--- description: The sinister laugh is arguably one of the most famous moments from Ralph Fiennes' portrayal of Voldemort in the Harry Potter films. title: Harry Potter Star Ralph Fiennes on Voldemort's Iconic Laugh image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Harry Potter_ Star Ralph Fiennes Finally Comments on His Iconic Voldemort Laugh  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Mar 29, 2017 6:26 PM CUT  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Mar 29, 2017 6:26 PM CUT The sinister laugh that escapes from [Voldemort](http://time.com/4665398/beauty-and-the-beast-voldemort/ "undefined") when he thinks he has finally killed [Harry Potter](http://time.com/4607327/harry-potter-inspirational-quotes/ "undefined") in _The Deathly Hallows: Part 2_ is arguably one of the most famous moments from [Ralph Fiennes’](http://time.com/4181278/alan-rickman-ralph-fiennes-snape-voldemort/ "undefined") portrayal of the Dark Lord. But for the actor himself, it’s barely a memory. While chatting with philosopher Slavoj Zizek at a School Of Life event in London Monday, Fiennes [reportedly admitted](http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/entertainment/ralph-fiennes-i-cant-remember-when-or-why-i-did-that-voldemort-laugh-783517.html "undefined") that he can’t recall letting loose the cackle that went on to become an [iconic meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/videos/13879-voldemorts-awkward-laugh "undefined"). “I can’t actually remember what that scene was or why I did it,” he said. Fiennes also spoke about how he interpreted the motivation behind his villainous character’s deeds. “It wasn’t useful going into it as evil,” he said, jokingly adding, “I just thought, ‘I want to destroy Harry Potter, he is really annoying me and the world will be a better place without him in it.'” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4716752/harry-potter-ralph-fiennes-voldemort-laugh/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4716752/harry-potter-ralph-fiennes-voldemort-laugh/"},"headline":"Harry Potter Star Ralph Fiennes Finally Comments on His Iconic Voldemort Laugh","datePublished":"2017-03-29T18:26:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:05:44.143Z","description":"The sinister cackle even inspired a meme","url":"https://time.com/4716752/harry-potter-ralph-fiennes-voldemort-laugh/","keywords":["movies","Harry Potter"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4716752/harry-potter-ralph-fiennes-voldemort-laugh/","name":"Harry Potter Star Ralph Fiennes Finally Comments on His Iconic Voldemort Laugh"}}]}] ```