12 Pieces of Trivia Revealed After the “Harry Potter” Films Were Released

Since the Harry Potter films were shot and released, the cast and crew have revealed various bits of trivia about the films during interviews and the Emmy-nominated Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special. Here are 12 facts we’ve learned since the films came out.

 

1. The Director’s Daughter

 

 

Christopher Columbus’s daughter forced him to read the books, which is what led him to envision the films and eventually become the director of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

 

2. Finding Harry

 

 

The filmmakers had a hard time casting the role of Harry Potter. Chris Columbus saw Daniel Radcliffe on BBC’s David Copperfield and wanted him for the role. However, he had to convince Dan’s parents, who thought the role would majorly disrupt his life. Fortunately, they brought Dan in for an audition, and he got the part.

 

3. Fake Fawkes

 

 

Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in the first two films, thought that the animatronic version of Fawkes the Phoenix was actually a real bird that had been trained very well.

 

4. Alan Rickman’s Knowledge

 

 

Alan Rickman was the only actor on set who had been informed about his character’s full arc fairly early on.

 

5. Jason Isaacs’s Failed Audition

 

 

Jason Isaacs originally auditioned for Gilderoy Lockhart. He was annoyed and bitter when he read for Lucius Malfoy, which is precisely what the role called for.

 

6. Casting the Weasley Twins

 

 

When Oliver and James Phelps turned up for the Potter audition, they saw a room full of actors wearing identical clothes. This inspired them to go to the shop across the road and buy matching tops.

 

7. Character Homework

 

 

Alfonso Cuarón, the director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, set the starring trio a homework assignment where they had to write an essay in the voices of their characters. Their results resembled their characters’ typical approaches to homework: Emma wrote 12 pages, Daniel wrote one page, and Rupert didn’t write anything.

 

8. Helena’s Thievery

 

 

Though she certainly wasn’t the only cast member to walk away from the films with a memento, Helena Bonham Carter stole a lot of Harry Potter props from the set, including her prosthetic teeth, which she put on again during the 20th-anniversary reunion.

 

9. Creating the Magic

 

 

One iconic set piece didn’t go as planned. In order to get the floating candles that filled the Great Hall at Hogwarts, the production department lit real candles and hung them on ropes. This led to candles burning through the ropes and falling – oops!

 

10. Emma and Rupert’s Kiss

 

 

Due to the fact that Rupert and Emma grew up together, their kiss in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II was horrifying for both of them.

 

11. Emma and Dan’s Dance

 

 

Emma loved the added scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 where Hermione and Harry danced after Ron’s departure. She liked that the characters could have had a moment of fun.

 

12. Oliver and James Phelps’s Prank on Rupert

 

 

The actors who portrayed the Weasley twins were both on-screen and off-screen pranksters. They convinced Rupert Grint that there was a choreographed dancing scene in Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire that Rupert was unaware of.

 

Did you find any of these bits of trivia surprising? Let us know in the comments!