“ | Macnair, remember him? Bloke they sent ter kill Buckbeak? Maniac, he is. Likes killin' as much as Golgomath; no wonder they were gettin' on so well. | „ |
~ Rubeus Hagrid regarding Macnair's bloodthirsty nature. |
Walden Macnair is a minor antagonist in the Harry Potter series. He debuted as a supporting antagonist of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as Buckbeak's executioner, and returns as a minor antagonist in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where he is revealed to be one of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters. He later returns as a supporting antagonist in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and a minor antagonist in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
He is portrayed by Peter Best in Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix, by Ashley Artus in Goblet of Fire, and allegedly by Granville Saxton in Deathly Hallows - Part 1 and 2.
Biography[]
Walden Macnair served Lord Voldemort during the First Wizarding War. In the aftermath, he didn't search for his Master, but instead joined the Ministry of Magic as executioner, pretending he was put under the Imperius Curse, and not a true follower of Voldemort. Twelve years after his Master's defeat, he was charged to put Rubeus Hagrid's Hippogriff Buckbeak to death for hurting Draco Malfoy. After Voldemort's return, he returned to the Death Eaters, and rejoins Voldemort in the graveyard. The next year, he is sent with a few Death Eaters in the mountains to negotiate with the Giants, and manages to rally them to Voldemort, sharing his bloodlust with their chief. Later, he disguised himself to infiltrate St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and eliminate Broderick Bode, a disturbing witness. At the end of the year, he participate stop the battle of the the Department of Mysteries, where he is captured and sentenced to Azkaban. Macnair then escapes the prison, probably when the Dementors joins Voldemort. He then participates in the Battle of Hogwarts, where he is defeated by Hagrid. He is eventually sentenced again to Azkaban.
Trivia[]
- Macnair (The Executioner) has been released as a LEGO minifigure, in the 2019 set Hagrid's Hut: Buckbeak's Rescue.
- Macnair is Hagrid's conterpart : while Hagrid is a very nice person who loves take care of creatures, Macnair is a sinister individual who is charged to kill them, and takes pleasure in doing it. Also, both are send to negotiate with the Giants, and they fight each other in the Final Battle.
- Macnair's actor Peter Best was credited as "the Executioner" in the third film and as "Death Eater" in the fifth one.
- In the film adaptation of The Prisoner of Azkaban, there is a scene in which Harry and his friends pass by Macnair sharpening his axe before he notices them and gives Harry an unnerving smile. This scene might have been included to foreshadow Macnair's role as a Death Eater and his sadistic nature and need to kill.
- Macnair appears in the mobile game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, where we learn he survived during the Battle of Hogwarts and was still alive in the 2020s