Jason Isaacs' “Harry Potter ”Character Was Meant to Look Way Different — Then the Actor Added This Key Piece

Lucius Malfoy almost looked and sounded very different in the Harry Potter movies.

Jason Isaacs, 61, visited The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, April 9, to talk about how he inspired the evolution of his character, mainly guided by his fear and admiration of costar Alan Rickman.

"Honesty, I s--- myself. That's what happened," Isaacs shared with Fallon of joining the cast. "Because Alan Rickman was already in the first film. Alan Rickman — never was a man better at playing sinister than him."

Isaacs told Fallon, 50, about the development of his character Lucius Malfoy and how he wanted to make adjustments after seeing the initial character sketches.

"They had me in a suit, with short hair like me when I saw the sketches. I said, 'I need a wig.' They went, 'Well, Dumbledore wears a wig.' I went, 'It's a one-wig film? The Harry Potter series? I'll lend you some money!' So I got a wig, and they had me in a suit, and I said, 'Can I wear a cape and fur?' "

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After putting on the suit, Isaacs explained that then he draped himself in a curtain to simulate his character wearing a cape. He then put on a tin foil wig and walked down to where director Christopher Columbus was directing a scene, intending to show off his new look. Columbus didn't recognize him at first with all of his added accessories.

"I said, 'Imagine, if you will, a long blond wig.' He went, 'Did you see the sketches?' and I went, 'No, no, I get it! But I don't think he wants hair like a muggle.' He said 'Is that right? Is that a curtain?' I go, 'It is, but imagine a cape.' "

The White Lotus star then told Columbus he had an idea for Malfoy's wand, which would further change the character's aesthetic.

"Well, I was thinking a cane would be good. I could pull my wand out of it and have a snake at the top. He said, 'No no no, the wands just appear from anywhere, like that's the conceit.' I said, 'I know but I was thinking mine could appear from my cane.' He took about three seconds, and he went, 'I think the toy guys are going to love you.' "

Isaacs' Lucius was one of Harry Potter's antagonists, the controlling father of Tom Felton's Draco. Isaacs appeared in 2002's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2009's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2010's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and 2011's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. A Death Eater, Lucius is one of Lord Voldemort's supporters and pushes his son to support him and his dark magic.

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"All of that came from terror at having to share a screen with Alan Rickman," Isaacs explained of the look. "Then I came up with the voice. I thought the most irritating voice I could think of that made you just hear a syllable and want to punch him in the balls. That was the idea. I tried it out in the first rehearsal and Chris Columbus went, 'I'm American but has there ever been anybody in the world ever in England or anywhere that spoke like that?' I said, 'No, but it's a film about wizards after all.' He said, 'I don't know.' "

Related: Jason Isaacs Confirms Which Southern Charm Star Inspired His White Lotus Accent

It was Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, who ultimately convinced Columbus that the accent should stay.

"Daniel, God bless him, said, 'I think it's kind of cool, actually. I think people would do that in playgrounds.' Chris went, 'All right, let's go with that,' " Isaacs recalled.

Then, he joked, "Every take we did after that for the next couple of films, a couple of years, Chris would come up and go, 'Fantastic, we have it, it's wonderful. Let's do one more, can you pull back on the accent, like, 89%? 80-90%.' "

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