The story of Harry Potter has captivated the hearts of many, and the movies reached an even wider audience than just the fans of the books. The amount of detail that went into bringing the famous series to life is insane — and there are so many little details that most people don’t know about. Here are 11 interesting facts about what went on behind the scenes of the well-loved Harry Potter movies:
1. Daniel Radcliffe was supposed to have green eyes for the movie
But he was allergic to the colored contacts that they were going to have him wear, so they had to leave his eye color blue.
2. But Alan Rickman wore black contacts for the role of Snape
This wasn’t scripted by the directors, as one of the newer directors on the movie made a comment to Rickman about his eye color — to which he responded by taking out the contacts.
3. Luna’s radish earrings were actually made by Evanna Lynch
Making them seem even more authentic.
4. Rupert Grint is actually afraid of spiders
Meaning he didn’t have to act afraid in the scene with Aragog in Chamber of Secrets.
5. Emma Watson almost didn’t audition for the role of Hermione
Her teacher convinced her to audition when the casting team came to her elementary school. All of the other students in her school wanted to audition except her.
6. The potions are actually soup
All of the potions in the movies are just different types of soup. Apparently the favorite flavor was carrot and coriander.
7. There was a kitten photoshoot for Umbridge’s cat plates
Real cats were photographed to be put on the infamous wall of cat plates in Umbridge’s office. Afterwards all of the cats were adopted.
8. So many broken props
Radcliffe broke around 80 different wands and 160 pairs of glasses on set. Seems fitting for Harry’s character.
9. The extra cast member
Watson had a pet hamster named Millie that she would frequently bring it to the set. After Millie died, the set department felt bad and made her hamster a tiny coffin to be buried in.
10. J.K. Rowling provided the information for the Black family tree
When it came time to film Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling named and provided detailed information for all 70 characters featured on the mural, so that it could be as accurate as possible.
11. The food in the Great Hall was real
In the first movie, the director wanted to keep the Great Hall as authentic as possible, so all of the food shown was real. Because the food had a tendency to spoil while they were shooting, most of the food in the following movies were fake.
