Harry Potter actor reveals his character could have looked incredibly different if he hadn’t intervened

One of the Harry Potter universe's most iconic characters could have looked incredibly different if not for the actor working his magic on the role once cast.

That's according to the man himself, Jason Isaacs, who made the claim during the press tour for the latest season of The White Lotus, in which he stars as Timothy Ratliff in season three.

And while he might be leaving viewers wide-eyed as Ratliff in a rather NSFW scene, he will always be known best for his role as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movie franchise.

Starring as the father of Harry Potter's rival classmate, Draco Malfoy, he represents a lot of what is wrong with the Wizarding World. Aristocratic, wealthy, and a hatred of wizards who aren't pure-bloods.

One of Lord Voldemort's most trusted servants and leader of the Death Eaters, he squares off against Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on a number of occasions.

Known for his flowing blonde hair, luxurious dark clothing and a cane containing his wand, Isaacs said in a recent interview with Esquire that 'none of it was there originally'.

"I went to the set a month before shooting and they showed me the sketches... the guy had a pinstripe suit with hair like this," 61-year-old Isaacs said while pointing to his own short black hair.

"I went to the hair and makeup department and said, 'I was hoping for a wig'. And they went, 'Well, Dumbledore has a wig'. I said, 'Is it a one wig film, really, for Warner Brothers?'"

Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy (WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC)

Isaacs said he told the hair and makeup team he 'wouldn't want his hair like a Muggle' - enter the world of the long flowing blonde locks. With no proper wig to hand, he borrowed one that looked like it was 'from the gas station'.

Off to the costume department he went, who had him in a 'businessman's suit'.

"I was hoping to wear fur, velvet, ermine, and have capes and everything," Isaacs recalled, saying he told the department Lucius was a 'rich aristocrat and would never want to dress like a Muggle'.

Jason Isaacs in his iconic look as Lucius Malfoy (Warner Bros.)

Taking a huge curtain from the department to wrap himself in, he wore both the impromptu robes and wig to go and see director Christopher Columbus, who was rather taken aback by the look.

Explaining the look, he asked for Columbus to approve the blonde hair and velvet robes look.

Asked by Columbus if there was 'anything else', Isaacs said: "Yeah there is actually. I was thinking I could have a cane and my wand could come out of the cane."

"No that's not a thing," Isaacs claimed he was told by the director, saying the 'wands just appear' in the movies rather than being kept somewhere in particular.

Isaacs said: "Columbus spent about three seconds thinking before he said, 'I think the toy guys are going to love you'."

In the books, Lucius is described as having long blonde hair and with a walking stick concealing his wand, so the fact that the initial sketches were so far off seems a little concerning.