If you could only know one thing about me, it would have to be the fact that I would love nothing more than spending an entire day watching hours and hours of behind the scenes footage from the sets of my favorite movies. Though I had already purchased each and every film in the Harry Potter series as they were released, you better believe that I shelled out the additional coin to buy the extended editions when they were released as they included over eight hours of additional bonus materials per film. That is like my own personal nirvana.
The Harry Potter films spanned over a decade and produced some of our generations most beloved actors and actresses, the majority of which literally grew up on those sets. So, one could only imagine that those behind-the-scenes featurettes would be absolutely brimming with cute moments, hilarious gags, and sweet moments of genuine human bonding between the costars. And since I believe that this time of year should be spent spreading joy and cheer to the people of the world, I decided that I would share my favorite facts from the sets of the Harry Potter films.
So slip into your house robes, grab a mug of butterbeer, and snuggle up to your favorite fantastic beast while I take you through twenty-five things that you may not have known happened behind the scenes while filming your favorite films from the Harry Potter series.
25 What Voldemort’s Hiding Under Those Robes
As the series wore on, the tone of the films quickly grew increasingly dark so any droplet of levity which could be found on set was greatly cherished as intense scenes can be emotionally taxing to film.
So Ralph Fiennes took it upon himself to bring that levity on set.
He wore a set of tights held up by garters underneath Voldemort’s billowing robes and would often show them (appropriately and amusingly) to anyone who he believed needed a laugh while creating those later films.
24 What’s That Smell?
Every time the golden trio sat down to eat in the great hall, I found myself wishing that I could join them. Though the later films used fake foods created from the molds of specially crafted frozen meals, real food was used throughout the first film in order to create a realistic looking spread. However, the food quickly spoiled after being left out all day under the hot lights needed to film the scene and apparently the smell was so awful that they vowed to use casts in future films.
23 Dressing Like Their Characters
The director of the third film was not too fond of the lack of individuality the uniforms created and decided to work with the costume department to allow students to express their unique style while still following a dress code. Casual dress on off days was established and each character’s uniform was henceforth tailored to reflect their personal style.
Hermione’s uniform was kept neat and orderly.
Harry’s was a bit messy and lived in but still decently assembled. And Ron’s uniform was untucked, untied, wrinkled, and unbuttoned to reflect his lazy and carefree attitude.
22 When Acting Goes Too Far
According to Helena Bonham Carter, she took her role a little bit too far while filming the confrontation scene which occurred in the department of mysteries. While playing the role of the erratic and unhinged Bellatrix, Helena stuck her wand inside Neville’s ear and ended up pushing a bit too hard and actually ended up perforating the poor boy’s eardrum. She apologized profusely and felt absolutely awful about it but no bad blood flowed between the two following the incident.
21 A Hidden Love Revealed
A questionable line which was written into the sixth film’s script caused J.K. Rowling to reveal Dumbledore’s preference. While reviewing the script, she found a line spoken by Albus which detailed a crush he had once held for a woman in his youth. Rowling requested the line to be changed as she stated that the character only had possessed one love and it was Grindelwald.
Meaning that Albus was, in fact, gay. Luckily, the revelation caused no changes to the ways in which the character was portrayed in the films because… well… why should it?
20 A Tale Of Seven Harrys
Though this scene was one of the most amusing moments in the later films, it was also one of the most taxing; not emotionally, but technically. You see, Daniel had to not only play several versions of himself, but he also needed to realistically embody the characters who were currently taking his form. He needed to be Fred, Fleur, Ron, Hermione, George, and others. The scene took over 90 separate takes to complete. I can only imagine how entertaining that day on set must have been.
19 How They Pulled Off These Scenes
When playing with magic, you have to be aware that you might get burned… or seriously injured. And in order to create these effects in a realistic and effective way, body casts of the characters were created to stand in for them after being hit by stunning spells, petrifications, bodies used during the Triwizard tournament, fallen wizards, serious injuries, and much more. From start to finish, over 250 of these unique casts were created and used to bring these varying effects to life.
18 Daniel’s Fidgety Problem
Daniel Radcliffe is a known fidgeter and would drum with any and everything he could get his hands on… even his wand. According to literally everyone on set, Dan would use his wand as a makeshift drumstick on every single surface available to him. He ended up breaking approximately eighty wands over the course of the eight films that made up the series. Now, I cannot judge Daniel here because I broke my Luna Lovegood replica wand within twenty minutes of first using it, but 80 is a shockingly high number of props to break.
17 The Original Lily
J.K. Rowling has recently dyed her hair to a lovely ginger shade and it is my belief that she could be Lily Potter’s twin. And I am not the only one who thought this.
