Hot to Trot
Performing with animals can lead to a variety of unforeseen issues. The crew encountered significant difficulties as a result of Michael Fassbender’s horse’s inability to control his eagerness.
While it’s possible that an angry horse will make things difficult, Julia Walters cannot hold the animal responsible. Fassbender is a handsome man, after all, and if he got on her back, she could feel the same way.
Toad-ally Rude
One of the more annoying and dangerous opponents in Harry Potter is Professor Umbridge. She’s cool under pressure, mean, and perpetually that awful pink. She is portrayed as awful to look at in the books, which serves to further distance the reader from the character.
Being an amazing actor, Imelda Staunton was a natural fit to play this terrible persona. Even then, we find it hard to believe she saw this as a compliment given how unworthy this character was described.
Paid and Misbehaved
Helena Bonham Carter is the ideal actor to play Bellatrix Lestrange, an evil woman whose menacing cackle and immoral deeds captivate audiences every time she appears on screen.
It’s sometimes more fun to play the evil characters than the heroic ones. Ultimately, portraying your most cunning and naughty side on TV is far more enjoyable than being courageous and strong, and getting compensated for it is also a pretty good perk.
Casually Cruel
Bellatrix Lestrange takes great satisfaction in being Voldemort’s friend and lieutenant. Bellatrix is a self-proud Death Eater who will stop at nothing to serve the Dark Lord, even if it means torturing or killing someone.
The ease with which Helena Bonham Carter discusses the graphic acts of Bellatrix is indicative of the role’s superb casting. We love her even more since she is evil and doesn’t care who is horrified by it.
Mommy Bellatrix
Helena Bonham Carter most likely had no idea how much pleasure it would be to play this nasty character when she was cast as Bellatrix. It’s also likely that she was unaware of how helpful playing this role would be for managing her home.
It appears that there is more to the terror of Bellatrix than just the movies. Billy’s pals probably didn’t know what was going to happen, but at least they now know to act appropriately when they visit his house.
Stop the Nonsense
Maggie Smith had a long professional history prior to joining the Harry Potter set. But when she did, young people all throughout the world became aware of her as the rigorous but devoted Professor McGonagall.
Maggie Smith was just not able to handle some foolishness, even though it must have been a good sensation to have a whole new set of people notice you. No, she wasn’t a cat at all. Get your act together.
Maggie’s Typecast
As actors age, the number of roles offered to them tends to decrease. Because Hollywood is not very kind to older actors, even the most accomplished and successful ones have to resort to accepting jobs they wouldn’t have when they were younger.
Maggie Smith is no exception. However, while the type of role she is asked to play tends to be bitter old women, she’s come to terms with it. In fact, with a smile like that, it seems she’s quite okay with it.
Flash Warning
After working on a show or film for so long, you get quite familiar with your costars. However, we didn’t know just how familiar some cast and crew get until Miriam Margolyes shared this story.
After an extra long day of working, Margolyes had a very unique way of putting a smile back on the faces of the team behind her movie The Age of Innocence. It makes it even better knowing that Martin Scorcese was in the room when this happened.
Not a Chance
Before the movies came out, many of us had already read Harry Potter, so we knew there was to be a romance that flourishes between Hermoine and Rupert. We were all excited about it, except for one specific person.
Emma Watson was ecstatic to be cast as Hermoine Granger, but she was not willing to think, much less talk, about kissing her co-stars. Just look at that hand—we’re so here for the sass.
Simple Solution
Beauty is pain. We all know it, we’ve all experienced it, and yet we continue to put ourselves through it just to look a certain way. Actresses know this better than anyone, especially when they have to constantly attend events, expected to look their best.
Emma Thompson will not stand for it. In fact, when the shoes on her feet were too painful to bear, she decided the only solution was just to take them off—on stage. What an icon.
Koala Hug
Luna Lovegood wandered around with her head in the clouds, but she was a kind, gentle, and loyal friend. In addition, she always had a connection with nature, both with plants and animals.
The casting directors knew what they were doing when they cast Emilia Lynch as Luna. While others might prefer a strong animal or one that’s proud to be their Patronus, Lynch herself loves the idea of a cuddly koala protecting her from harm.
No Memory
There was a lot of anticipation from the cast and crew surrounding the moment that Hermoine and Ron finally have their big romantic kiss. Everything was leading to this, and the two actors felt the pressure.
However, either Rupert blocked it from his memory or it really wasn’t as significant to him as it was to Emma Watson because the actor says he can’t remember the kiss enough to rate it. We’d be offended if we were Watson as well.
Quite a Flop
To a certain extent, stereotypes can have a bit of truth to them. When it comes to British folk in comparison to Americans, the former is much calmer and more reserved than the latter.
