22 Actors That Almost Played Iconic Characters in the “Harry Potter” Movies

06/18/2020

Did you know that acclaimed director, Steven Spielberg, almost directed Harry Potter’s first movie adaptation? When he declined, Chris Columbus got the job and did some wonderful work. When it came to casting, a lot of famous stars almost made it to play some of our beloved wizards and witches from J.K. Rowling’s universe.

Bright Side decided to have a look at what it would be like if these actors actually got these wizarding world roles in the first place.

1. Tom Felton as Harry Potter

2. Haley Joel Osment as Harry Potter

3. Robin Williams as Hagrid

4. Ian McKellen as Dumbledore

5. J.K. Rowling as Lily Potter

6. Eddie Redmayne as Tom Riddle

7. Henry Cavill as Cedric Diggory

8. Tilda Swinton as Professor Trelawney

9. Rosie O’Donnell as Molly Weasley

10. Hugh Grant as Professor Gilderoy Lockhart

11. Tim Roth as Professor Snape

12. Helen McCrory as Bellatrix Lestrange

13. Liam Aiken — Harry Potter

14. Robson Green as Sirius Black

15. Bill Nighy as Lucius Malfoy

16. Hatty Jones as Hermione Granger

17. David Thewlis as Professor Quirrel

18. Bob Hoskins as Horace Slughorn

19. David Walliams as Barty Crouch Jr.

20. William Moseley as Harry Potter

21. Saoirse Ronan as Luna Lovegood

22. Peter O’Toole as Dumbledore

Who is your favorite Harry Potter character? Is there an actor that you think could have played their role even better?

Preview photo credit Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone / Warner Bros, WARNER BROS. PICTURES / Album/EAST NEWS

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As much as people usually say a character wouldn’t be the same with another actor, I still think those that were in mind/in the running might have been just fine and we may not have known the difference. I am a bit confused with the characters with multiple actors (not Voldemort, I mean students) and Harry’s parents could have been a bit younger. I understand the reasoning though as most parents their age in shows and movies look older. It’s crazy being 32 and the parents in things being younger but not seeming like it. I just mean the ages of the people are older than their characters sometimes.