When Robin Williams rang up Chris Columbus, hoping to play Hagrid, he didn’t anticipate a Ministry of Magic-level rejection. However that’s precisely what he acquired — no wand, no large boots, not even a shot at a display check.
Columbus, who directed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, needed to break the information: it was all Brits, or bust. No exceptions. Williams, a self-proclaimed Potterhead, was reportedly enthusiastic about not only one however two roles—Hagrid and Remus Lupin. However as he later instructed The New York Put up (per The Impartial), “There have been a few components I’d have wished to play, however there was a ban on American actors.”
Seems, this wasn’t only a well mannered excuse to sidestep a Hollywood legend. The movie’s casting director, Janet Hirshenson, backed it up years later in a chat with The Huffington Put up. She defined that Columbus was agency from day one. “As soon as he stated no to Robin, he wasn’t going to say sure to anyone else, that’s for positive.”
Was That Truly An Genuine Accent Or Missed Magic?
The thought behind the “no Yanks” rule wasn’t private. Based on Columbus, it was all about tone. In a 2021 interview with Whole Movie, he stated, “It was very tough for me to say ‘It’s all British. There’s nothing I can do.’” He believed that having a completely British forged helped protect the authenticity of J.Ok. Rowling’s magical world, unhealthy accents might break the spell.
This is similar man who turned a blue genie into a world icon in Aladdin, delivered Oscar-winning tears in Good Will Searching, and will tug heartstrings with a single look. His mix of mischief and melancholy would’ve match Hagrid like a tailored moleskin coat. And actually, if there’s one actor who might pull off a convincing British accent whereas wrangling a hippogriff, it was Williams.
And let’s not faux the wizarding world was purist to the core. The franchise ultimately welcomed American stars like Zoë Kravitz and Johnny Depp within the Implausible Beasts prequels. So was it about accents—or timing?
It’s no slight to Robbie Coltrane or David Thewlis. They introduced gravitas to Hagrid and Lupin. However imagining Williams as Hogwarts’ mild large or tortured Protection Towards the Darkish Arts professor opens up a complete new what if realm. His humor, heat, and emotional depth might’ve added one other layer to the sequence—and possibly even introduced a couple of extra laughs to the darker chapters.
Sadly, the casting rulebook was strict. Regardless of how magical, a muggle from throughout the pond simply didn’t make the reduce.
And so, within the nice corridor of casting regrets, Robin Williams as Hagrid is correct up there, completely etched within the “might’ve been sensible” class.
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