Emma Watson witnessed this firsthand during her attempts at dating. American boys tended to be much more forward with her than British ones, which she appreciated. However, they lost some points for having their toes out in public. Here’s a note to remember, gentlemen—Emma Watson does not like a guy in flip-flops.
Got the Look
Narcissa Malfoy is an underrated character. Not only is she clever, brave, and a loving mother, but she also managed to never fully declare herself a Death Eater. On top of all of these qualities, Narcissa Malfoy had the best hair.
Whoever came up with the black hair on top of bleach blonde made a statement hairstyle that we were all jealous of. While Helen McCrory had no interest in wearing the look in her daily life, we’ve always wanted to rock a half-black, half-white hairdo like Narcissa.
Whole Litter
Remus Lupin deserved more happiness than he allowed himself for a lot of his life, so when he finally found Tonks, we were all so excited for them. With a werewolf as a father, it only makes sense that their child would have some puppy-like qualities.
Natalia Tena has decided that her character actually has about six children, all with famous dog names. While we’ll never get over the murder of these two lovers in The Deathly Hallows, we’ll use this little fact to keep us positive.
Boss Witch
While many actors are used to spending months filming, the time seems much longer once you have a family that you can no longer see all the time.
At one point, Helena Bonham Carter was filming every day of the week, working on Harry Potter and The King’s Speech at the same time. It was hard for her to spend so much time away from her children, but we bet her son thought it was cool that his mom was a queen and a witch.
Feline Fantasy
It turns out that in addition to acting on the big screen, Evanna Lynch has more ambitious dreams she wants to achieve in her life. Once again, we’re reminded why Lynch is the perfect person to play Luna Lovegood.
Given the opportunity to stand in front of a room full of people and have their undivided attention, Lynch uses her time as wisely as she knows how and must share her lifelong dream. Evanna, your Luna Lovegood is showing.
Teenage Cream
Miriam Margolyes doesn’t seem to know what a filter is. In fact, she’s a real liability on Norton’s couch because her stories and comments always seem to have everyone’s jaws on the floor.
Everyone was expecting to hear a sweet story from her childhood about collecting autographs, but wherever you thought that story was going, this definitely wasn’t it. The horror on Matthew Perry’s face is not so different from how we looked after reading this.
11 Out of 10
Emma Watson’s life changed when she filmed the first Harry Potter at just eleven years old. All of a sudden, she was famous, which came with all sorts of duties, like going on talk shows and attending premieres.
It’s always embarrassing to look back at what we thought was fashionable when trends change so often. The early 2000s were not the most fashionable times, and while Emma Watson looks adorable, we’re not sure anyone would pick this dress for a movie premiere again.
Final Duel
There are quite a few characters in the Harry Potter series that were so easy to absolutely hate, and Bellatrix Lestrange was one of them. We all cheered when the savage Molly Weasley finally defeated Bellatrix in the final movie.
Julie Walters apparently was as excited to film it as the audience was to see it. We can imagine Walters and Helena Bonham Carter sizing each other up every day leading up to filming. What an awesome pair to duel against one another.
Important Lessons
Being in the spotlight places a lot of pressure on celebrities. Fans often look to their favorite stars to teach them about success and following their dreams, and Helena Bonham Carter has definitely impacted her fans.
One particular fan took it upon themselves to tell Bonham Carter everything she was able to teach them, including embracing the way their body looks. We can’t help but think this is an unintentional backhanded compliment.
Bedtime Story
Some of our favorite childhood memories are of our parents reading us stories before we went to bed. For Emma Watson, those books were the Harry Potter series, read to her by her father.
Clearly, he did a great job of bringing these magical characters to life with voices and personalities because she took his reading of the books to inspire her own performance as Hermoine Granger.
Late Night Snack
There’s nothing quite like a nice late-night snack to nibble on after coming home from a long night. Even Emma Thompson knows the pleasure of a midnight bite after a few drinks.
Unfortunately, her husband’s very important baking creation was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Thompson’s munchies were too powerful to be stopped. Accidents happen and this was one very odd accident that somehow affected everyone in her household.
Strong and Loyal
As the youngest Weasley and the only girl, Ginny Weasley had a wide variety of personalities and characteristics to look up to in her family. While she definitely was spoiled and persistently looked after, Ginny Weasley learned to stand her ground and protect those around her as well.
Bonnie Wright took inspiration from her own life to influence her character. After acting as her for 10 years, Gryffindor is the only house for both Ginny and Bonnie herself.
The Other Series
The Harry Potter series cast many brilliant British actors and turned young unknown actors into uber-successful actors once they took to the big screen.
Helena Bonham Carter was well aware of the fame these movies achieved and felt bad for those who were not invited to join the cast. Luckily, another series, Lord of the Rings, was filmed around the same time, so Helena didn’t have to feel so bad.
