Christian Coulson as Tom Riddle

[jallen]

Personally, I disagree completely. Coulson was a great actor for the part, he had to be moody enough, he wasn't meant to be charming in CoS. But he had to be charming in HBP and I can't imagine Coulson doing that. He's also thirty, and cutting his age in half seems a little impossible to do.

The new actor does just fine. He looks as charming as he's supposed to be, and not without the air of mysteriousity. He just does his lines so well and I can't see Coulson doing that.

[KlausBaudelaire]

Ok, Coulson's 30 years old but I'm sure it's not impossible to make him look younger, especially because the memories are already very blurred so it would've been even easier.

Well that's the point! since the memories are blurred, blue-filtered, green-filtered, rainbow-filtered, it would have been very easy to change Coulson's appearance.
I mean, if the memory were filmed in a normal way as the rest of the movie, then I'd say you're right, but since they're all CGIed...
I like Dillane's eyes, but he looks more of a Cullen, not the young Dark Lord.

[Annielogic]

I really liked Christian Coulson playing the teenage Tom Riddle in CoS. He acted that simmering darkness, manipulative nature under a veneer of the charismatic, charming, perfect student image, extremely well. Imo.

I would have liked to have seen him reprise the role.

[Alyssabelle]

Originally Posted by Annielogic

I really liked Christian Coulson playing the teenage Tom Riddle in CoS. He acted that simmering darkness, manipulative nature under a veneer of the charismatic, charming, perfect student image, extremely well. Imo.

I would have liked to have seen him reprise the role.

Agreed.

I haven't (admittedly) read the entire thread, but I felt like the Tom Riddle in HBP looked extremely young. Not his fault, I just imagined Riddle to be more like in CoS.

And like others said, it's not impossible to age down somebody, especially at 30.
The woman who played Moaning Myrtle, Shirley Henderson, is 43.

[RemusLupinFan]

I also thought Coulson did very well with teenage Riddle in CoS. He had the charismatic, but cold and creepy quality to Voldemort that worked very well. I think he looked the appropriate age as well.

[Shingie]

I think Coulson did a really, really good job considering he didn't have HBP to read for information. So to compare Dillane verses Coulson is kind of unfair because Rowling didn't give as much character to Riddle in CoS as she did to HBP. Coulson didn't have as much to work with.

Coulson looks the part too. His looks are so traditional, like he's from the 19th century or something.

I think they could have pulled it off, because in that Horcrux-Slughorn scene they used blurring effects.

[Noleme]

For me, Coulson's Riddle is probably the spookiest of all of the impersonations so far, including Fiennes's Voldemort... He looks quite decent, both well-looking and well-mannered/spoken, which intesifies the scariness for me, knowing the twistedness hidden within- unlike the other two young Riddles, who both speak and look creepy, so I cannot really say to myself "who knows how many unconspicuous people there are like him whom one meets unconsciously every day..".
I consider him the best Riddle -alhough I liked Tiffin and Dillane well too- as well as one of the best actors in CoS.

[Asteria_Malfoy]

Originally Posted by Noleme

For me, Coulson's Riddle is probably the spookiest of all of the impersonations so far, including Fiennes's Voldemort... He looks quite decent, both well-looking and well-mannered/spoken, which intesifies the scariness for me, knowing the twistedness hidden within- unlike the other two young Riddles, who both speak and look creepy, so I cannot really say to myself "who knows how many unconspicuous people there are like him whom one meets unconsciously every day..".

I consider him the best Riddle -alhough I liked Tiffin and Dillane well too- as well as one of the best actors in CoS.

I wholeheartedly agree.

I fervently hope we see Coulson again in DH - the character is a bit older then, he's graduated Hogwarts and been working for a while, an early-30's actor can perfectly act a mid-twenties attractive and suave "con man".

The woman who played Moaning Myrtle, Shirley Henderson, is 43.

I didn't know that. And here I was, thinking ghosts didn't age!!

I'm all the more annoyed, then, that they took the role away from Coulson supposedly because of his age. He could have played the teen-age Riddle very well, and it shouldn't have been that difficult to find a child actor to play Tom at the orphanage. Both Tiffin and Dillane did a creditable job but they didn't exactly bowl me over.

