Among the many challenging casting choices facing the upcoming Harry Potter TV series, landing the perfect actor to portray the franchise’s main antagonist, Lord Voldemort, is an unenviable task thanks to the incredible performance of Ralph Fiennes in the role across several Harry Potter movies. However, in a recent interview, the actor, who has also been part of the James Bond franchise and will soon be seen in 28 Years Later, recalled how what he calls “totally misplaced snobbery” almost cost him one of his most iconic roles.

The idea of another actor playing Voldemort is one that fans of the movie franchise are still not quite ready to accept, as, along with several prominent players in the movies, Fiennes’ portrayal of the evil character has become a deeply ingrained part of pop culture. While discussing his role with The Hollywood Reporter, he explained how he only took the role because of an intervention by his sister, Martha. He said:

“I hadn’t seen the films in order to dislike them, I just hadn’t seen them and I hadn’t read the books. I was aware of their big success. I think I was probably guilty of a sort of totally misplaced snobbery of witches and goblins and things. I was resistant, until I told my sister Martha that I’ve been asked to play this Voldemort person. She said, ‘Voldemort, you’ve been asked to play Voldemort? You have to do it! Ralph you don’t realize, you don’t realize.'”