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A look behind the scenes of the films that brought Harry Potter, Hogwarts, and the wizarding world to life.

Teen Movies

The story of J.K. Rowling&#39;s Harry Potter is one of adolescence and responsibility. It&#39;s the tale of a young man who is suddenly thrown into a world he doesn&#39;t understand, then becomes the central figure in all of its major, magical events. Similarly, the children cast to play the characters in the&nbsp;Harry Potter&nbsp;films found themselves in a strange, new world they didn&#39;t understand, yet it all revolved around them.

Growing up on the Harry Potter set made for an unusual childhood. Daniel Radcliffe,&nbsp;Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and many other children effectively grew to adulthood through the filming of the franchise, and their experiences -&nbsp;while atypical for kids their age -&nbsp;still managed to mirror the awkward experiences all kids go through as they attend school.

There were a ton of interesting and awkward things going on - mostly positive, but <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/how-harry-potter-cast-felt-about-filming/klindell" target="_blank">a few downsides</a> as well - while the cast and crew were bringing Rowling&#39;s world to life. Many stories have trijckled out over the years. