Actor David Thewlis (Remus Lupin) was in Toronto, Ontario, Canada today for the International Festival of Authors, and gave his reaction to the news from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling regarding Dumbledore. The actor said that he was surprised, because while he was filming “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” director Alfonso Cuaron had the idea that Lupin was gay,”and he described my character like a ‘gay junkie’ .” At this link you can watch a short video interview with the actor who discusses his reaction and more. David Thewlis will be in Toronto again tomorrow to promote his new novel “The Late Hector Kipling” before returning to England to complete work on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Can this simple news post mentioning Cuaron’s name not devolve into the same tired insults about his version of Azkaban, please? Isn’t possible that he just used the “gay junkie” label to describe Lupin in a symbolic sense. In other words, “your character Lupin is kind of like a gay junkie because as a werewolf he’s often discriminated against like gay people can be and he is dependent on his wolfsbane potion.” I doubt he actually meant “Despite the fact that Jo doesn’t mention it in the books, Remus Lupin is gay.”
I did think the Sirius/Remus subtext was played up from the book (which I didn’t mind, despite hating most of the movie and thinking it the worst of the bunch). Now I know why.
GingerLibby: No offense, but I think your interpretation is a big stretch. I might think of it if I bent over backwards and twisted the statement 360 while standing on my head. I don’t see why him being described as a gay junkie would mean anything but that Cauron thinks he’s gay.
I don’t mean to be off topic. I thought to let you know that Bonnie Wright did an voiceover for Disney’s The Replacements in the episode London Calling. She played the villian. The show will be replayed tonight around 11pm (US central time).
Kelly: I don’t deny that it is possible that Cuaron could have thought Lupin was gay, it’s just that I’ve heard him speak in interviews on several occasions and witnessed countless directors describe their thought processes when it comes to making films and many often use artsy terminology like this to describe their vision. I once heard an interview where Johnny Depp described his character in Sleepy Hollow as a 13 year old girl, and I don’t think he meant that his character was literally an 13 year old girl just that he played the character as such.
“I wonder if Jo knew Cuaron’s thoughts on Lupin (because he was actually quite vocal about it when the movie came out) why she didn’t correct him like she corrected Kloves and Yates about Dumbledore. Maybe Lupin’s just open for interpretation. Getting hastily married and having a child doesn’t necessarily make him completely straight.”
I still think Sirius/Remus is a completely valid interpretation. Nothing happens with Remus and Tonks until after Sirius is dead. I also still think it’s possible Remus was gay and not bisexual, seeing as every time we see him happy after he gets married, he’s happy about his son (as opposed to his marriage).
Remus/Tonks was…they get married, Remus is miserable, they have a kid, they die. Wow, what was the point of that? I didn’t like how it turned Tonks from an upbeat, enthusiastic person to someone who actually loses her powers because Remus won’t go out with her. It was a huge disservice to her character. Maybe Remus/Tonks could have been written to be a good relationship, but that wasn’t the case.
I always saw Lupin – and really the entire werewolf thing – as a metaphor for how homosexuals are treated in our society. And it’s been pretty obvious for me, ever since I first watched POA, that Cuaron saw the metaphor as well (hasn’t he even discussed this in an interview?). But it’s interesting that he literally saw Lupin as gay too. Does this mean all the Remus/Sirius hints in that film were intentional? :D
I’m going to see David tomorrow night at the Festival—I’m so excited! Maybe I’ll even get to meet him… that would be cool.
Also, he and Alfonso were right. Lupin was gay and nothing can ever convince me otherwise :)
HAHA, was Remus gay? One of my favourite discussions!
I’m with Cuaron – a great film maker, btw. My thoughts are that Remus was definately written with gay undertones until Jo got to OotP. She’s admitted she swapped Remus for Mr Weasley in the death stakes and so suddenly after book 5, Remus needed a wife and child.
Urgh, I hate the Remus/Tonks relationship – it’s written so badly I just can’t believe in it. Remus and Sirius all the way for me!
(It’s been ages since I even posted on here, I wonder if this will even work!)
“Getting hastily married and having a child doesn’t necessarily make him completely straight.”
And that’s not just in fiction either.
On another note, I think this news item may spark something in the Sirius/Remus (Or Snupin!) camp of the HP fandom! WOO! Just like Grindeldore. This shall be fun.
Actually, I could believe Remus was gay before believing that Dumbledore ever was.
There is such an undertone in Lupin’s character that could hint at it. And I caught the undertone message when watching POA (the whole “my kind aren’t accepted among society” message at the end, where Lupin’s packing up) and even OotP (the scene where he’s standing behind Sirius as Harry goes to hug Sirius at Grimmauld Place).
And things did seem fishy in Deathly Hallows. Lupin seemed like a gay man having to marry a woman he really doesn’t love, just because they’re having a baby…and he didn’t even care about sending Tonks to her parents. What newly married man wouldn’t care about being separated from his wife during a war? Things just seemed like he was forced into the marriage. It seemed awefully strange.
So, Cauron and Thewlis aren’t the only ones who could see that side of character to Lupin.
Gay, perhaps, since gay people are (gasp) just like everyone else. But a JUNKIE?? He thought Lupin behaved like a Meth addict? Sweet, wise, thoughtful, patient, down to earth, melancholy LUPIN??? Well, THAT explains much and yes, gives me yet another reason to hope to all the muses that he’s not let near another Potter movie.
"Git," said Fred idly.[br]"He's on our side now," said Hermione reprovingly.[br]Ron snorted. "Doesn't stop him being a git. The way he looks at us when he sees us..."
Can this simple news post mentioning Cuaron’s name not devolve into the same tired insults about his version of Azkaban, please? Isn’t possible that he just used the “gay junkie” label to describe Lupin in a symbolic sense. In other words, “your character Lupin is kind of like a gay junkie because as a werewolf he’s often discriminated against like gay people can be and he is dependent on his wolfsbane potion.” I doubt he actually meant “Despite the fact that Jo doesn’t mention it in the books, Remus Lupin is gay.”