EF: So, I'll bite...what makes him tick?

JI: Well, what makes Lucius tick...I mean, it was interesting for me because at first I was slightly at sea. I thought, well, I have no frame of reference for this. I don't know an awful lot of wizards in my life. Normally you can base something on your mad uncle or someone you sit next to in a restaurant, but this is...where do you look? So I was looking at who he was, and what he's about is pure blood. You know, eugenics. He wants to wipe out an entire race. He thinks that humans are sub-human - you know, muggles are sub-human - and that he's from a superior race. Well, you don't have to look very far nowadays to find people who are being elected to governments all over Europe like that, and who are running around America with pillow cases on their heads like that.

EF: And in history as well.

JI: And in history...

EF: It's a Nazi sort of feeling.

JI: Well, these characters are all over the place now. And the other element, of course, is that he comes from one of those ruling families. He has that super arrogance that comes from old, old money and old, old power. And, you know, there are certain families that run our world whether or not they're currently elected to government. Behind closed doors, they make the decisions. :: briefly channels Lucius :: And he has that sense of superiority and sureness. He's the most confident person I've ever played. :: reverts back to himself :: To combine all those, and, you know, as an Englishman you have to find the voice as well. There was someone who was just terribly patronising and rude to me when I was a drama student, so it was my just revenge, playing him like Lucius.

EF: There are some method actors who tap into things to be able to bring aspects of a character to the fore. But this guy is so EVIL!

JI: Well, he's not evil, he's focused. I mean, no one's evil in their own mind. As soon as you start playing evil for the sake of the audience booing you, actually no one's going to care about you at all. You have to be specific. Acting is all about specifics.

EF: Do you like the dress-up part of your job? The hair, the cape, the whole thing?

JI: I tell you what...actually, well, I love that... :: gestures towards the snake cane, which is prominently displayed on the table next to him :: I came up with that cane! I said, "I feel he'd like a walking cane with a big snake on the top," and they went, "All right." Chris is very open-minded. They had certain ideas when I arrived. They wanted me in a pin-stripe suit and to have short hair.

EF: Oh really?

JI: Oh yeah. Short hair, maybe grey hair. In fact, there was a notion floated at some point that I should have badger-colored hair, because I've got dark hair. They said, "Maybe you should just have blond tips and dark hair," and I went... :: makes an indescribably adorable, exasperated noise :: 'Cause, you know, you don't get to play a wizard very often in your life, and when you do, you wanna dress like a wizard. I said, "This guy really doesn't make any nods to the muggle world at all, so he really shouldn't dress like a muggle." I came up with a look that, you know, on a bad day looks more like Iggy Pop, and on a good day, looks like Lucius.

:: Clips - a blooper shot of JI snagging Daniel Radcliffe's robes with the cane, then patting him on the head and saying "Sorry, love", followed by the Flourish and Blotts scene . ::