Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in the film series, appears at Duncombe Primary School

PLAYING dress-up, casting spells, and solving “human puzzles” are the things awaiting the next generation of actors according to Jason Isaacs.

Famed for his portrayal of Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, Jason Isaacs stood in front of Years 5 and 6 in Duncombe Primary School to tell them that the acting business is for them too.

“Some of you here might want to go into the storytelling business. If you’ve got one of these,” he said, gesturing to his phone, “you’ve got a whole film studio. You guys can make films, there are no barriers any more.  You can write, direct, edit, put free music on it, put special effects on it, and you can find an audience, all through the phone.

“Be involved in creating content and tell your own stories, and the world will come to you.”

Helen Ryan, the school’s headteacher, told the Tribune that the school’s pupils are among some of the most deprived in the country, on a par with Bootle in Liverpool, which is the most deprived area.

She said: “Having people like Jason come in shows these kids that there is a world out there that they can be a part of. It’s giving them the agency to say, ‘hey, I can do that too’.”

Mr Isaacs told the students that he had spent much of his early life feeling like he didn’t belong, until he found acting.  “When I went to college everyone was very, very posh,” he said. “They had accents I’d never heard before, and they were the kind of rich people I’d never met before. I was embarrassed about who I was and where I came from, so I tried to reinvent myself. I tried to sound like the people I was mixing with.

“Then, I saw they were doing auditions for a play, and I thought, ‘I’ll try it, try anything to meet some friends’. As soon as I went into the rehearsal room I thought, ‘it doesn’t really matter who you are outside – everything that’s ever happened to me has helped me do this job’.”

One pupil said: “Can you cast a spell for us?”

With a flourish, Mr Isaacs produced his wand – Lucius Malfoy’s real wand from the set of the films – and warned the room that the only spell he knew was Avada Kedavra, “the killing curse”.

Moving on, the children asked tougher questions of the actor.  “Do you play the bad guy or the good guy in Harry Potter?”, asked one.

“Well, is anyone good or bad?” Mr Isaacs answered, unafraid to get existential with the 10 and 11-year-olds.  “I’ve played a lot of bad guys, and a lot of good guys as well. But, what’s interesting to me is why is Donald Trump such a terrible racist?

“He looks at himself in the mirror every morning and thinks he’s a hero. That’s a very strange idea. “I like getting into other people’s heads and figuring out why.”