Movies - TV
Why Robin Williams Wasn't Allowed to Audition For Harry Potter
By FATEMEH MIRJALILI
With the popularity of the “Harry Potter” book series, it’s no surprise that movie stars like Hugh Grant and Robin Williams wanted to join the cast of the film adaptations. While Grant had scheduling conflicts that prevented him from joining, Williams wasn’t even given a chance to audition.
The “Harry Potter” producers and J.K. Rowling had a British and Irish actors-only rule for the films, which was ultimately changed for the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise. This is why Chris Columbus, who directed the first two “Harry Potter” films and had worked with Williams in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” had to reject Williams when he reached out about starring in the films.
If he had been given a chance to audition, Williams wanted to try out for Rubeus Hagrid and Remus Lupin. In a 2021 interview, Columbus stated that if Williams would’ve played Lupin, “it would have been a different interpretation — I thought David Thewlis was great — but Robin would have been brilliant.”