14. Tom Riddle At The Orphanage - Half Blood Prince
Is evil born, or is it made? That's one of the biggest questions when people think of truly nasty characters, both fictional and otherwise. When audiences meet the boy version of Voldemort through one of Dumbledore's memories, it's easy to say that you can see the evil in him right from the start. And certainly, young Tom Riddle has a predilection for stealing things, making other people suffer, and doesn't seem to have any regard for or understanding of human emotion. Is it possible that if he had a loving family life instead of a cold existence at an orphanage, he might have turned out differently? Maybe. What would have happened if Hitler had gotten into art school? But it's a moot point, because at this point in the story, Riddle has already been formed. And it's immensely frightening to see a young child, played chillingly by Ralph Fiennes' real life nephew Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, already showing such sociopathic tendencies.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
