The idea for the film was once completely different. The series about the famous wizard was to be directed by himself Steven Spielberg.
The famous director worked on the project for several months, but his creative vision of the adaptation, which would mix the plots of the novels, did not appeal to the author of the books and the studio Warner Bros. It was also said that Spielberg saw the entire saga about the wizard as… an animated series. Ultimately, the creator was unable to convince anyone to his idea; he had to give up and entrust the director to someone else. Along with him, the child actor proposed by the director also withdrew from the entire project – Haley Joel Osment – who was supposed to play the main character. Osment was already popular at that time and despite his young age, he had an Oscar nomination for his role in the film “The Sixth Sense”. He received it when he was only 11 years old. The young actor was praised for his extraordinary acting and sensitivity. It is therefore completely understandable why Spielberg wanted to offer him a job. And this is probably what would have happened if not for the fact that Warner Bros. studio had a different idea for the project.
After Spielberg stepped down, Chris Columbus took over the responsibility for the first film in the series. The title character was chosen Daniela Radcliffe‘, who beat out over 300 child actors during auditions.
The cast of the series included only British and Irish actors, which the creator herself reportedly insisted on. As a result, American candidates who applied for the role were not cast, including: Robin Williams (for the roles of Hagrid, Remus Lupin), Rosie O’Donnell (Molly Weasley) and Liam Aiken (Harry Potter). The rule of hiring only British people was in force until the spin-off of the story, “Fantastic Beasts”.
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