A year on since his passing, let’s look back at Robert Hardy and remember his time in Harry Potter as Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.
Last year, on August 3rd, 91-year-old, Robert Hardy passed away. Hardy was known for his portrayal of Siegfried in All Creatures Great and Small, and Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter series.
Hardy has been missed. His acting prowess spanned over 70 years. From aforementioned film roles and Shakespearean plays, Hardy did it all during his time.
Cornelius Fudge
Hardy’s most commercial success was in the form of Minister for Magic in the first five Harry Potter movies. He was a central plot character during the Order of the Phoenix, and the re-rise of Voldemort.
In my opinion, Hardy portrayed Fudge beautifully throughout the movies. Fudge is supposed to be very temperamental, and easily paranoid, which Hardy accurately depicts during the Order of the Phoenix.
When watching the movie, Fudge acts as a bearer of bad news, enlightening Harry on terrible things.
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Starting from when we first meet Fudge, in the Chamber of Secrets, the viewer is not overly impressed with him. His first appearance is taking the beloved Hagrid to Azkaban. At the time, we are unsure of what is in the Chamber, but we are confident Hagrid wouldn’t be petrifying students.
Fudge promptly becomes more likable during the Prisoner of Azkaban. When Harry blows up his Aunt, there should be some punishment. He not only uses magic underage, he sends his aunt into orbit as a human hot air balloon, where muggles can surely see her.
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Fudge is waiting for Harry in the Leaky Cauldron. Harry believes that Fudge is here to dole out punishment. Fudge surprises us by wiping Harry’s slate clean and picking up his spell books for the semester.
Again, this just plays into the Fudge narrative. We never really understand what’s going on with him.
In the three broomsticks, Fudge tells Harry of his God-Father, the murderer Sirius Black and the story behind what he did to his parents. In Goblet of Fire, he starts the match at the Quidditch World Cup, giving Voldemort’s minions a chance to position themselves.
Order of the Phoenix
We really start hating Fudge during this movie. He actively is turning the press against Harry and Dumbledore throughout the entirety of the film. He puts Harry on trial because he saved his good-for-nothing cousin Dudley from a dementor.
Fudge’s paranoia about Voldemort’s return has him spiraling. Instead of reading the signs, he blames all of the recent troubling events on Sirius Black. To most of the world, that seems like an accurate assessment.
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He attacks a 16-year old Harry, and Dumbledore through the Daily Prophet which seems cowardly. When Fudge finally witnesses Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic, after Voldemort fittingly shoots glass through his portrait, he decides to resign as Minister of Magic.
Hardy does an excellent job of having the audience get agitated with him. That is what J.K. Rowling was looking for. A leader of the magic world, who was extremely temperamental, and never seemed like he was in control.
Robert Hardy may be gone, but he will always be remembered for his various roles and especially Cornelius Fudge for all us Harry Potter fans.