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Who did ‘House of the Dragon’ star Rhys Ifans play in ‘Harry Potter’?

In another life, Otto Hightower was a wizard.

Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower in HBO's 'House of the Dragon'
Image via HBO Max

House of the Dragon has assembled an impressive cast with both established actors and newcomers looking to make their names by putting on stellar performances.

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One character who looks to be integral to the show’s plot and has quickly grown to be hated by the fandom for his conniving antics is Otto Hightower. In the show, Hightower is portrayed by veteran actor Rhys Ifans leading to fans pondering the question, “where have I seen him before?”

While there are many answers to this question a quick search on the actor’s IMDb page shows that he starred in the Harry Potter franchise but you may not be familiar with exactly who he played.

Who did ‘House of the Dragon’ star Rhys Ifans play in ‘Harry Potter’?

Image via Warner Bros.

If you’re a fantasy fan who feels like they recognize Rhys Ifans it may be because of his appearance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 as Xenophilius Lovegood.

Father to Hogwarts student, Luna Lovegood, and husband to Pandora Lovegood, Xenophilius features during the penultimate Harry Potter installment at Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour’s wedding before later helping Harry and his friends learn about the Deathly Hallows.

Of course, there is more to this character than meets the eye and during the movie, he showcases exactly how far he would go to save his daughter even if it means taking the side of evil.

For those unfamiliar with the character, he is very different from Otto Hightower who Ifans portrays in House of the Dragon so if you’re looking to see the star in a different light, this might be one to check out.

Where else you may have seen Rhys Ifans?

Outside of Harry Potter, you may recognize Ifans from a number of other places with the biggest being his appearances in multiple Spider-Man films.

Both appearing in the MCU and Sony’s Spider-Man universe, the biggest role for the star came as the villain The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man. Following this appearance the character would show up again, this time in the MCU as part of the massive cinematic spectacle that was Spider-Man: No Way Home.