That guy who played the Harry Potter bully just got two years in prison for his role in the London riots
Jamie Waylett—known for playing the Hogwarts bully Crabbe in six Harry Potter films—has been handed a two-year prison sentence for his role in last year’s London riots, during which Waylett was caught on a security camera looting and carting around a Molotov cocktail. In all, he ended up getting off rather light: Waylett was facing multiple charges that included possessing explosives, intent to destroy property, and receiving stolen goods, and was even discovered to be cultivating 15 marijuana plants during a subsequent police search of his home—especially egregious, considering he’d previously been arrested for the same offense in 2009.
In the end, all but the charge of violent disorder was dismissed, with the judge noting that although he accepted the jury’s verdict that Waylett didn’t actually intend to throw the gas bottle stuffed with a rag he was brandishing (all while drinking from the bottle of champagne in his other hand), much like Waylett’s menacingly corpulent figure in the movies, “merely being in possession of it would have been terrifying to anyone who saw you.” In Waylett’s defense, his attorney attempted to engender pity for her client, calling him a “withered actor by the age of 22”—which is funny, because he is large—and adding that “although he had the good fortune to be in the Harry Potter films, it turned out to be not so good fortune.”
Indeed, the entire tone of Waylett’s trial, the subsequent press coverage, and even the judge’s statement during sentencing all seem to have been indelibly colored by his role of Crabbe—which, as always, may not make much sense to those who aren’t all that familiar with Harry Potter. Like me, which means just like last time, I had to have an IM conversation with our resident Harry Potter expert Genevieve Koski that went like this:
Genevieve: Did you see this: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/harry-potter-actor-is-jailed-for-role-in-london-riots/
Sean: yep!
Genevieve: that guy!
Sean: you want to write about it?
Genevieve: not right this second, as i'm behind on edits, but maybe in a little bit i'll have time. i assume you don't need it rightthissecond.
Sean: I don't think he's going anywhere