It turns out that while they were filming the first film in the series, the role of Lily Potter was offered to Rowling herself. Of course, she turned it down but sometimes I like to wonder what a film with the ghost of Rowling would have been like.
16 The Next Big Rapper: Ron?
When breaking into an industry, people are constantly aware that every moment could be their big break. And with the pressure that that brings, it can also be a potential source for major embarrassment. For example, Rupert Grint sent the casting directors for the Philosopher’s Stone a tape of him performing his audition in the form of a rap. I would pay good money to get my hands on that tape. Tapes of children performing songs are one of the most adorable things in the world.
15 Hogwarts Really Goes All-Out
Each and every single letter that flooded the Dursleys home during that fateful day (and the weeks that preceded it) was handwritten not only once but twice. The reason why a second copy of each and every letter needed to be rewritten was due to the fact that the stationary used for the first versions of the letters were too heavy for the owls to carry. So lighter versions of the letters needed to be created in order to accommodate our flying friends.
14 Mapping Out The Entire World
Setting the stage for the first Harry Potter film was a big deal as it would be the first time that the rest of the world would be invited, visually, into the wizarding world and the halls of Hogwarts. So everything had to be perfect. Everything had to be placed according to the world that Rowling had laid out within the books and that is no easy task. Luckily, Rowling was a complete master of her own worlds and was able to create a detailed map of the Hogwarts grounds on the spot if handed a pen and paper. That is impressive.
13 Assigning The Actors Homework
One of the sweetest behind the scenes tidbit from the series is the fact that when Alfonso Cuaron took over the third film of the series, he instructed the actors portraying the golden trio to write an essay each for him about/as their character. True to form, Emma Watson pounded out several pages, Daniel did a respectable short essay, and Rupert ignored the assignment entirely as he felt that that was something that Ron would do. And he was right. I guarantee that that is the exact sort of assignment that Ron would outright ignore.
12 Why The Adults Changed
Many fans complained about the fact that the older generation was aged up so severely for the film adaptations. And I did too, that is, until I found out what had caused the age shift. It turns out that the parents generation was aged up in order to realistically cast Alan Rickman as Snape. And, though I am not a fan of Snape himself, I do love the way that Rickman portrayed him and am okay with the change since it was done for good reason.
11 Why Dumbledore Yelled
Though fans may never cease complaining about that infamous ‘Goblet of Fire’ line, we have to admit that Michael Gambon did a darn good job bringing Dumbledore to life. Though his version of the character was different in tone from the books, there is a reason for that.
It turns out that Gambon never read the books. He avoids reading the novels in which the adaptations he reads for are based on in order to keep himself from being disappointed at the ways in which the director has changed the story from the original.
10 Hermione’s Other Pet
Young Emma Watson had a pet hamster that she was absolutely and utterly in love with. She had brought it to set each and every single day. And then it suddenly passed away. And Emma was devastated. But the crew could not stand to see little Emma so distraught so they took some time to create a little casket for the little guy in order to give it a proper send off. Losing a pet is the absolute worst but having people to lean on makes it better.
9 Probably Shouldn’t Have Used The Real Thing
It might surprise you to know that, at least for a little while, those candles that littered the ceiling of the great hall were real candles that were truly hanging there; suspended above the heads of hundreds of children.
And it was just as bad of an idea as it sounds. The ‘real-candle’ idea quickly burned out after a candle burned through the wire that was being used to suspend it and it crashed down to Earth. No one was injured but they were not willing to risk it. CGI candles were used from that point on.
8 Couldn’t Be Done In One Take
One of the greatest aspects of the filming experience is destruction. Things like blowing up walls, setting trees on fire, and crashing cars into trees repeatedly until you get the perfect shot will always delight the small children/goblins within us. It took fourteen crashed Ford Anglias to complete the “Boys crash into the Whomping Willow” sequence. I mean, I knew that the children were exceptionally bad drivers but that seems a little extreme. Never let your twelve-year-old and his friend drive fourteen of your junker cars directly into an animated tree or you might regret it.
7 Don’t Burn The Books
The library which was used in order to create the infamous Hogwarts library had a long-standing rule that banned all forms of flame from being used inside its doors. But that century exceeding rule was disbanded temporarily for the filming of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone.
When young Harry snuck into the restricted section, he brought a lantern with him in order to search for the book he needed in the middle of the night. Immediately after filming concluded, the rule was reinstated and has been upheld ever since.
6 What’s In A Hair Color?
Sometimes superficial changes need to be made in order to create a film. For example, Dudley remained brunette throughout the film as the set which acted as the Dursley home was littered with photos of the actor who played him throughout his life so keeping his hair was easier than altering each and every photo. Also, Tonks’ trademark hair was dyed purple for the film rather than its famous pink hue in order to prevent her from being visually connected to Umbridge.
