Jason Isaacs, ‘Harry Potter’s Lucius Malfoy, Says His Hard-Partying Young Co-Stars Would Smoke And Drink Often: “They Were Doing Both At An Industrial Pace”

Archie star Jason Isaacs recently looked back on his time filming the Harry Potter films, in which he played the villainous Lucius Malfoy, and revealed an interesting tidbit about his experience working with the young cast of stars.

Isaacs recalled how “strange” it felt to work with the franchise’s stars as they got older, especially when they began smoking and drinking what he described as “at an industrial pace.”

Daniel Radcliffe was 12 when he was cast in the incredibly popular franchise, while his counterparts Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were 10 and 11, respectively. But the franchise filmed from 1999 to 2011, meaning they spent their entire adolescence on the set of Harry Potter.

“It was always strange going back to the films, where they were a couple years older than the last time I saw them, and I would treat them how they had been previously,” Isaacs told the New York Post.

“So, treating a 14-year-old like a 12-year-old wasn’t great,” he admitted. 

Isaacs continued, “And, when they were 18, and we treated them like they still weren’t allowed to smoke or drink — and, they were doing both at an industrial pace — that was odd.”

Much of the cast grew up under public scrutiny as the stars of the biggest franchise in the world at the time. Radcliffe has been open about his journey to sobriety, sharing that he quit drinking in 2010, not long before the final Harry Potter film premiered in 2011.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4 in 2020, Radcliffe blamed some of his drinking at the time on the end of the franchise.

“A lot of drinking that happened towards the end of Potter and for a little bit after it finished, it was panic, a little bit not knowing what to do next — not being comfortable enough in who I was to remain sober,” he said at the time.

He also recalled how it felt to go out to drink at the time as a public figure.

“If I went out and if I got drunk, I’d suddenly be aware of there being interest in that because it’s not just a drunk guy, it’s ‘Oh, Harry Potter’s getting drunk in the bar …,'” he said, noting that the added attention caused him to “drink more or get more drunk.”

Speaking to the Post, Isaacs further praised his former co-stars, many of whom he’s stayed in touch with over the years.

“I saw Rupert recently, and they looked incredibly happy,” he said of Grint, who starred as Harry Potter‘s Ron Weasley.

“I speak to Tom all the time; he doesn’t have kids yet,” he added, referring to Tom Felton, who played his son Draco in the films.

Isaacs concluded, “They’re all men and women, and very accomplished in whatever field they are, and it’s always lovely to see them.”