Harry Potter is one of the most well-known sagas worldwide, popular with both young and old. Eight films, not counting the Fantastic Beasts prequel, tell the story of this young wizard. Of course, all that time is more than enough to accumulate a wealth of anecdotes and behind-the-scenes trivia. Today, we'll tell you the best secrets hidden behind the Harry Potter saga.
The secrets behind the scenes in the Harry Potter saga
Whether you're a true fan of the young wizard or simply want to learn some interesting details about the saga , we're sure that the selection of curiosities we bring you today will catch your attention.
How many times was lightning drawn on Harry's forehead? Was there an accident during filming? Could there have been changes in the cast? You will find all these unknowns resolved if you continue reading this article.
JK Rowling hand-picked several actors
Something quite curious among the actors who give life to the characters in this story is that JK Rowling herself, creator of Harry Potter, personally took care of her choice.
The first actor cast in the role was, surprisingly enough, Rubeus Hagrid , the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Robbie Coltrane is the actor who brought this character to life, and, according to the author, she couldn't imagine anyone else in the part.
Moving on to other cast members, Richard Harris played Albus Dumbledore in the first two films before his death in 2002. He was another of J.K. Rowling's choices, who initially rejected the role, feeling too old at 70. However, after his granddaughter's insistence, he accepted it shortly afterward. A curious detail about this actor's performance in the first two films is that, due to his age, he struggled to memorize his lines. For this reason, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) rehearsed with him constantly, and they developed a very close relationship.
Alan Rickman was another of the author's choices. This actor, well-known in English theater but not so much on the big screen, portrayed Severus Snape throughout the entire saga. If you're a fan, you'll know the true feelings this professor had for Harry Potter. For this reason, even though the last two books hadn't yet been published, J.K. Rowling revealed his character's intentions to Rickman so that, knowing them, he could give the best possible performance.
Dumbledore threatened the director of the film
Richard Harris, who played Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films until his death in 2002, reportedly told director Chris Columbus that he would kill him if he were given the role again. Just like that, as Columbus himself revealed years later: "He threatened to kill me if I had to play Dumbledore again. I can't repeat what he said." So, in any case, the brilliant actor's presence in the franchise was already more than compromised.
Hogwarts castle was not what they expected
Hogwarts castle was not what they initially thought. The cinematographers in charge of choosing the "real" locations to record the scenes for the film wanted to use Canterbury Cathedral as the image of the College of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The problem came when the dean of this institution refused this because it seemed sacrilegious to use the image of a Christian temple for a pagan representation.
However, shortly thereafter they received an offer to use Gloucester Cathedral for the site. Who do you think sent it? Well, nothing more and nothing less than the Reverend Nicholas Bury, who was a fan of the books produced by the writer JK Rowling.
If you've ever wondered why the outside of Hogwarts castle doesn't look the same in every movie, here's your answer. Although well, in the case of a magical place, it is also funny that they made this decision.
Robin Williams was rejected for the cast
This author's decisions weren't limited to casting; she also rejected other actors. Robin Williams offered to play Hagrid in the first film of this series for free , as he himself admitted to being a huge Harry Potter fan. Actress Rosie O'Donnell also offered to play Molly Weasley, and once again, she too was turned down.
As Rowling acknowledged, the decision not to have these great actors in the cast was because she only wanted actors from the British Isles.
He lived in isolation with a cat for 1 month
As you already know, many actors who have to play characters whose feelings are out of the "usual" in their lives, decide to embody them for a while to internalize their feelings.
David Bradley, who played Argus Filch , the caretaker at Hogwarts School, is a prime example of this. This actor decided to lock himself away for a whole month in an isolated country house with the cat that would later portray Mrs. Norris. And, a curious fact about this animal is that, during filming, it disappeared and nothing was heard of it until two weeks later.
But he wasn't the only actor who had to "suffer" to get into character. Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy , wanted to experience what it felt like to be a villain by stealing a copy of "The Daily Prophet" on the set. He confessed this to the director, who made him return the copy.
