Ralph Fiennes almost turned down playing Voldemort in Harry Potter

During his appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, the actor admits that he “quite stupidly” resisted taking the iconic part.

"The truth is, I was actually ignorant about the films and the books," says Fiennes.

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"I was approached by the production. Mike Newell was directing the film that they wanted me to be in… the first time Voldemort was going to appear physically.

"Out of ignorance I just sort of thought, ‘This isn’t for me’… Quite stupidly, I resisted, I was hesitant. I think the clincher was that my sister Martha – who has three children who were then probably about 12, ten and eight – she said, 'What do you mean? You’ve got to do it!' So then I rewound my thinking."

Fiennes first appeared as the villain in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005, and went on to play him throughout the rest of the films.

The actor who plays M in the James Bond films also recently revealed that he was once considered for the role of 007 himself.

The Jonathan Ross Show airs on Saturday 16th March at 9.30pm on ITV