EVERY Harry Potter Character Ranked (2024)

Every now and again, as a British man who grew up in the 2000’s, I have the unquenchable urge to rewatch the Harry Potter films and bask in the glorious, magical nostalgia all over again.

I ranked the films a long time ago, but now I feel more comfortable ranking every major character that appeared on screen (sorry to the book fans). I’m estimating what a “major” character is and my memory is prone to lapses, so sorry if I’ve missed a few.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Forgettable

56 – Lavender Brown

I don’t necessarily hate any of the Harry Potter characters as they all brought unique traits and dynamics, but Lavender Brown was the one that consistently made me groan.

Her devotion to Won-Won could be funny under the right circumstances or if I was in the right mood, but for the most part she made me cringe every time.

55 – Barty Crouch Sr.

A lawful, intense member of the Ministry who serves to further the plot rather than provide any interesting character moments.

54 – Cornelius Fudge

Another Minister of Magic who didn’t make much of an impression.

His constant denial of Voldemort got a little annoying, but I like the scene at the end of “Order of the Phoenix” where all his worst fears are realised and he can no longer hide behind lies.

53 – Dean Thomas

A random classmate of Harry’s. Not much more to say.

52 – Percy Weasley

The least notable Weasley.

51 – Cho Chang

“Cho Chang” is a crazy name to give an Asian student and JK Rowling should be ashamed.

She’s Cedric’s and Harry’s love interest in a couple of the films, but she and Harry had zero romantic chemistry.

50 – Petunia Dursley

The matriarch of the Dursley family, and strangely the most reasonable.

She’s the “nicest”, but unfortunately that makes her less interesting compared to her demonic husband and son.

49 – Kingsley Shacklebolt

Again, a crazy racist name to give to a black character. JK Rowling must cringe herself to sleep on her bed of money.

He has cool moments in the films, but he’s very secondary as characters go.

48 – Oliver Wood

Bland student character. At least he teaches Harry how to Quidditch to the max.

47 – Bill Weasley

Slightly more involved than Percy, but still a forgettable Weasley.

Scene Filler

46 – Rita Skeeter

The Wizarding World’s invasive reporter, and easily hateable.

She can do some despicable things in the name of a scoop, but her tenacity makes her a fun character to watch on screen.

45 – Viktor Krum

Enters Tri-Wizard tournament, loses, leaves. Also takes a girl three years younger than him to the Yule Ball. Odd man.

44 – Pomona Sprout

The beloved Botany teacher. Except Professor Sprout doesn’t actually do much in the films other than teach a Botany lesson here and there.

43 – Kreacher

C-list discount Dobby.

42 – Nearly Headless Nick

Played by John Cleese, so the character was guaranteed to be fun. I only wish we saw more of him.

41 – Aberforth Dumbledore

Dumbledore’s grouchy, less memorable brother who appears briefly in the final film. A little late to attach to a new character, methinks.

40 – Sybill Trelawney

Teaches Divination and almost has a seizure every lesson. Memorable, I suppose, but a bit too odd for me.

39 – Filius Flitwick

More consistent than the other professors, appearing in almost every film, but Professor Flitwick only has a few scenes here and there.

38 – Quirinus Quirrell

More plot-relevant than the other Professors so far on account of the Voldemort growing on the back of his head.

He pretends to be aloof, then dies quickly. Not a particularly memorable villain in the grand scheme of things … but hey, someone had to go first.

37 – Seamus Finnigan

Another random classmate who has a moment to shine here and there.

An Irish character who blows up a bridge in the final film … What did you mean by that, JK?

36 – Narcissa Malfoy

One of the characters with the biggest wasted potential.

Helen McCrory was a fantastic actress, and Narcissa Malfoy had a perfect viewpoint for some of the juiciest character interactions, but in the end she didn’t do much.

35 – James Potter

Harry’s father, who turned out to be a bully in school. Yikes.

He doesn’t do much on account of being dead, but his brief scenes are sentimental.

34 – Lily Potter

Very similar to James Potter, except it was clear that Harry had more of an attachment / more screen-time with his mother.

Snape’s love of Lily also retroactively boosted her character.

