Why Harry Potter star Alfred is now Wilde at heart
ALFRED ENOCH is discovering that not only does the devil get the best lines, he gets the best clothes, too. Enoch, who played Gryffindor good guy Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter films, is a fan of the louche looks he displays in an updated filmed play of Oscar Wilde’s 19th-century tale of depravity, The Picture Of Dorian Gray.
The 32-year-old jumped at the chance to play Harry — modelled after Lord Henry Wotton in Wilde’s story.
Harry’s the creepy hedonist who corrupts the young Dorian (played by Fionn Whitehead, star of Dunkirk) in the tale of a portrait that ages as its subject remains forever young.
‘I don’t think Harry will be viewed entirely sympathetically,’ Enoch admitted. ‘But having just played him, I want to take his side!
‘There’s a lot in the part that’s juicy — and fruity — but there’s a very human side to it, too.’
Henry Filloux-Bennett’s adaptation shifts the action from the Victorian era to the present day world of social media, where Facebook, Instagram and Twitter draw Dorian to the darker side of being an influencer... with Harry’s help.
Enoch conceded that Harry’s dissolute behaviour comes, in part, from him being a member of the one per cent. ‘He’s certainly a privileged individual, who wears all the entitlement that comes with that.’
Yes, and some pretty fabulous clothes, too. ‘The biggest sell of the whole thing was the clothes,’ said Enoch, who’s ordinarily to be found in a tracksuit.
Enoch said he was thrilled to be cast alongside Joanna Lumley, Russell Tovey, Emma McDonald and Stephen Fry; but because of Covid protocols he never saw them — though he did film a socially-distanced scene with Whitehead at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester.
The filmed play is a coproduction with several regional theatres including Theatr Clwyd and the Lawrence Batley Theatre. It will stream from March 16 through to March 31.
Enoch’s now in London waiting to resume filming on Foundation, the Apple TV+ version of Isaac Asimov’s science-fiction classic, in which he plays knife-wielding hero Raych. But his immediate concern is for the welfare of his 96-year-old actor father William Russell. ‘He’s had his vaccine. That was a relief, but you spend time worrying,’ said Enoch.
Visit pictureofdoriangray.com for ticketing details.