Oh Sheep
When she’s not playing a character in a popular movie, Emma Thompson is living the life in Scotland with her sheep, bathing in ponds and wandering through the fields with no clothes on. After living in civilization for so long, this kind of living sounds more than just a little tempting.
However, she can never predict when a random stranger might walk by, which makes her bare afternoon stroll all the more exhilarating, and maybe a little bit insulting to her as well.
Smarty Pants
Hermoine Granger was always unapologetically herself. She was intelligent and protective, and she saved a whole lot of people a whole lot of times—including her best friends.
Like Emma Watson, we agree that Hermoine is the perfect role model for young girls everywhere. She taught us all that studying always paid off in the end, as well as keeping your friends in check, even if she annoyed them every so often. She made nerdy look cool, and inspired us all.
Like Father, Like Daughter
Evanna Lynch seemed to take the role of Luna Lovegood to heart. In fact, it seemed almost as if Lynch was Luna Lovegood, or at least embodied many of her characteristics.
It’s no surprise to us that when she met Rhys Ifans—the actor playing her father in Harry Potter—for the first time, she immediately felt the familial connection between the two of them. Now that’s more than just good acting.
Self-Aware
While Helena Bonham Carter always seems quite put together and reserved in interviews, she really comes to life when she’s on set, and we get to see a much sillier side to her than we expect.
In fact, she’s well aware of the fact that she tends not to be the most mature person in the room, which makes for a very entertaining actress. Even Daniel Radcliffe can admit she’s never really grown up, but we love her even more for it.
Feeling Ballsy
Miriam Margolyes has proven herself to be one of the most entertaining guests to sit on Graham Norton’s red couch time and time again. In fact, she’s known in many of her circles as having absolutely no filter.
Hey, Margolyes tells it like it is, and she’s absolutely right that Daniel Radcliffe has grown up quite a bit since filming the first movie—we just wished she had phrased it differently.
A Helping Hand
Quite a few of the characters in Harry Potter who felt compelled to join the Death Eaters seemed as if they had no other choice. It was camaraderie they were seeking, although they might’ve had better luck joining the side that fought against evil forces.
Helen McCrory has learned a lot from her time playing Narcissa Malfoy. Her biggest piece of advice—find the people who don’t make you feel so alone and offer them the same mutual support.
A Love Story
People fall in love in all sorts of ways. Even the most unromantic of introductions can result in beautiful partnerships. For example, Julia Walters met her husband at a bar and invited him back to her place for an exciting evening of fixing her washing machine and an exciting lifetime of being her husband.
In a situation like this, it doesn’t matter who made the first move, or who misunderstood who—the details are less important than the love story.
You-Niqueness
The people who made up the wizarding world of Harry Potter were quite a unique bunch. There were people who could turn into other creatures, people a bit larger or smaller than others, and many others who had interesting quirks and looks.
As Helena Bonham Carter says, the unique parts of all of us make us special. Why should we try and fit in when our weird parts make us who we are? That’s a lesson we can get behind.
Studying Up
Before he had even made it to his late teen years, Daniel Radcliffe was an internationally recognized actor. As a teenage star, more people knew details about him than he probably ever expected. One such person was Evanna Lynch.
The Luna Lovegood actor had done her research before actually meeting Radcliffe. Like a true fangirl, she knew everything about him from what the magazines reported. However, unlike other fangirls, she actually got to meet and work with him! How lucky.
Bad Boy Alert
There’s something about a bad boy that used to make our young tween hearts sing. On the set of Harry Potter, that boy was Tom Felton, who was about three or four years older than Emma Watson and the perfect target for her early romantic feelings.
Unfortunately, they worked together for so long that his view of her as a co-star never changed into anything more than a closeness that resembled siblings. We don’t understand—who wouldn’t love Emma Watson?
Unexpected Compliment
When we’re young, we just want to grow up and be able to hopefully prove something to ourselves and those around us. Unexpectedly, all of a sudden it seems that age has snuck up on us.
While Julie Walters seems generally at peace with growing a bit older, a compliment every once in a while is more than appreciated. And if someone needs a nudge to give her that extra confidence boost, then she is more than happy to provide them with it.
Reaching Acceptance
Luna Lovegood is just one of many characters in the Harry Potter series whose personality was quirky. She proved to many of us that being odd doesn’t equal being an outcast or being unlikeable, and that was a validating thing for many people to realize.
Evanna Lynch, from a young age, felt that her quirkiness meant that something was wrong with her. Being able to play Luna Lovegood herself in the series empowered her, and that’s part of the magic of this series.
“Miriam Escobar”
Real estate has always been a good idea to invest in, and renting out your apartment or house is a great way to bring in some extra income with little effort. However, you never know the darker side of the people renting from you.
Miriam Margolyes experienced this firsthand when a group of people took advantage of renting her house. She says she had nothing to do with it, but we have to admit that she’d be the perfect person to run an illegal substance ring because no one would ever suspect her.