33 – Nymphadora Tonks

Generic, feisty side character. “Nymphadora” is a crazy name …

32 – Dudley Dursley

Harry’s brother (ish) growing up, and one of the most loathsome characters.

I know Dudley is just a kid, but he’s cruising for a bruising.

31 – Vernon Dursley

And now for Harry’s father (ish), who was equally despicable.

That being said, Vernon was easily the most entertaining of the Dursleys – even if he was the most evil by far.

30 – Garrick Ollivander

John Hurt is an acting legend, and the wand scene at Ollivander’s shop is one of the most iconic moments from the first film.

As for the character of Garrick himself, he doesn’t have much personality or depth beyond kooky and dedicated wand shop owner.

29 – Barty Crouch Jr.

The twist villain of “Goblet of Fire”, and what a twist it was. Shame Barty Crouch Jr. comes off as a bit shallow and weird (with a convoluted evil scheme to boot).

Bonus points for being played by David Tennant.

28 – Crabbe / Goyle

I’m cheating a bit by lumping two characters together, but Crabbe and Goyle are interchangeable in my mind.

They’re both Malfoy’s spineless lackies, and they stand in the background of scenes whilst Malfoy does all the work.

27 – Fleur Delacour

Another Tri-Wizard contestant, but I found Fleur much more memorable than Viktor Krum.

She appears in more than one film, for starters, but she makes an impression in “Goblet of Fire”.

26 – Ginny Weasley

Harry’s love interest … but, like Cho Chang, she doesn’t have much personality.

She does appear in most films, though, so the longevity helped to ingratiate her in the main cast.

25 – Arthur Weasley

The patriarch of the Weasley family – but he still doesn’t make my top three Weasleys.

He’s bumbling yet protective of his family, which I suppose is quite endearing, but in most scenes he’s either an exposition dumper or a plot device.

Scene Stealer

24 – Peter Pettigrew

Yes, I know Peter Pettigrew is the dictionary definition of a “plot device” with how he spurred Sirius’s anger and revived Lord Voldemort, but the performance was too good to ignore.

Timothy Spall gives such a wily performance under all that make-up, and the twist that Ron’s rat was actually a man is one of the most shocking scenes in the series.

23 – Horace Slughorn

Horace Slughorn is only an important character in “Half-Blood Prince”, but he makes his brief screen-time count.

I love his questionable motivation of collecting students as trophies, and him being the professor to tell Tom Riddle about horcruxes leads to quite the confrontation.

22 – Molly Weasley

I found Molly more interesting than her husband.

She shares much the same love for her family, but she’s far warmer and has that badass scene where she takes Bellatrix down.

21 – Cedric Diggory

Robert Pattison got a lot of flack in this era for his fresh-faced performances (especially as a moody vampire), but his work as Cedric Diggory is genuinely great.

Cedric is confident yet helpful towards Harry’s Twi-Wizard preparations, and his death scene is absolutely heart-breaking.

20 – Alastor Moody

Technically all of my favourite Mad-Eye Moody scenes were actually Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise in “Goblet of Fire”, but I thought I’d count those scenes anyway for the hell of it.

He’s cranky and hot-headed, yet his character design and apparent leadership make him the stand-out in a room of people.

19 – Argus Filch

Nobody’s favourite character, but everyone loves Argus Filch.

His dedication to law and order is troublesome at first, but as the series continues I can respect his dedication to his job.

18 – Lucius Malfoy

The Potter universe’s moustache-twirling henchman.

He’s so deliciously evil in every scene, which makes it even more entertaining when he squirms under Voldemort’s glare.

17 – Minerva McGonagall

Again, I doubt McGonagall is anyone’s all-out favourite professor, but she’s a consistently great character.

She’s stern but never unreasonable, with a strong sense of justice. She ain’t afraid to throw the gloves off, that’s for sure.

16 – Fred / George Weasley

Like with Crabbe and Goyle, I didn’t want to separate Fred and George Weasley – they’re the same entity in my mind.

They provide the comic relief on numerous occasions, and I always appreciated the levity (especially as the films got darker).

