Several little-known facts about "Potterian" on the 20th anniversary of the franchise (11 photos + 2 videos)

November 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It became a huge hit, prompting Warner Bros. to film the entire series of books by J. K. Rowling about Harry Potter. To mark the occasion, we've put together a list of facts that most fans of the franchise may not know.





Emma Watson almost turned down the role of Hermione



The Harry Potter films were shot on a tight schedule. Such restrictions would be difficult for any actor, especially one who wants to pursue an education alongside a career. It is for this reason that actress Emma Watson almost turned down the role of Hermione Granger.

Emma was very focused on serious study and was going to go to university, but studying and acting at the same time would have been too much, so, according to executive producer David Heyman, all negotiations with her regarding filming came down not to a financial issue, but to the question of whether she wants whether she should continue to participate. As a result, Watson decided to stay until the very end, and only then entered Brown University.

Rupert Green couldn't stay serious

 

In the story, during the hunt for Voldemort's Horcruxes (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1), the relationship between Harry Potter and Ron Weasley became a little tense. This even led Ron to abandon his friends. But he returned in time to save Harry, pulling him out of the icy pond.

After rescuing Harry, Ron is tasked with destroying the Horcrux he was wearing around his neck. In this scene, imagination and jealousy begin to play a cruel joke on him and give out images of Harry and Hermione kissing. Ron must be very upset. However, Rupert Green could not get upset during filming - on the contrary, he laughed almost to the point of hiccups. He couldn't stop himself and ended up getting kicked off the set by Emma Watson.

Shades of pink





Attentive viewers may notice that as the story progresses, the color of Dolores Umbridge's outfits changes: it remains pink, but gradually becomes brighter and more intense. The filmmakers wanted to show in this way that the character himself is changing and becoming more and more obnoxious and disgusting.

Hanging out with fans



Actors often come to parties where they are invited by fans, but it’s hard to imagine the “Harry Potter” actors participating in such revelry. Although... Daniel Radcliffe once gave an interview in which he admitted that he drank with his fans and even sometimes came to the set with a hangover. “Generally speaking, they were usually people I knew,” he admitted. “Except for a few times when I got very drunk.”

Tom Felton was punished for hiding food in his pockets



Draco Malfoy is definitely a bad guy. Not only did he cause a lot of trouble for Harry during their time at Hogwarts, but he was also a strong supporter of Buckbeak's execution, and eventually became a Death Eater. Yes, he got the opportunity to atone for his guilt, but at the very last moment.

Tom Felton, the actor who played Malfoy, was also somewhat of a bully on set. He would smuggle in food and drink and hide it all in the pockets of his robe. “The robes had huge pockets,” he said later in an interview. “After the third film, these pockets were sewn up in my robes. Some people think that these are rumors, but I want to tell the truth: it all happened.”

Daniel Radcliffe was allergic to contact lenses



It is often said that in the film Harry's eyes are not green, although according to the book it should be so. It's not that the filmmakers accidentally missed this point, no. Before filming began on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, director Chris Columbus asked Daniel Radcliffe to try on green contact lenses, but he had an allergic reaction.

Poor Radcliffe had no luck at all: he was also allergic to his first pair of glasses, because the frames were made of nickel. Then they sorted it out and replaced the glasses, but Radcliffe managed to suffer.

Matthew Lewis dressed as a fat man



Fans of the Harry Potter books will remember that J. K. Rowling describes Neville Longbottom as a clumsy and slightly overweight boy. Well, instead of casting a child who fit that description, the filmmakers decided to have Matthew Lewis, the actor who played Neville, wear a special "fat boy suit."

Fortunately for Lewis, as the story progressed, he was allowed to abandon the "fat suit" and become skinny (which he was). And everything turned out great.

The magic of chromakey



I wish the magic in Harry Potter was real, but unfortunately it is not. To bring the magical world to life, the filmmakers used chromakey technology. There are plenty of behind-the-scenes videos on YouTube showing how some of the scenes were filmed. Just be prepared to laugh at how funny everyone looks pretending to fly on brooms.

Alan Rickman knew about Snape's love for Lily Potter



One of the biggest revelations in the last Harry Potter film was Severus Snape's love for Lily Potter. However, when filming began on the first film in the series, the seventh book had not yet been released. This meant that JK Rowling had to tell actor Alan Rickman a secret in order for him to portray his character authentically.

What secret? The meaning of the word "always".

“If you remember, when I did the first movie, she had only written three or four books, so no one knew where it was really going except her,” Rickman recalled during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “And for her.” It was important that I knew something, but she only gave me tiny pieces of information that helped me understand that this was a more ambiguous path."

Alan Rickman was the only one who had any knowledge of this, and he often argued with the directors to make sure that Snape was portrayed correctly.

Jamie Waylett's troubles with the law



Malfoy's sidekick Vincent Crabbe was absent from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. This is because the actor who played him, Jamie Waylett, broke the law. The first violation, in 2009, was related to the possession of marijuana (bags of “weed” were found in his car, and pots of plants were found in his house). Waylett was sentenced to community service. Two years later he was arrested for his role in the London riots and sentenced to two years in prison. He was also charged with possession of stolen goods, which earned him an additional year in prison.



Since the Harry Potter films are aimed at young people, the creators of Potter had to remove the actor from filming. The decision was made to replace Crabbe with his fellow Slytherin house Blaise Zabini, played by Louis Cordis.

Nicholas Reed and his obscene behavior



Another Harry Potter actor who broke the law was Nicholas Reed, who played one of Gringotts' goblins. According to media reports, the year the last film in the franchise was released, Reed met a teenager while traveling on a train. He was arrested and charged with indecent exposure. However, he managed to avoid jail time by undergoing sex offender therapy.