For that matter, James and Lily Potter in the movies look a lot older than the 21-year-olds they were supposed to be, don't they?

[Voldemorts8thHorcrux]

Originally Posted by Alyssabelle

Agreed.

I haven't (admittedly) read the entire thread, but I felt like the Tom Riddle in HBP looked extremely young. Not his fault, I just imagined Riddle to be more like in CoS.

And like others said, it's not impossible to age down somebody, especially at 30.
The woman who played Moaning Myrtle, Shirley Henderson, is 43.

wait WHAT?!?!?!?

ok, if you can get a 43 year old woman to look Myrtle's age, you can certainly get Coulson to look 16.

I actually think Hero looks more like Coulson than Dillane, except for the hair. Dillaine has a bit more of an elongated face than Hero.

Anyways, I think Coulson portrayed the seriousness and charisma much better. Dillane was too smirky with Slughorn. I have an easier time thinkingthat Slughorn could trust Coulson than Dillane

[Jezabel]

I definitely think that Coulson should have played Riddle in HPB the main thing being the continuity factor and (no offence to Dillane) but he just fits the part better. Maybe it's because Coulson's ingrained in my memory as Tom Riddle but I also think he looks the way tom is described: handsome, cunning, clever and scary. In Cos when he says "It won't come until it's called" was pretty chilling.

[Asteria_Malfoy]

Originally Posted by jallen

Personally, I disagree completely. Coulson was a great actor for the part, he had to be moody enough, he wasn't meant to be charming in CoS. But he had to be charming in HBP and I can't imagine Coulson doing that. He's also thirty, and cutting his age in half seems a little impossible to do.

The new actor does just fine. He looks as charming as he's supposed to be, and not without the air of mysteriousity. He just does his lines so well and I can't see Coulson doing that.

I beg to disagree. In CoS Tom Riddle had to be charming enough to have all the professors, from Dippet down, with the exception of Dumbledore, smitten with him, and believing everything he said. Good-looking, well-spoken, talented, Head Boy, etc.

I don't find Dillane "charming" at all in HBP, nor nearly good-looking enough. He's slick, yes, and wraps Slughorn around his little finger. That's being manipulative, not charming.

As to Coulson being 30, what's the big deal? In "Sense and Sensibility", Elinor Dashwood is supposed to be 18 or 19. Emma Thompson was well into her 30's when she played that role, and I don't remember anybody complaining about it. Ditto Ben Barnes playing Prince Caspian - nobody complained about him either.

In my humble if cynical opinion, Hero may never have gotten the role but for his connection with Ralph Fiennes. They don't look enough like each other to make the family connection obvious. Coulson actually looks more like Ralph Fiennes (slender, good-looking) than Hero or Frank do. Not that Ralph looks like himself without a nose and with slitted eyes, but that's another story.

[jan74]

Well, after watching HBP I've gone back and looked at the parts from CoS featuring Tom Riddle - I was a little curious to see what it would be like today, as it's been a very long time since I've seen CoS movie or read CoS the book.

I do not belong to the Christian Coulson fan club, but I think he did well at portraying a man that could be polite and appearing charming when he needed to, but also the Riddle who went around a lot by himself, exploring Hogwarts and scheming, guarding his steps. He has got a very classical look and in the film he was portrayed as somewhat of a "dark angel". I'm not sure this is all to the good, because sometimes it makes his presence seem too even.

In the first part of the scene in the Chambers I think he uses his voice well, speaking in a cold, calm voice devoid of empathy, without betraying anger. However I felt that the latter part of his performance was more uneven, overdoing the scorn in his voice and the dramatic part. Still the Riddle from CoS is a more undeveloped character and shows a Tom Riddle which is more blatantly arrogant and vain, which is not Coulson's fault. Also the director could have worked more with this part of the role, I expect that Coulson would have been written better with another director.

[decarus]

Originally Posted by Asteria_Malfoy

I don't find Dillane "charming" at all in HBP, nor nearly good-looking enough. He's slick, yes, and wraps Slughorn around his little finger. That's being manipulative, not charming.

