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It's difficult to imagine anyone other than Jason Isaacs playing haughty, self-absorbed Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films but back in the mists of time (the early 2000s) Isaacs almost turned down the part because he was reluctant to play yet another villain.

Isaacs originally auditioned for the role of Hogwarts Professor Gilderoy Lockhart but director Chris Columbus asked him to try the part of Lucius. Isaacs read for the role, but told his agent he didn’t want it, revealing to Digital Spy: “I was about to go play Captain Hook [in 2003's Peter Pan] and didn't want to do two children's villains.”
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Reluctant Villains

Ironically, Isaacs’ contempt for the role helped him win it: “I read through gritted teeth, deeply bitter, and of course, that’s exactly what was necessary and they asked me to play Lucius, and thank God they did,” he recalled. Thanks to a barrage of phone calls from friends and family urging him to take the part, Isaacs finally said yes and a classic villain was born into movie history.

Isaacs has since come to terms with his now countless brilliant villain roles, telling the Evening Standard he’s happy to play a villain as long as they are written with depth and can justify their own actions. Harry Potter books are full of such villains, who, while doing bad things, consider themselves to be on a righteous path, or those who consider their acts a necessary evil to achieve a greater good. Often their story arcs reveal a complex character who is neither totally bad, nor totally good - much like real people and we can’t get enough of them.

Here are five more of our favorite ‘reluctant villains’ in the Harry Potter series. 

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Severus Snape

Alan Rickman was also ambivalent about playing baddies yet he is frequently remembered for playing one of the most complex characters in the Potterverse. Snape initially made us hiss at the screen (or books, if you’re a purist) but we then rejoiced that he’d become headteacher and was able to safeguard Harry and his friends. Severus Snape’s double-agent status meant he had to do some fairly dastardly things - like become a loyal Death Eater during the First Wizarding War - until he learned about the Dark Lord's plan. Ultimately, it appears he is a loyal servant of Dumbledore - but you never know with Snape.

Behind the scenes, Rickman was far from the deliciously malicious character he portrayed on screen. He took a more nurturing role toward the young Potter stars and said he was “glowing with pride” while watching Daniel Radcliffe later perform on stage. 
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Draco Malfoy

Draco (Tom Felton) is born into a long line of racist half-blood haters and, because of his upbringing, he is a childhood enemy to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. His evilness seemingly reaches its apex in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when he lets Death Eaters into Hogwarts. Yet Draco may be starting to doubt the dogma he’s been taught and only follows through reluctantly because he fears for his family if he doesn’t assist Voldemort. Ultimately, Draco may have switched sides (or did he?) 

Behind the scenes, Emma Watson (Hermione) had a secret crush on Felton, confessing to talk show host Johnathan Ross that it was because “he was a few years older and had a skateboard.” Why do good girls always fall for bad guys?
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Sirius Black

Danielle Radcliffe recalled being intimidated by legendary Gary Oldman when he appeared on set to play Harry’s Godfather. Radcliffe told Emma Watson: “Listen Emma, you need to be cool because Gary Oldman is a really big deal.”

Oldman’s character can also be intimidating. As a child, Sirius joined in with James Potter’s relentless bullying of Snape and almost got Snape killed by encouraging him to visit the Whomping Willow on the night of a full moon when he knew Lupin would transform into a werewolf. This was when Snape’s grudge against both Potter and Sirius began.

For a long time (well, through books one and two at least) Sirius Black is perceived as a villain; a mass murderer who betrayed the Order of the Phoenix and Harry’s parents. As we soon see, his story is more complicated than that.

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Griphook

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the wizard-hating employee of Gringotts Wizarding Bank feels understandable distrust toward those in the wizarding community who consider themselves superior and won’t share their wand magic. After Hermione convinces Griphook that she, Ron, and Harry are the good guys, he helps them, but there’s trouble ahead and another firm lesson in xenophobia from the Potterverse.

In a real-life drama, Griphook was originally played by Verne Troyer, who starred as ‘Mini-Me’ in the Austin Powers movies, but he was replaced after Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) by Warwick Davies, allegedly because of J.K. Rowling’s request for British actors but that didn’t stop the rumor mill.
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Kreacher the House Elf

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Kreacher becomes Harry’s servant although it is clear Kreacher resents - even loathes - Harry and his friends. Kreacher was only truly loyal to his favorite master and Death Eater, Regulus Black. 

In his defense, Kreacher had been abused and tortured. Hermione viewed him as a brainwashed slave who needed to be treated with kindness, but Kreacher insulted her for being a ‘mudblood’. So far, so evil. But is a good house elf lurking beneath the surface?

Interestingly, Timothy Bateson, the voice actor who originally played Kreacher until his death in 2009, had also performed in Doctor Who, alongside fellow Harry Potter actors David Tennant, Mark Williams, Adrian Rawlins, Helen McCrory, John Hurt, Zoë Wanamaker and Michael Gambon.