Harry Potter: 25 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That Completely Change Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows had a lot of ground to cover, as Harry had to destroy the remaining four Horcruxes that were hidden around Great Britain, while Voldemort was just beginning to take control of the wizarding world from the shadows.

The fact that there was so much content in The Deathly Hallows meant that the creators of the Harry Potter films decided to split the final book into two movies, which opened the door for the creators of the Twilight and The Hunger Games movies to do the same.

The process of creating the final two Harry Potter movies was an emotional one for everyone involved, as a series that took a decade to make was coming to an end. This wasn’t helped by the many beloved characters meeting their maker throughout the course of the story, meaning that there were a lot more emotional send-offs than in the previous movies.

We are here today to see what moments from behind-the-scenes of The Deathly Hallows movies were captured on film forever – from the last time that Remus Lupin & Severus Snape smiled, to the final day of the ten-year odyssey of the Harry Potter movie franchise.

Here are the 25 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That Completely Change Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2!

25 Lupin & Snape Getting Along

Alan Rickman so totally owned the role of Severus Snape that it’s hard to imagine any other actor playing the part. It’s also difficult not to hear Rickman’s voice whenever reading one of Snape’s scenes in the Harry Potter novels.

It’s also a surreal experience seeing Alan Rickman clowning around or smiling in any behind-the-scenes footage of the Harry Potter movies, as Snape never had anything close to a light-hearted moment or laughed at anything that was funny.

Remus Lupin and Severus Snape may have had a cold relationship in the movies, but that didn’t stop David Thewlis and Alan Rickman coming together for a photo on their last day of filming, which even resulted in a rare Snape smile.

24 Voldemort & His Tracking Dots

The Harry Potter movies decided to remove Voldemort’s nose in order to give him a more serpent-like appearance. This was only accomplishable due to advances in CGI and the fact that Voldemort generally didn’t appear that often compared to the other nose-bearing members of the cast.

In order to create the effect of Voldemort lacking a nose, Ralph Fiennes needed to have tracking dots applied to his face. These were necessary in order to tell the computers where all of the parts of Fiennes’ face where in relation to each other so that they could take away the nose and remove all traces of the dots on his face. Ralph Fiennes also had to wear other prosthetics, including a gross-looking set of fake teeth.

23 Talking Through The Nagini Chase

The scene where Neville slices Nagini in two with the Sword of Godric Gryffindor is one of the all-time greatest moments in the Harry Potter series. It is meant to reflect Harry defeating the basilisk in The Chamber of Secrets, with Neville finally becoming the hero that he was always meant to be and becoming worthy of drawing the sword from the Sorting Hat.

The movie version of The Deathly Hallows botched this scene somewhat by adding Hermione and Ron to the mix, as they attempt to deal with Nagini using spells. Neville had to rush in and save them, as they both suddenly developed the aiming skills of a Stormtrooper from Star Wars. 

22 The Dark Lord Of Clowning Around On Set

Ralph Fiennes has appeared in some of the greatest movies of all time, including the likes of Schindler’s List, The English Patient, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. He is known for his extensive theatre work and for taking on roles in serious and somber movies.

All of these serious roles may give you the impression that Ralph Fiennes lacks a sense of humor, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

He would never have taken on the part of Lord Voldemort if he was going to stick to roles that would win him Academy Award nominations. Ralph Fiennes must have known early on that the role of Lord Voldemort was going to become the one that he was most associated with, so he clearly leaned into it and had as much fun as possible with the part.

21 Hermione & Ariana

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows left us with a lot of unanswered questions about Albus Dumbledore, especially where his sister is concerned.

Ariana Dumbledore was attacked by a group of Muggle boys as a child, which left her emotionally scarred and unable to control her magic. The release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the revelations concerning Credence Barebone have led some fans to suggest that Ariana Dumbledore was an Obscurial and that Grindelwald’s obsession with them was sparked by meeting her. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 neglected to reveal much about Ariana’s backstory, though we were at least given the chance to see her in the flesh.

20 Wandless Magic

Wands are an important aspect of the Harry Potter series, which means that they appeared all of the time in the movies. The props department always had to make sure that there were lots of spare wands ready at any moment, as they were pretty flimsy and easy to accidentally break during filming.

