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Timothy Spall is taking a walk down memory lane.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at a special screening of Goodbye June in New York City, the actor, 68, opens up about one of his favorite scenes as Harry Potter’s Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail.
“Peter is a weak character that wants to survive,” Spall says of the villain he portrayed from 2004 to 2010. ”I mean, he doesn’t ultimately, does he?”
“But he’s up there with the best, cooking Lord Voldemort in a pot of stew and carrying it around like a hot, vile little baby was one of my favorite moments in any film,” he continues, referring to the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Wormtail assisted in Voldemort’s resurrection by cooking his own flesh in a potion.
Murray Close/Warner Bros.
Asked if he had any advice for the cast of the new Harry Potter series, Spall tells PEOPLE, “Well, I don’t know. I’ve never given any advice to actors.”
“All actors have to make the part their own. And there is so much good writing, good characters, classic,” he says. “You can do it as many different ways as you like.”
“There’s no advice, but I would say there is something very complex about somebody that is that evil and also kind of vulnerable at the same time,” the Death Valley star continues. “That’s what I liked about him.”
Spall noted that his character’s “function as a despicable character” grew out of his “vulnerability,” “feebleness,” and “weakness.”
“That reaction comes out as a despicable evil, and to me is a very interesting thing,” he adds. “And actually, he’s quite indicative of quite a lot of evil in general.”
Spall goes on to say that evil people “tend to be screwed up and a lot of evil is often displacement activity or survival.”
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Production for the upcoming TV adaptation of Harry Potter began back in July.
The show’s first season is set to premiere in 2027, with seasons based on the remaining seven books set to air later on.
In November, several of the series’ actors were spotted filming the highly anticipated reboot in England.
Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty
The cast includes Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter (originated by Daniel Radcliffe), Louise Brealey as Madam Rolanda Hooch (Zoë Wanamaker), Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), to name a few.
While Spall’s former role has yet to be cast, the actor has shown nothing but support for the new HBO series.
“I cannot imagine it being anything other than a huge success because the franchise has been such a phenomenon,” Spall told the Hindustan Times earlier this year.
“It is such a simple story which is incredibly loved… I think it is a wonderful work of imagination,” he continued. “It has led youngsters to literature. It leads kids to reading. It makes them wonder where all this is coming from… ‘Oh, my God! Books!’ Anything that will introduce kids to books is good for me.”
