Issacs tortures himself at night to prepare for HBP

Jason Issacs, who plays Lucius Malfoy in the Potter films, has given a new interview to Ain't It Cool News where he discusses how he prepares for his roles in Potter:

And then HARRY POTTER, it's been such an enormous part of my life for years now, and almost everything else I do, I knock myself out to try and make things real–I research them, I over-research them. I steep myself in it and torture myself at night trying to make something interesting and believable and human. But then you suddenly get handed a wand and full-length velvet cape, and you're sharing scenes with some of the biggest and best scene stealers who have ever lived. You really have to hit the ground running. To give that much joy to so many people and to have such a laugh doing it feels like an embarrassment of riches.

Jason also notes that his character does not have a role in Half-Blood Prince and may only appear in a moving painting.