Daniel Radcliffe broke over eighty wands on the set of the Harry Potter movies, either through being too rough with them or for just wearing them down with overuse. This can be clearly seen in the behind-the-scenes footage where he has a tendency to use them as drumsticks when bored on set. Luckily for Daniel Radcliffe, there were times when wands were added in later with CGI, so he just had to pretend to hold one.

19 Draco’s Fear Of Flying

You might think that the flying broom sequences in the Harry Potter movies are accomplished using only green screen effects, but there is a practical element involved that is necessary in order to make the movement of the brooms seem more natural.

The flying broom is connected to a rig that looks like the mechanism used for a theme park ride, which is essentially what it is.

This flying machine can be moved in such a way as to make it look like the broom is tipping or changing direction, while the background can be added in using CGI in order to complete the illusion. Poor Tom Felton was stuck riding on a broom while looking like a wimp, as Daniel Radcliffe got to look like a super cool wizard.

18 Griphook’s Goggles

One of the most difficult aspects of wearing a prosthetic mask that covers your whole head is what it does for your sweat. Robert Llewellyn who played Kryten in Red Dwarf has talked about how his mask was so tight that the sweat was all squeezed down onto his back.

Warwick Davis is no stranger to prosthetics and masks, which is why he was well-prepared for the outdoor scenes involving Griphook in The Deathly Hallows movies. The Griphook outfit not only covers all of Warwick Davis’ head but also his hands. This is why he is seen wearing goggles during outdoor sequences, as they protect his eyes from the elements without risking him accidentally touching his eyes with his clawed hands.

17 Filming Helena Ravenclaw

In order to discover the truth about Ravenclaw’s diadem, Harry must seek out the Ghost of Ravenclaw House, who is revealed to be Helena Ravenclaw. She is the one who reveals to Harry that the diadem was stored within the Room of Requirement, as Voldemort was dense enough to believe that no future Hogwarts student would ever discover the existence of the room.

The meeting between Harry and Helena involved two separate sets, as she was a ghost and spent almost all of her scenes floating off the ground or passing through objects. This meant that Kelly Macdonald (the actress who portrayed Helena) and Daniel Radcliffe had to shoot their scenes separately, as Radcliffe wasn’t available during her shooting days.

16 Filch & Harry Make Up

David Bradley played Argus Filch in almost every Harry Potter movie, missing out on only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Filch’s role was greatly diminished from that of the books and he was mostly used as a comic relief character in the movies.

As one of the few actors who had remained with the franchise from the beginning, David Bradley made sure he was there for the final day of shooting, where he embraced Daniel Radcliffe.

On the surface, this image makes it seem like Harry and Filch finally made amends, which seems out of character for both of them, even though Filch did aid in the defense of Hogwarts during its hour of need. The other reason why Filch may be smiling so much is that he’s already planning his party for the Stark family.

15 Hagrid & The March Of The Death Eaters

The role of Rubeus Hagrid was mostly played by Robbie Coltrane throughout the eight Harry Potter movies. We say mostly because another actor also played Hagrid in many different scenes. Robbie Coltrane is slightly over six-feet tall, but that still isn’t tall enough to play the role of a half-giant. This meant that Hagrid was often played by Martin Bayfield for the purpose of being a body double and performing stunts, as Bayfield is almost seven-feet tall.

The version of Hagrid from the Harry Potter books was over eleven-feet tall, meaning that it would have been impossible to recreate him on film without using CGI. This meant that Robbie Coltrane and Martin Bayfield still had to wear bulky costumes in order to increase their size in order to make Hagrid look bigger than he was, as even carrying someone that is the same size as Daniel Radcliffe needs to look like an impressive feat of strength.

14 Luna Loves Harry Potter

Evanna Lynch had never acted professionally before auditioning for the role of Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She was a huge fan of the Harry Potter novels and won the role because, as producer, David Heyman said: “The others could play Luna; Evanna Lynch is Luna.”

The passing of Dobby and his subsequent burial was filmed outdoors, which meant that Evanna Lynch had to find some entertainment while she waited for the crew to finish setting up each scene. This would normally result in the smartphone or tablet being whipped out at this point, but Lynch decided to go old school and read her copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. 