15 – Bellatrix Lestrange

Bellatrix is a very late addition to the pantheon of Potter villains, but she made an immediate first impression.

When she killed Sirius and taunted Harry, I wanted her head for the next three films.

14 – Luna Lovegood

Another late addition, this time to the heroes’ side, but it’s that joyful radiance that made Luna such a pleasure to watch.

She never got any spotlight moments like some others in the core cast, but her constant friendship and kind heart were lovely.

13 – Draco Malfoy

On the surface, Draco is a whiny brat who’s discriminatory against muggles and comes from a family of evildoers.

But when you dive deeper, you realise he’s a product of said tumultuous family and a victim of the wizarding world’s shortcomings. Still a dick, though.

12 – Dolores Umbridge

Dear god, I hate this woman!

Dolores Umbridge is the archetype of a character you love to hate – everything about her, from her attitude to her actions, makes me want to hit her, but the performance does an amazing job of drawing you in.

11 – Neville Longbottom

Ah, Neville. Never has a character gone from zero to hero so quickly.

He’s the harmless butt of the joke for seven films straight, but when he locks in for “Deathly Hallows Part Two” he cements himself as a total chad.

10 – Dobby

Dobby appears in two Harry Potter films, and my opinion on him varies wildly from scene to scene.

He’s quite annoying in “Chamber of Secrets” up until his heartwarming freedom, but then his death in “Deathly Hallows Part One” was the saddest moment in the entire series.

9 – Remus Lupin

I know Remus Lupin is technically not a “one-off” character as he appears in a minor way in most films, but his starring role in “Prisoner of Azkaban” is one of my favourite single-film characters in the series.

He’s the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher by a country mile for his warmth and empathy, and the fact he’s secretly a werewolf only makes him ten times cooler.

8 – Sirius Black

Another absolute icon from “Prisoner of Azkaban”, except we don’t see the best of Sirius until “Order of the Phoenix”.

He’s the father figure Harry always wanted, and he’s always the centre of attention in any room. Alongside Dobby, his death was one of the most soul-crushing moments in the series.

Iconic

7 – Rubeus Hagrid

“Yer a wizard, Harry!“.

Hagrid immediately cements himself as a legend in “Philosopher’s Stone”, and in almost every film after that he has a fantastic scene alongside the main cast. He’s the beating heart of the Hogwarts grounds.

6 – Ron Weasley

Even though Ron is my “least favourite” of the main trio, the Potter films wouldn’t be the same without him.

His goofy / cheeky attitude is always endearing, and it’s great to see his confidence grow across the final few films.

5 – Lord Voldemort

The big bad, and one of the ultimate cinema villains.

Yes, I know Voldemort doesn’t have much depth beyond “kill Potter and take over the world”, but his design and his evil actions made him a force to be reckoned with in every scene.

4 – Hermione Granger

Little miss know-it-all, but us Potter fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

Hermione’s goody-two-shoes attitude and sassy demeanor might have been off-putting to some, but her intelligence and drive helped immensely in the fight against Voldemort.

3 – Harry Potter

Taking the bronze medal in my ranking is the main character himself – the chosen one, the boy who lived, Harry Potter.

There’s no doubt he goes on the greatest individual journey in the series, and (alongside Ron and Hermione) it’s fascinating to see him grow in ability and confidence.

2 – Albus Dumbledore

It’s no exaggeration to say Albus Dumbledore put the magic in the Harry Potter series.

He always knew the wisest thing to say, and his care for Harry shined through in every precious scene. Oh, and his fight with Voldemort in “Order of the Phoenix” is one of the most badass battles ever put to screen.

1 – Severus Snape

If we’re being frank, the Harry Potter series isn’t know for its in-depth characters. JK Rowling was an amazing author when it came to presenting the magic of the wizarding world and the multitude of twists in the plot, but her characters could be boiled down to generic good and evil (nothing wrong with that for a children’s book series, before you all get up in arms in the comments).

The major exception to this is Severus Snape. Alan Rickman’s performance has become the stuff of pop culture legend, and the twist that Snape was a good guy all along recontextualizes all of the Potter films. He’s the most captivating character in the series, and for that I think he deserves top spot on this list.

Aaaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: