20 Best Performances In The Wizarding World Franchise
5. Imelda Staunton - Dolores Umbridge
Oh man... this woman.
Imelda Staunton took on a huge challenge when she agreed to play one of the most hated book characters of recent times, but she delivered an outstanding performance that ensured that Dolores Umbridge became one of the most hated film characters of recent times too.
Staunton brilliantly played this insidiously vile psychopath with a sadistic glee running through everything she said and did, making her a genuinely chilling, maddening villain to watch. Even the sight of that horrible smile or the sound of that high-pitched giggle is enough to make one's skin crawl.
In general, it's easy to get angry even thinking of this character and it's a damn shame that her ultimate fate - she was imprisoned for life in Azkaban - wasn't shown on-screen. Still, even if she'd had a brutal death scene, that still wouldn't have felt like enough.
But all of this is a testament to how fantastic Imelda Staunton was as Umbridge and she's one of the absolute highlights of the Harry Potter cast.