You won't believe what Harry Potter's Dudley Dursley looks like now

harry potter dudley dursley

While we know that Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have gone on to appear in various films, TV shows and plays since the Harry Potter films wrapped in 2008, while many of the other actors from the franchise have decided to switch careers.

And everyone loves to know what the cast are up to these days, whether it's finding photos of Viktor Krum to see what he looks like now or learning that this actor is now a body builder.

But have you ever wondered what became of Harry Melling, the young actor who played Dudley Dursley?

Well it turns out that he has been starring in not one but two very popular BBC dramas - and people are only just realising that it's him.

Harry played Sysselmann in His Dark Materials, the BBC drama based on Philip Pullman's Book of Dust trilogy, which aired this weekend.

He was just twelve years old during filming for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, so he's bound to look a little different considering the actor is now thirty (yes, it really has been eighteen years since the first film hit cinemas).

However, Potterheads recognised him immediately, with one Twitter user writing: 'Am I going crazy or is that Dudley Dursley in His Dark Materials?!'

dudley dursley look like now harry potter

Credit: BBC / His Dark Materials

But that wasn't his only appearance on the BBC this weekend. He also cropped up in War of the Worlds, when he played a soldier who was being hunted by aliens.

dudley dursley look like now harry potter

Credit: BBC / War of the Worlds

Not everyone could see past his Harry Potter character, however, with another viewer tweeting: 'It’s really a bit distracting that Dudley Dursley has just been maimed by Iorek in #HisDarkMaterials and now he’s being chased down by aliens in #waroftheworlds Is this payback for all that bullying of Harry he did back in the day?'

But others were impressed with his appearances, with one person writing: 'Wow Dudley Dursley (idk the actor’s name sorry) is in #HisDarkMaterials AND #WarOfTheWorlds. He is winning tonight!'

Agreed.

Jadie Troy-Pryde
News Editor

Jadie Troy-Pryde is News Editor, covering celebrity and entertainment, royal, lifestyle and viral news. Before joining the team in 2018 as the Lifestyle and Social Media Editor, she worked at a number of women’s fashion and lifestyle titles including Grazia, Women’s Health and Stylist, and now heads the Marie Claire UK news desk.