Why Does Voldemort Hold His Wand Weird & Different Than Others?

Every character from the Harry Potter series has something unique about them that sets them apart from each wizard. They are unique not only in their physical features, but their mannerisms are something viewers have also noted. One of the things Potterheads have noticed is the unique way Lord Voldemort holds his wand.

The way Lord Voldemort holds his wand differently was a decision made by his actor, Ralph Fiennes. According to the actor, he wanted to bring Lord Voldemort to life the way the author described him in the books. The way he holds his wand is never mentioned, but the actor felt it needed to be an extension of the description.

Now we know Fiennes wanted to give Voldemort justice through his acting, but that doesn’t explain how the wand was kept in place during the movie. Was it the works of CGI to make the wand seemingly weightless in his hands, or is there a camera trick to it? Read on to know more about how and why the Dark Lord holds his wand the way he does.

How Does Lord Voldemort Hold His Wand?

In the Harry Potter films, Lord Voldemort holds his wand a lot less tightly than your average wizard. Instead, it looks slightly suspended to slightly resting on Voldemort’s open hands. This is a nod to how J.K. Rowling’s description of Voldemort’s snake-like movements in the books. 

What Trick Did They Use to Keep Voldemort’s Wand in Place?

Believe it or not, CGI plays a small role in keeping Voldemort’s Wand in place. So when Fiennes brought the idea to the Production Designer Stuart Craig, they decided to find a way to bring this idea to film to tie up with Voldemort’s movements. Fiennes, Craig, and the rest of the production designer team discussed how the wand should be. 

Production design then decided on attaching a hook on the wand so it can be attached to one of his fingers, making the wand follow his hand regardless of how loose he decides to hold it. This allowed Fiennes to keep up the silky-smooth movements of his arms and hands without dropping the wand.

Was How He Held His Wand Written in the Books?

Surprisingly, how Lord Voldemort held his wand in the books was never mentioned in the source material. The author simply described how Voldemort moves in general, and it was those lines that inspired Fiennes to include the little trick with the wand to highlight Voldemort’s movements.

His addition did give Lord Voldemort’s movements more character. At the same time, it was a movement that Harry Potter fans caught on and appreciated when the films were being released.

What is Lord Voldemort’s Wand?

Wands are obviously a big deal in the fictional world of Harry Potter. Each wand we see on screen is unique from the design, the wood, and the core. Lord Voldemort’s Wand is some of the most iconic wands sought out by fans for memorabilia’s sake.

Lord Voldemort purchased his wand when he still went by the name “Tom Riddle” when he was only 12 years old. It was a 13 ½ inch long wand that was crafted from yew with a phoenix feather core. It wasn’t a regular phoenix feather core, but the feather came from Albus Dumbledore’s phoenix, Fawkes. 

While they don’t look too similar, Harry’s and Voldemort’s wand cores are both made from Fawkes’ feathers, making the two wands twins. His wand is the same wand he used to murder Harry Potter’s parents and several others till he accidentally destroyed his body while trying to murder Harry Potter.

His wand was picked up by Peter Pettigrew, who kept the wand with him to avoid it from being taken to the Ministry of Magic. He feared that he would be labeled as a traitor if the ministry found the wand. So he kept the wand till he could locate Lord Voldemort for 12 years.

How Did Lord Voldemort Reunite With His Wand?

Since Peter Pettigrew knew where he hid the wand, he eventually returned the wand to Lord Voldemort when he managed to escape Harry and the other wizards. After recovering the wand, he went to Albania to find the Dark Lord. He assisted in creating Lord Voldemort, a rudimentary body so he could at least have a physical form he could travel and perform magic with.

Once Lord Voldemort got his original body, Peter immediately presented him with his old wand as a gift.

Why Did Lord Voldemort Need a New Wand?

In order to damage Harry Potter, Voldemort needed a new wand due to his wand being unable to harm Harry’s wand. This is because Voldemort’s and Harry’s wands are twin wands created with similar cores. When two wands of the same core interact in a duel, the wands cannot harm each other. Instead, it will cause a reverse-spell effect with the losing wand regurgitating the last spell it was used with. 

In order to allow him to inflict harm on Harry, Voldemort took Lucius Malfoy’s wand. This wand eventually broke when Harry shot golden flames towards the Dark Lord. Instead of asking his followers for another wand, Lord Voldemort decides to search for the Elder Wand. He used his yew wand for the final time to break into Dumbledore’s tomb to steal the Elder Wand.

After Voldemort’s death, the fate of his Yew wand is unknown. Normally a wand is buried alongside the body of its owner. However, it is also known for this particular type of wand to grow into a yew tree to defend its owner’s grave.

Why Did Fawkes’ Feather Choose Voldemort?

If you watched the first movie or the first book, you would know that it is the wand that chooses the owner. It was a weird stroke of luck that twin cores were distributed to the big bad of the story and Harry Potter. It was never fully explained why Fawkes’ feather would choose the Dark Lord to be its owner.

Theories have tried to explain that Voldemort’s wand was made during the time Fawkes’ was under a different alliance and not yet under the care of Albus Dumbledore. However, these are all still theories. Until the books or the author has confirmed why Fawkes’ feather chose the Dark Lord, this part will be left unknown.