5 things you didn’t know about J K Rowling’s Harry Potter

Whether you are in the wizarding world or amongst muggles, you have heard of Harry Potter and his friends Hermoine and Ron fighting against the dark arts and taking Voldemort on head first. J K Rowling's creation of the magical world has dominated the screen and ever since, the franchise has become timeless. Potterheads might think they know everything there is to know about this series but here are some facts that muggles (and even some Potterheads) are not aware of –

The films could have been animated

Back in 2001, Hollywood heavyweight Stephen Spielberg was originally picked to direct the first Harry Potter movie, The Philosopher's Stone. Spielberg is a huge name in Hollywood and he was so even then, so what happened? Well, if he did direct the movie, it would have been animated and that did not feel right to the producers. An animated Harry Potter franchise would have likely changed everything we love about the franchise now. Spielberg also had his reasons for turning down this opportunity as he probably foreshadowed this franchise to be long-term and something that would keep him away from his family. 

Fun fact: It did indeed become time-consuming. Emma Watson was adamant to step back as Hermoine for the final three movies due to a lack of control and a relentless filming schedule. Luckily, she saw the entire thing through. 

J K Rowling declined the offer to star as Lily Potter

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone gave us some of Harry's backstory and the first glimpse of his parents, Lily and James Potter in a flashback scene and again in the Mirror of Erised. Apparently, Rowling was first offered to play Lily's part but she turned it down. It's a little shocking to believe that the author herself would reject the chance to be in her story's movie and that too as her protagonist's mother. However, Rowling was unshakeable in her decision. According to her, she was simply not cut out to be an actress, even one who just has to stand there and wave, and felt that she would somehow mess it up. 

The Whomping Willow claimed 14 Ford Anglias

The Whomping Willow scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was about five minutes. To shoot the perfect five minutes, 14 Ford Anglias were sacrificed during the production of the scene where Harry and Ron crash into the Whomping Willow attempting to get to Hogwarts for the start of their second year. Kind of makes one wonder why they could not have simply used a car that was not a popular classic and one that has now passed on into legend.

The three stars had to write an essay about their roles 

In the Prisoner of Azkaban directed by Alfonso Cuarón, the three actors were asked to write essays about their characters and what the characters meant to them. In a way, a brilliant idea because how else can you can a bunch of teenagers to method act and truly commit to their roles? Well, in true Hermoine fashion, Emma Watson created a 16-page essay, Daniel Radcliffe provided a straightforward one-page response, and Rupert Grint did not bother at all, getting away with it by saying that's what Ron would have done. 

Harry is supposed to be green-eyed

OG Potterheads and readers of the books might already know that Harry originally had green eyes. To make Potter's on-screen persona consistent with his description in the novel, the blue-eyed Daniel attempted wearing contact lenses, but he experienced an allergic reaction. As opposed to sticking to the book detail by detail, Rowling was not bothered. Rowling explained that it was only crucial that Harry has eyes that resembled those of his mother, which they had to take into consideration while casting Lily Potter.

Fun fact: Since contacts do not agree with Daniel, his eyes were computer-generated in the scene where he was possessed. 

There is always something more to know about Rowling's wizarding world and the beloved wizards we have seen grow up on screen. Nevertheless, it makes the franchise all the more interesting, funny and heartwarming, making us glad that things transpired the way it eventually did.