Discover Half-Giant Hagrid at Warner Bros. Studio Tour
Thinking of making a trip to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour this Easter break? If so, you’ll get to catch the latest feature, “Half-Giant Hagrid,” revealing how the production team brought Hogwarts’s favorite gamekeeper to our screens.
To whet your appetite, MuggleNet’s London team uncovered a few of the secrets revealed in this latest addition to the exhibition.
Creating a Half-Giant
To maintain the illusion of Hagrid’s enormous size, all of his costumes and props, including his pink umbrella and Harry’s Hogwarts letters, came in two different sizes. The smaller items were used whenever Robbie Coltrane was seen on-screen, but when the props were handled by actors playing “normal-sized” characters, the larger versions were used.
The Creature Shop constructed a fully working animatronic head, based on a mold of Robbie Coltrane’s face, with moving eyes and lips, which was worn during action scenes and in wide shots.
Dressing the Man
To create Hagrid’s moleskin coat, the Costume Department cut faux fur into mole shapes. Due to its weight and bulk, the costume became so hot that special pipes filled with water were inlaid to cool it down. Extra platforms were fitted in the shoes, and additional padding was inserted into the costume to help exaggerate Hagrid’s half-giant frame.
Hagrid’s costume is so large that even Robbie Coltrane’s body double, 6’ 10” rugby player Martin Bayfield, had to have a special ledge fitted on the inside to prevent him from sliding down and disappearing inside.
And if that wasn’t enough to tempt you, the Studio Tour is also celebrating Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone‘s 15th anniversary, with an array of costumes and sets never before seen at the Studio Tour!
“Half-Giant Hagrid” will run at the Studio Tour from March 25 to April 17, 2016. To find out more and to book your tickets, visit the official website here.
Are you planning on visiting the Studio Tour for the event? Let us know in the comments!