Prosthetics are nothing magical
If you read the Harry Potter books before watching the films, you'll know that two of the three main characters had distinctive features that didn't match the actors who later portrayed them. Hermione Granger had rather prominent front teeth , and Harry Potter had green eyes . To try to make the films as faithful to the books as possible, Emma Watson wore dental prosthetics, and Daniel Radcliffe wore green contact lenses.
The problem with this was that even Emma couldn't speak correctly with these false teeth and, in Daniel's case, he suffered an infection from these lenses. So it was decided that these little details weren't that relevant to the story.
Draco or Potter?
Did you know that Draco Malfoy could have been Harry Potter? We're talking about the actor who played the role. In the auditions, Tom Felton, who played Draco, actually auditioned to be Harry Potter. But his path twisted like a snake's tail, leading him to Slytherin House.
Chris Columbus, the director of the films, wanted to supervise the casting calls in person. At the time of auditioning for the role of Harry, he always asked all the candidates the same question: "What is your favorite moment in the book for the character?" Tom was the only one who hadn't read any of the saga, so he decided to quickly copy the previous candidate's story. The director noted that he had no idea what he was talking about, but he liked the young actor's self-confidence. So, quickly, he signed him up for the role of Draco Malfoy.
dates match
One incredibly curious aspect of this story is that, according to J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter was born on July 31, 1980 , making him 40 years old today. But what's truly remarkable is that this date is also the author's own birthday.
Another curious detail related to numbers in this story was seen in the scene where Arthur Weasley and Harry Potter are in the phone booth that takes them to the Ministry of Magic and Wizardry. Arthur types the number "62442" which, following the order of the letters on the numeric keypad, forms the word "Magic."
Harry Potter glasses
Do you think Harry only wore one pair of glasses throughout the entire saga? Not at all. Daniel Radcliffe used a total of 160 pairs of glasses during filming while portraying his character. Oh! And between 60 and 70 different wands.
One of the most curious aspects of this characteristic of the protagonist is the reason behind them; that is, why does Harry Potter really wear glasses? It's especially interesting because no other major character (among the young wizards) in the story has similar "problems."
And it is that this accessory was not randomly placed by the writer. Looks like J.K. Rowling created the character of Harry with this visual problem to somehow show everyone that even if we have some flaw or difficulty in our life, it is not a reason for them to prevent us from moving forward. Thus, the young fans of the magician would identify with this and his little "problem".
The origin of Harry Potter
The origin of this young wizard's character wasn't magic, as some believe. J.K. Rowling came up with the idea in 1990 while waiting for a train at King's Cross Station in England. This location was later used in the films to represent the station where wizards boarded the magical train to Hogwarts.
The scar that left a mark
Another curious detail is that the lightning-shaped scar was drawn on actor Daniel Radcliffe's forehead more than 5.800 times during the 8 films in this saga. It would have been easier for him to tattoo it, don't you think? Although of course, then there is the problem that it is something for life.
Demolition because of the fans
The world of fandom is a wonderful thing, but at the same time, it can also turn into something truly awful. Just ask the people in charge of repeatedly rebuilding Hagrid's hut , which, to prevent fans from taking "souvenirs" after each film shoot, was demolished after filming wrapped and then rebuilt for the next.
The teacher who rejuvenated
There's one character in the cast who has changed his appearance three times in the films. This is Warwick Davis , who played the Charms professor Flitwick. This character begins as a bald dwarf with a white beard, dressed in academic robes—a rather outdated look. But, by the third film, Flitwick magically transforms into a younger, darker-haired man in a tuxedo.
"The switch between The Chamber of Secrets and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the question most fans ask me," Davis said in an interview. His character did not appear as such in the third film, so they decided to "cast" Davis as the choir director seen at the beginning of the film. The director liked the change so much that, in the next installment, he decided to keep it to play the role of the charms professor.
But the thing does not stop there, Warwick was also in charge of giving life, with a few more hours of makeup, to the goblin teller of the Gringotts bank in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" and was the voice of Griphook in this same film . This actor covered it all in the saga.