13 Dobby Relaxing On Set

The actor who played Dobby was a notorious drama queen on-set. This was partly due to trouble that started early on in his career, brought on by the numerous fake news reports that stated he was being sued by the Russian government due to his resemblance to Vladamir Putin.

The passing of Dobby is one of the most emotional scenes in The Deathly Hallows films, which is why it took so long for his actor to get into the right frame of mind in order to expire in Harry Potter’s arms.

You may think that the Dobby guy is sneaking in a few moments of sleep while on the set, but he’s actually using an advanced method of the Meisner technique in order to get into character.

12 The Secret Of The Brooms

We mentioned earlier that the broom sequences required the use of a moveable rig and a green screen in order to make the flying sequences seem realistic, but not all of the broom scenes involved high-speed chases. There were times when the brooms sat in a static position while floating in mid-air, as they waited for their owner to climb on top of them.

In order to create these scenes, the special effects team developed a standing rig for the brooms that would suspend them above the ground. These rigs had to be strong enough to hold the weight of an adult person, while also being slender enough to be easily removed later by the special effects team. The scene shown above comes from the Seven Potters sequence, where everyone is preparing to leave Privet Drive on broomsticks, save for Hagrid, who is using Sirius Black’s bike.

11 Bellatrix & Warwick Davis

The Harry Potter franchise was very kind to Warwick Davis, as he played Professor Flitwick since the first movie and Griphook in both of The Deathly Hallows films. He also voiced Griphook in the first movie, but the physical role was played by Verne Troyer, making him one of the few American actors to appear in the Harry Potter movie series.

Warwick Davis spent much of his time in the makeup chair, as even the reworked version of Professor Flitwick still required a fancy new hairdo and mustache. The picture above gives us a glimpse of Davis out of costume, but Helena Bonham Carter wasn’t so lucky, as she was fully adorned in the Bellatrix gear.

10 Bellatrix Posing

Bellatrix Lestrange may be one of the most loathsome characters in the Harry Potter series, as she is Lord Voldemort’s most devoted follower and will gleefully commit atrocities in his name. Bellatrix is responsible for disposing of Sirius Black, which immediately earned her a significant hatedom among the Harry Potter fans.

The movie version of Bellatrix is much more difficult to hate, thanks to an incredible performance by Helena Bonham Carter, who managed to turn Bellatrix into the Harley Quinn of the Harry Potter franchise.

Helena Bonham Carter never let the fact that she was playing a crazed murderer affect her on a personal level, as she can be seen clowning around in many different behind-the-scenes photos from the Harry Potter movie series.

9 The Weasley’s Prepare For Battle

The Battle of Hogwarts is probably the most chaotic moment in the series, with seemingly every important character showing up for the final conflict between the forces of good and evil.

There were moments of the battle that were sectioned off, in order to make them easier to film. One of these involved the final duel between Bellatrix Lestrange and Molly Weasley, which took place in the Great Hall as a battle raged on behind them. The duel scene was shot in such a way that you could only see directly behind Bellatrix & Molly, which meant that you only saw a small portion of the battle that was happening. This was likely done in order to make the scene easier to film.

8 Filming The Battle Of Hogwarts

The Battle of Hogwarts was incredibly difficult to film, which is true of all battle scenes that involve a lot of participants. The reason why the Battle of Hogwarts was even more difficult than normal was the fact that almost everyone involved was either using a supernatural weapon (usually a wand) or was some kind of magical creature.

There were parts of the Battle of Hogwarts which involved Harry running through a battlefield that was filled with dueling wizards, huge spiders, suits of animated armor, and giants, all of whom were fighting each other. The producers and special effects team that worked on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 rose to the challenge and created one of the greatest looking battles in movie history. They managed to capture the chaos of a large-scale conflict while also maintaining the fantastical elements that the Harry Potter series is known for.

7 The Burrow Set

One of the new scenes that were added to the movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince involved the Death Eaters attacking and burning down the Burrow, which is the home of the Weasley family.

This scene wasn’t popular with the fans, as it ignored aspects of lore and was totally pointless, as the Burrow needed to return for the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movies.