As to Coulson being 30, what's the big deal? In "Sense and Sensibility", Elinor Dashwood is supposed to be 18 or 19. Emma Thompson was well into her 30's when she played that role, and I don't remember anybody complaining about it. Ditto Ben Barnes playing Prince Caspian - nobody complained about him either.

In my humble if cynical opinion, Hero may never have gotten the role but for his connection with Ralph Fiennes. They don't look enough like each other to make the family connection obvious. Coulson actually looks more like Ralph Fiennes (slender, good-looking) than Hero or Frank do. Not that Ralph looks like himself without a nose and with slitted eyes, but that's another story.

I disagree that Voldemort is legitimately charming in the books. He is manipulative, not charming. People may think he is being charming, but he isn't. He is manipulating them all the way.

I agree that Coulson looks more like Fiennes then Dillane and he was the first Voldemort. That is the only reason i would have wanted him, for continuity's sake. I think Dillane did a great job. I, in general, think CoS is the most boring of the HP films, but Coulson was good as a young Voldemort.

PS. I have complained since Ben Barnes was cast as Caspian that he is way too old to play him and he is only getting older. The extensions, the accent, it could have been worse, but it didn't work for me.

[captain_mills]

Hmm, I like his name!

[jan74]

[quote=decarus;5450886]I disagree that Voldemort is legitimately charming in the books. He is manipulative, not charming. People may think he is being charming, but he isn't. He is manipulating them all the way.


This is exactly the distinction I feel that many people miss, especially those who stick very strongly with Coulson's performance from CoS. Thinking of Riddle only in terms of being handsome and charming leaves out a lot of other characteristic traits he had and makes only one kind of character and performance possible.

[mexicant]

I've always thought that someone who is truly a good manipulator doesn't come off as such; that if they are good at bending people around to suit their needs the people won't even notice they are being bent. I consider it something Dumbledore and Voldemort have in common; they both wheedle what they want out of people and get them to do what it is they want them to do. I think this is especially true of Tom Riddle's more formative years before he was disfigured, before he started using fear and coercion in place of charm and wit.

This is why I prefer Coulsen's performance. I have no doubts that Voldemort had other sides to him, but people didn't generally see those sides while he was still younger and I certainly don't believe anyone saw anything untoward in his school years outside of perhaps his housemates that followed him once school let out.

[jan74]

Originally Posted by mexicant

I've always thought that someone who is truly a good manipulator doesn't come off as such; that if they are good at bending people around to suit their needs the people won't even notice they are being bent. I consider it something Dumbledore and Voldemort have in common; they both wheedle what they want out of people and get them to do what it is they want them to do.

This is why I prefer Coulsen's performance. I have no doubts that Voldemort had other sides to him, but people didn't generally see those sides while he was still younger and I certainly don't believe anyone saw anything untoward in his school years outside of perhaps his housemates that followed him once school let out.

I agree that a good manipulator are good at bending people around without people noticing they are bent, but since people are prone to be manipulated by different means, the effect of the manipulation used also depends on the person(s) who is(are) manipulated. The point of view is also vital. It's easier to see the manipulation from the outside, when you're an audience, while how it looks to someone who's in fact present is very different.

I think it's important to consider, in the book as well as the movie, why Slughorn is partial to Riddle's charm/manipulation. What kind of manipulation is likely to work on Slughorn given the kind of person he is? What seems to be Slughorn's feelings in the conversation in the book and why does he enter into the conversation at all? Why does he not question Riddle's motives for asking about Horcruxes for instance? It's a banned subject after all.

I agree that they've changed the scene and some of the emotions compared to the book, most noticeably Dillane is not facing Slughorn directly during parts of the movie scene. Many core elements from the book are still present, including the reasons Tom give for asking Slughorn instead of others. I understand that several people mostly only think of how uncomfortable they feel around Dillane, and then he doesn't seem trustworthy. For me it seemed that Dillane gave an ambiguous portrait of Tom Riddle rather than just blatantly evil. One of the reasons I liked his performance was how strong and compelling his presence on screen was.

Coulson really plays Tom Riddle in very different situations, so in a way it's quite hopeless to compare them. I don't see Coulson charming anyone at all, unless you count inviting Harry on an exploration of Hogwarts like one adventurous student to another a part of his ability to charm.