Connection between Voldemorts
Hero Fiennes played young Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , and there's a family connection between him and the actor who plays him as an adult, a certain Ralph Fiennes. You only have to look at their surnames to see that they're uncle and nephew, so the things of the unnamed one stay in the family. As they should. Right?
14 cars destroyed for a single scene
Do you remember the scene where the Whomping Willow first appears? Ron and Harry arrive flying in Arthur Weasley's car, accidentally landing against this magical tree, which ends up repeatedly hitting the car. The interesting thing about this scene is that 14 Ford Anglias , the model of car they used, were destroyed during filming.
Radcliffe's allergy
Throughout the entire saga, the young magician who gives his name to this saga used various types of glasses. What not many people know is that the actor came to experience up to two different allergic reactions due to the material of the glasses.
This was learned years later. Apparently, with a specific frame, when the actor put on his glasses, he noticed a certain itching on his face. The members of the set ended up realizing that it was not due to an ergonomic issue, but rather an allergic reaction at the skin level caused by the material of the glasses. As the actor himself said in an interview with ABC News, he even got spots. Hence, the production team had to identify the material and find a pair of glasses that would not harm it.
An examination of their characters
During the filming of the films, the director asked the three main actors to write an essay about their characters. The surprise was that they all turned out to have identical personalities to the role they were playing: Emma (Hermione) turned in 16 pages, Daniel (Harry) only wrote one and Rupert (Ron), let's say he claimed that "Ron wouldn't have done his homework either."
Almost 100 takes to clone Harry Potter
In the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, all the characters who help the wizard decide to take a potion to transform into him. The result is a scene that had to be filmed almost 100 times—95 to be exact— to achieve all the performances Daniel Radcliffe had to deliver to give the impression that Hermione, Ron, and the rest of the friends were transforming into the protagonist. A work of craftsmanship combined with the latest in digital effects.
45 hours inside the black lake
One of the most challenging parts of filming was shooting the scenes in the Black Lake for the movie "Goblet of Fire." Daniel Radcliffe spent a total of 45 hours underwater to complete all the shots, which resulted in him suffering several ear infections.
Harry and Hermione's awkward kiss
The scene of Harry Potter kissing Hermione at the Horcrux was quite amusing because the actress couldn't do it without laughing, since Rupert Grint, who played Ron in the films, was on set watching. So, the British actress's only solution was to kick him off the set. Only then was she able to complete that rather embarrassing moment.
An accident on set left him paralyzed
This is the most tragic anecdote in this compilation and, of course, we all would have preferred it not to have happened. Like in practically all the movies of the cinema, the risk scenes are represented by stuntmen instead of by the main actors. Daniel Radcliffe had 2 doubles doing these scenes for him.
During one of the final takes of filming "The Deathly Hallows," while rehearsing the scene where Harry is blown into the air by an explosion, David Holmes, his stunt double, suffered a serious accident. One of the cables meant to pull the actor backward pulled too hard, slamming him against a wall and leaving him instantly paralyzed . Holmes recovered from the accident, although the paralysis was life-threatening. Today, Holmes, who has always been supported by his fellow cast members, has overcome this tragedy and is now a successful businessman, races cars on racetracks, and remains in contact with several of his colleagues.
The best kept secret, will Harry Potter and the Cursed Legacy arrive?
These are some of the best-kept secrets behind the scenes of the Harry Potter saga . But without a doubt, one of the biggest questions fans have had since the last installment hit theaters has been whether more content will be added to this magical universe.
Even though this franchise is expanding with the Fantastic Beasts prequel , which, according to official sources, will reach a total of five releases , fans were eager to see their favorite characters again, such as Harry Potter and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Furthermore, the presence of a book adapted for the stage, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which continued the story with the children of these characters, only heightened the public's excitement.
Finally, a few months ago, Warner Bros. confirmed it was developing a Harry Potter television series . And, to the surprise of fans of the saga, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said that Harry Potter and the Legacy might finally make it to the big screen. Whether or not we'll be able to continue enjoying the adventures of the young wizard, who won't be so young anymore, in theaters is the biggest secret of this whole story. But, of course, we at El Output will keep you informed of any leaks that may surface.