Harry and his friends return to the Burrow at the start of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, after escaping from the Death Eaters at Privet Drive. This scene involved showing the lands around the Burrow, which was accomplished with the use of a green screen.

6 Dobby’s Funeral Is Hilarious

Dobby the house-elf was created almost entirely with CGI in the Harry Potter movies, which was a necessity due to his size and stature. Dobby helps Harry Potter and his friends escape from Malfoy Manor, but takes a knife to the chest for his troubles. This results in a scene where Harry cradles an injured Dobby and comforts him as he slowly passes away, in what is one of the saddest moments in the series.

The scene of Harry holding Dobby required the use of a physical Dobby puppet that Daniel Radcliffe could hold, which could be altered with CGI at a later date. The puppet that is seen in the picture above is clearly in an unfinished state, which may be why the cast is having such a laugh, as Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint are certainly not in character.

5 Stylish & Wounded

Apparition is one of the most prized skills of any wizard, or at least it would be if it weren’t possible to block apparition within certain locations. Those who wish to apparate are required to pass a test, as those who do not perform the spell properly can screw it up and cause “splinching” which is the term used for leaving pieces of your body behind.

Ron manages to harm himself in The Deathly Hallows movies through splinching, which meant that Rupert Grint needed to have injury makeup applied. This didn’t stop Rupert from looking his best and pulling off his model pose while having holes added to his arms and shoulders.

4 The Real Father Of Delphini

Daniel Radcliffe is one of those people who is impossible to hate, except by the most bitter of people who despise the fact that he was given such an important and lucrative role at such a young age. He comes off brilliantly in interviews and seems like of the most genuine and nicest people you could ever meet.

It seems that the charms of the Harry Potter actor are even effective against Death Eaters, as Helena Bonham Carter was clearly fond of her on-screen mortal enemy.

The two of them can be seen clowning around together in various behind-the-scenes clips, which must have been a way to burn off some tension before they started chasing each other with wands again.

3 The Boring Wedding Of Bill & Fleur

The hardest part of any movie/television production on the part of the actors is the waiting around between shots. It can take a long time for the crew to set up each shot for even a simple production. When you have a movie series like Harry Potter which involves huge sets that need constructing and special effects work that needs preparing for, then it can take forever to set up even a few seconds worth of footage.

The wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour would have required a lot of setting up, due to the sheer amount of extras that are engaging each other in the background of each shot. It’s no wonder that the main trio doesn’t look as interested as they should be.

2 Bellatrix’s Sound Check

The reason why Helena Bonham Carter is sitting on a set of benches is that this is the location where she filmed her final duel of the series. The movie version of Bellatrix’s demise is actually way more violent than what happened in the books.

In the book version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the duel between Bellatrix Lestrange and Molly Weasley ends when Molly fires a curse that strikes Bellatrix above the heart. We never find out what spell Molly cast, but it was enough to deal with Bellatrix for good. The movie version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 shows Molly freezing Bellatrix in place and then shattering her body into pieces.

1 The Last Day

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson were cast in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone at the age of eleven. They spent the next ten years of their lives working on the Harry Potter movie series, which meant that there formative years were spent in front of the cameras. An entire generation of Harry Potter fans grew up alongside them.

As Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 finished production, more and more of the actors were given a send-off for their final day of filming.

The most emotional of these last days was the one for the main trio, who had finally finished their decade-long odyssey and hugged on the set. These last moments can be seen on the home releases of The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and it’s hard for any fan of the Harry Potter series to remain dry-eyed when seeing them say goodbye to each other and to the roles that defined their youth.

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What do you think of these photos? Do they completely change Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2 for you? Let us know in the comments!

About The Author

Scott Baird
(2543 Articles Published)

Scott has been writing for Screen Rant since 2016 and regularly contributes to The Gamer. He has previously written articles and video scripts for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz.
A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started out as a film student before moving into journalism. It turned out that wasting a childhood playing video games, reading comic books, and watching movies could be used for finding employment, regardless of what any career advisor might tell you. Scott specializes in gaming and has loved the medium since the early ‘90s when his first console was a ZX Spectrum that used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott now writes game reviews for Screen Rant and The Gamer, as well as news reports, opinion pieces, and game guides. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.

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