What Harry Potter's Dobby Looks Like In Real Life
Dobby the house-elf first debuted in 2002's "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," quickly becoming the most grating character in the film, showing up at the Dursley residence to warn Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) to not return to Hogwarts. Harry obviously scoffs at this idea, which forces Dobby to conjure up some hijinks, attempting to force the wizard to stay in the Muggle world. Harry realizes that Dobby's heart is in the right place, and as the film wraps up, the young hero tricks Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs), Dobby's owner, into setting the elf free.
He may not be a recurring character in the films, but it's hard to imagine Harry Potter succeeding in his journey without the help of the adorable Dobby, who is voiced by veteran English actor Toby Jones. While his resume does include motion capture work, Jones strictly provides the voice for Dobby, though both the actor and the character share the characteristic of being relatively short. Jones is five feet, five inches tall, while Dobby is said to be about three feet. While Dobby is a character who consistently pops up in J.K. Rowling's novels, audiences don't see the elf in the cinematic franchise again until "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1."
In the first part of the finale, fans see Harry and Dobby reunite, though they fail to share any moments of glee. The elf succumbs to his wounds after saving Harry and his friends from Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter). It's an emotional finale for the fan-favorite character. It's also a brilliant showcase of how Jones is able to capture tender emotion with just his voice, making him one of the most interesting supporting actors in the "Harry Potter" franchise.
Toby Jones is a veteran English actor
If you're a fan of blockbuster cinema, there's an extremely strong chance you've seen Toby Jones in one of your favorite films. To date, the English actor has lent his talents to over 100 projects and continues to be one of the nation's most prolific stars. Jones began his career in the early '90s, appearing in a number of British productions, but it wasn't until his "Harry Potter" gig that he became a must-watch. After voicing Dobby in "Chamber of Secrets," Jones found himself in the Oscar-nominated "Finding Neverland."
His career continued to grow, with appearances in stateside flicks like Oliver Stone's "W." and Ron Howard's "Frost/Nixon." By the time the 2010s rolled around, Jones had become a fixture in popular American films, showing up as the nefarious Zola in "Captain America: The First Avenger" and Claudius Templesmith in the billion-dollar-grossing "Hunger Games" franchise. Since then, he's appeared in entries in the "Muppets," "Jurassic World," and "Indiana Jones" franchises.
While he boasts a diverse array of films under his belt, ranging from blockbusters to independent dramas like Kelly Reichardt's "First Cow," Jones is still widely known for his role as Dobby. While speaking with MTV News in 2007 (via The Leaky Cauldron), Jones praised the designers behind the elf for helping bring Dobby to life. "I can only take a certain amount of credit for inhabiting Dobby, because clearly these brilliant people at Industrial Light and Magic have created Dobby and I just voiced the character," Jones said.
How Dobby came to life in Deathly Hallows
In the same (pre-"Deathly Hallows" film) chat with MTV News, Toby Jones opened up about how, following his debut in "The Chamber of Secrets," Potterheads continued to ask him when Dobby would return to the big-screen franchise. Luckily, "Harry Potter" fans got their wish with "Deathly Hallows – Part 1," which features Jones returning as the character after eight long years. In that finale, audiences see an emotional farewell between Dobby and Harry Potter — a moment that is, arguably, one of the most gut-wrenching scenes in the entire franchise.
As heartfelt as the goodbye between the characters was, audiences should know that it was a particularly awkward scene to complete. In a conversation with ComingSoon.net, Daniel Radcliffe opened up about how it was difficult to film the tear-jerking scene because Dobby was computer generated, though a stand-in was used to help elevate the scene. "I was using a doll and we were also using a little person called Diane," Radcliffe discussed, noting how "creepy" it was to film the somber moment.
Ultimately, Jones voiced Dobby only twice in the "Harry Potter" films. However, with the confirmation that Max is moving forward with a "Harry Potter" television series, it's likely that audiences will get to see more of Dobby in the upcoming show. Would Jones return to voice the beloved elf? "Of course I would. I'm very proud of that. Yeah, definitely," Jones told The Wrap about a potential reprisal as Dobby in the series.