‘Harry Potter’ Star’s Controversial X-Rated Role Shocks Fans—But Earns Unexpected 8-Minute Standing Ovation
You ever think one day you’re watching a familiar face from Harry Potter—y’know, that kid who wasn’t exactly the poster child for courage—then the next, bam! They’re starring in an X-rated film that actually gets an eight-minute standing ovation at Cannes? Yeah, me neither. Harry Melling, who played Dudley Dursley, decided to shake things up in a big way with Pillion, a steamy and unapologetically raw drama that dives headfirst into a sub-dom relationship with none other than Alexander Skarsgård, the leather-clad, mysterious biker you definitely don’t want to mess with. It’s like your childhood just got flipped on its head—but isn’t that the magic of cinema? When was the last time an ex-Hogwarts kid made you question your life choices and perhaps your Netflix queue, all in under ten minutes of applause? Spoiler alert: it’s happening now, and it’s wild.
A former Harry Potter actor surprised fans by starring in an X-rated film that received an enthusiastic eight-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday (May 18).
The film, Pillion, stars Harry Melling—who famously played Harry’s Muggle cousin Dudley Dursley in the Wizarding World franchise— alongside Alexander Skarsgård, known for The Northman and Succession.
- ‘Harry Potter’ actor Harry Melling plays Colin, a timid parking attendant, in the X-rated drama ‘Pillion.’
- His character starts a sub-dom relationship with Alexander Skarsgård’s character, Ray.
- The film, which premiered on Sunday, has received critical praise and a lengthy standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival.
As per the film’s synopsis, Harry portrays Colin, a shy parking attendant who meets Ray (Alexander), “a confident bike leader who initiates him into a submissive relationship, challenging Colin’s mundane existence and prompting personal growth through their unconventional dynamic.”
Harry Potter actor Harry Melling co-stars with Alexander Skarsgård in Pillion
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Image credits: Marc Piasecki/FilmMagic
“As Colin steps deeper into Ray’s world of rules and mysteries, he begins to question whether the life of a 24/7 submissive is for him. Has he found his calling, or simply swapped one form of suffocation for another?”
Following the climax of the Harry Lighton-directed film, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section, the theater erupted into a lengthy standing ovation. Alexander, thrilled by the positive response, was seen planting a kiss on Pedro Pascal’s cheek.
Image credits: Hulu
The movie, which features several explicit intimate scenes, received positive reviews from critics.
The Hollywood Reporter wrote: “Both Melling and Skarsgård show an intimate understanding of how the power dynamic between their characters works, but what gives Pillion its kick is the friction sparked when Colin starts wanting more.”
Indie Wire said the biker romance film “outdoes Babygirl in its graphic and psychologically complex portrayal of an aloof leather-clad biker and his devoted submissive.”
Meanwhile, Deadline wrote that “Skarsgård understood the assignment, slipping seamlessly into his role as the s*xually dominant yet elusive Ray, who’s fearless in communicating his every desire, but emotionally closed off to any real intimacy as the leader of a gay biker gang.”
The X-rated film premiered over the weekend at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received an eight-minute standing ovation
Image credits: IMDB
PILLION just premiered to a rapturous reception, the clapping is still going onnnn 🙌 #Cannespic.twitter.com/jO0X1dZtWB
— Ben Rolph @ Cannes 2025 (@TheDCTVshow) May 18, 2025
The Guardian gave the film ⅘ stars, praising it as a “real love story” that is “basically what Fifty Shades of Grey should have been.”
Pillion is based on Adam Mars-Jones’ novel Box Hill, which was the 2019 Fitzcarraldo Editions Nobel Prize winner.
It was produced by Element Pictures, the Oscar-winning company behind Yorgos Lanthimos’ films The Favourite, Poor Things, and Kinds of Kindness.
Harry Melling played Harry Potter’s cousin, Dudley Dursley, in the Wizarding World franchise
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Image credits: Hulu
Alexander said he’s more than comfortable filming intimate scenes in his birthday suit, telling uInterview: “I’m Scandinavian, godda***it! We love to be n*ked.”
For the explicit scenes, the actors worked with intimacy coordinator Robbie Taylor Hunt on set.
In Pillion, he stars as a timid parking attendant who begins a submissive relationship with Ray (Alexander), a confident biker
Image credits: Brian_Tallerico
Alexander Skarsgård tout en cuir pour la première de #Pillion d’Harry Lighton.🔥 #Cannes2025pic.twitter.com/xWqawk6JTU
— Thomas Desroches (@strayydog) May 18, 2025
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Harry reflected on filming the X-rated sequences and praised his co-star, saying, “Alex is just the most generous, dreamy scene partner, so what could have been quite a daunting experience couldn’t have been more different, really.”
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