It’s been over a decade since the Harry Potter movie series was completed, so you would think there would be nothing new to discuss, but you would be mistaken! It’s possible you’ve revisited the Wizarding World recently with a Peacock subscription, but if you haven’t checked the flicks out in a while, you may have forgotten Voldemort’s strange laugh at the end of Deathly Hallows: Part 2. After seeing this trippy edit of the laugh in multiple different language dubs, you will never forget it again.
There’s no doubt Voldemort is a chilling antagonist, hence why people are nervous to say his name out loud. That laugh definitely adds a layer of strangeness to his portrayal that will make you do a double take. It’s even wilder in multiple languages, as the tweet compilation below shows:
Voldemort laughing in different languages might be my new favorite video pic.twitter.com/I4Z4U8xrV1January 22, 2024
Have your own opinion, but this is why I love the internet. Someone had too much time on their hands and created a compilation around some weird, specific pop-culture finding, and I cannot thank them enough. This is one of those videos that will never fail to make me laugh every time it comes across my feed.
Some of Ralph Fiennes’ best roles are oddball ones, and Voldemort ranks among them. Commenting on the Harry Potter franchise, he actually was asked about the laugh track in an interview with the Irish Examiner. He said he didn’t remember doing the laugh or what it was for. But about his acting choices when it came to portraying the villainous wizard, the Oscar-winner said:
It wasn’t useful going into it as evil. I just thought, ‘I want to destroy Harry Potter, he is really annoying me and the world will be a better place without him in it.’
For context, the scene in which the Voldemort laughing meme was pulled from is a quintessential scene from the book and movie. The evil wizard has just killed his mortal enemy, 17-year-old wizard Harry Potter. The reason for his bloodlust stems from when Harry was bestowed the title as The Boy Who Lived for surviving Voldemort’s first murderous attempt years earlier. So when he finally believes he has succeeded, Voldemort parades Harry’s lifeless body in front of the rebel forces, laughing alongside his loyal Death Eaters.
I remember seeing this scene in theaters with everyone for the first time back in 2011, and the entire room was holding its breath. Fiennes is genuinely disturbing in his role as Lord Voldemort. But to be honest, I won’t be able to take that scene seriously ever again.
This is not the only time the actor has been known to succeed in creepy roles. However, Voldemort is probably his most well known. Yet, it’s also true the Wes Anderson alum almost turned down Voldemort when he was approached by the producers. Can you imagine Harry Potter without Fiennes as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? The Wizarding World would not be right. But thank goodness he was cast, because now I have this hilarious meme of Voldemort laughing in different languages to watch on loop.
