People can't believe how far Harry Melling has come from Dudley Dursley in new movie The Pale Blue Eye

Viewers of The Pale Blue Eye have said they 'can't believe' how far Harry Melling has come since his Harry Potter days.

The actor, now 33 years old, earned his big break as the titular wizard's bratty cousin Dudley Dursley in the beloved film series.

Being just 10 years old at the time, he went on to star in the franchise right up until he was in his 20s.

However, rather than accepting his fate as a Harry Potter star, Melling has gone on to prove his acting range in a variety of more serious roles, including his turn in The Queen's Gambit on Netflix.

And now he's risen the Hollywood ranks just that bit further by starring as Edgar Allan Poe in Netflix's The Pale Blue Eye alongside Christian Bale.

The movie centres on veteran detective Augustus Landor (Bale) as he investigates a series of grisly murders with the help of a young cadet (Melling), who will eventually go on to become the world-famous author.

Since dropping on 23 December, fans have been singing Melling's praises, with some suggesting his performance outshone everyone else on set.

Warner Bros.

That's quite the feat, especially when you consider the film stars Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Harry Lawtey, Toby Jones and Robert Duvall, alongside Bale.

"The Pale Blue Eye on Netflix, is fantastic. Guy who plays Poe is a star," said one on Twitter, while another added, "Poe really is the star of the show in The Pale Blue Eye. I kin this freak so much."

Now that viewers are clocking the author is portrayed by the man who was once the Dursley's Muggle son, they're piling on the praise once more.

As said by one fan: "Watched The Pale Blue Eye. Cracking view. Harry Melling has come a long way since playing Dudley Dursley."

A second wrote: "Harry smelling in The Pale Blue Eye as Edgar Allen Poe is so insanely good. Like who knew Dudley was so damn talented."

"The Pale Blue Eye on Netflix is quite good," added a third. "Ol' Dudley Dursley going for the Oscar with this one."

A fourth, who described the movie as 'ok', said: "Young Dudley Dursley has grown into a fine thespian. I was most impressed.

"With such a great cast around him he totally stood out."

Netflix

Earlier this week, Melling spoke about the impact the press' reaction to his weight loss had on him as a young man.

His character in the Harry Potter books and movies is depicted as being overweight, with Melling himself previously describing Dudley as ‘very piggish’.

In an interview with the Independent, he described how the press cruelly made references to there being no trace of ‘piggy eyes and double chins’ anymore around the time of his weight loss in 2009.

The actor said he had ‘no control over that narrative’, adding: “But I went to drama school and I lost some weight, and that’s it... And people will find fascination with that.

"They want to ask why and how I did it, but that’s not of any interest to me whatsoever. People want to hold on to these experiences of when they saw the film, so I get why that becomes the opening gambit.”

He argued that you can be an actor ‘in whatever shape you want to be’, and said losing weight at the time ‘was not a conscious decision at all’.