dursley.
Dursley, who was the Muggle son of Vernon and Petunia Dursley and cousin of Harry Potter, was an obese and insolent character, as a result of his parents spoiling him throughout his childhood. He hated Potter and Potter hated him and, naturally, he wasn't the most popular character in the story.
Due to his lack of fans, it must've been pretty weird for Harry Melling at the time of the film's production. While Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and even Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) have hoards of fans, the same cannot be said for Melling.
After the films, Melling has spent most of his time performing in theatre productions and TV dramas. Speaking about his experience of working on Harry Potter, and the success of his co-stars, Melling says that he has no ill-feeling toward them. "I'm very happy they're doing what they're doing, but I wouldn't compare myself to them," Harry told the Economist.
"I don't feel jealousy or anything like that really, because they're just different situations. I'm not one of 'the three', so I'm not going to be in that position. But equally, that allows me to get on the tube."
However, while the fact he played a smaller character may work in his favour when it comes to being recognised in the street, Harry also has another card up his sleeve: his weight-loss transformation.
Now slim and lean, Harry is a world away from the chubby character that we saw on the big screen.
"I do look a bit different because Dudley was a very piggish character and I lost a considerable amount of weight," he told The Movie Network.
Such was the extent of his weight loss, Harry was told to wear a fat suit during the later movies:
"It was quite funny because I had a big fat suit on in this film and face prosthetic. It was bizarre, you feel really big, and my mobility was affected. However, it is amazing to feel light but within someone that should feel really heavy. So that was a fascinating contrast."
His weight loss has also ensured that he is rarely recognised on the streets.
"No I don't, which is really beyond amazing! It means that I can lead a normal life without the baggage of people running after me and shouting things at me," he revealed. "It was an active decision to try and change that and hopefully I can continue to do that throughout my career and be as mercurial and changeable as possible."
He continued; "The thing with [having played] Dudley is that you get a call every now and again going, 'We're looking for a really fat rattish guy.' And then my agent has to go, 'Oh, no, sorry. He's changed.'"
Harry transformation is impressive and he now barely resembles the character he portrayed - which, to be fair, is a good thing.
