His co-stars on the hit movie franchise "Harry Potter" have been darlings in the public's eyes as they grew up on-screen, but as the torment of Harry's life at home, Dudley Dursley did not get as much love from the fans. But the actor who played the big, spoiled bully has his sights on another big name franchise.
Harry Melling wants to keep "Doctor Who" in his family. After all, his grandfather, Patrick Toughton, was the second incarnation of the beloved Doctor.
Now 26 years old, Welling told Radio Times Magazine that he will probably have to wait a few years before he can even think of taking on the family legacy.
''It probably won't happen as I might need to be a bit older. I've really enjoyed doing theatre but getting 'Doctor Who' in the family again would be great," he said.
Then again the Doctor has always been a character of reinvention and with Peter Capaldi, the current Doctor, hinting that he will be leaving behind the Tardis, as well as producer Steven Moffat passing on the showrunner reigns to Chris Chibnall next year, perhaps there will be room for Welling to be considered as the new Doctor and keep it in the family.
In the meantime, Melling has been busy since his post-'Harry Potter' career. He has been working on numerous stage plays in the UK, including the current West End play "Hand to God" where he plays a troubled American teen whose mother runs the Lutheran puppet club and whose own puppet is apparently possessed by Satan and spews out profanities and other things which he can't say himself.
He also had guest starring roles on other BBC series such as "Merlin" where he was no longer a muggle but a young warlock who used magic to gain an upper hand to win a tournament in the legendary kingdom of Camelot.
All grown up now, Melling is barely recognizable from the loud-mouthed, spoiled, brat who used to torment Harry Potter before the Boy Who Lived discovered he was actually a wizard. Just like, Matthew Lewis, another one of his co-stars in the films who played Neville Longbottom, Welling reportedly also had to wear a fat suit in order to keep his role for "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1," the last of the films he appeared in.
But Melling is happy to not be associated too much with his role as the portly Dudley Dursley.
"I can now shed the child actor thing, like the fat, and start a new career, because no one sees me as Dudley," he said.
