10 Actors Who Were Almost Cast In Harry Potter Movies

When J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series became a crossover hit and captivated readers across the world, Hollywood was quick to come a-knocking. The toughest casting challenge when the Harry Potter movie adaptations first went into development was finding three child actors who could carry an eight-part blockbuster franchise into their adult years.

After landing the trifecta of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, the Harry Potter producers still had plenty of roles to fill, so many different actors came and went from their production offices over the years. So, here are 10 actors who were almost cast in Harry Potter movies.

10 Rowan Atkinson As Voldemort (Seriously)

Ralph Fiennes turned out to be the perfect choice to play Lord Voldemort, who first appears in his true form in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Fiennes brought the same haunting humanity to Voldemort that he’d previously brought to Amon Göth in Schindler’s List.

However, he wasn’t the producers’ first choice for the role. They also looked at John Malkovich and even Mr. Bean star Rowan Atkinson before casting Fiennes.

9 Robin Williams As Hagrid

When a film adaptation of the Harry Potter books was initially in development, Robin Williams expressed interest in playing Hagrid. However, in handing over the film rights to an American studio, J.K. Rowling had insisted on an all-British cast, so Williams was turned down.

This is the same reason why Rosie O’Donnell and Drew Barrymore, who also lobbied for roles, were rejected by the producers.

8 Sean Connery As Dumbledore

The role of Dumbledore was offered to Sean Connery before Richard Harris was cast, but he turned it down.

Despite his appearances in Highlander and Dragonheart, Connery reportedly doesn’t like the fantasy genre.

7 Tilda Swinton As Professor Trelawney

Before Emma Thompson was cast to play Professor Trelawney in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the producers approached Tilda Swinton. At the time, Swinton said she turned it down because of scheduling conflicts, but she’s since admitted that she’s not a Harry Potter fan. She doesn’t like the way the story glamorizes boarding schools.

The director’s chair for Prisoner of Azkaban was initially offered to Kenneth Branagh, the ex-husband of the role’s eventual casting, Emma Thompson.

6 Saoirse Ronan As Luna Lovegood

Although she’s more than made her name as a movie star with roles in acclaimed smaller films like Lady Bird and Brooklyn, Saoirse Ronan has yet to star in a big-budget blockbuster or headline a franchise. She auditioned to play Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter franchise, and was also up for the part of Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Wanda Maximoff in the MCU, but she didn’t land any of those roles.

This is probably a good thing, as it frees up her schedule to regularly work with Greta Gerwig and Wes Anderson and a bunch of other brilliant auteurs.

5 Jude Law As Professor Lockhart

Jude Law got pretty far into the casting process for Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but was ultimately bumped from the shortlist when he was deemed too young. He would, of course, go on to play a young Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

The role of Lockhart was also offered to Alan Cumming, but he turned it down when he learned that his salary would be lower than that of Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.

4 Tim Roth As Snape

Alan Rickman turned out to be the perfect choice to play Snape (just as he was the perfect choice to play pretty much any character he ever played), but before he landed the part, the producers cast Tim Roth.

However, Roth later had to drop out when he signed on to star in Tim Burton’s quickly forgotten Planet of the Apes remake. It was one of the not-so-great career decisions that Roth has made.

3 Rosamund Pike As Rita Skeeter

Years before Gone Girl would make her iconic, Rosamund Pike was offered the role of journalist Rita Skeeter in the Harry Potter movies.

However, she decided to turn down the offer when she realized she was required to commit to two movies that wouldn’t give her a lot of screen time.

2 Henry Cavill As Cedric Diggory

When Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was in pre-production, fans campaigned for Henry Cavill to be cast as Cedric Diggory. However, the producers ignored this and cast Robert Pattinson instead.

A few years later, when a film adaptation of Twilight was in development, fans against lobbied for Cavill to be cast and, again, Pattinson landed the part.

1 Ian McKellen As Dumbledore (Twice)

When Richard Harris passed away, the Harry Potter producers faced the difficult task of recasting the role of Dumbledore. The producers offered the role to Ian McKellen before Harris even died, because the actor’s health was declining and it became apparent that he wouldn’t make it to The Half-Blood Prince.

And then, after Harris died, they offered the part to McKellen again. Both times, he turned it down, feeling that Harris had always been jealous that McKellen played Gandalf and Harris was stuck playing Dumbledore.

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Ben Sherlock
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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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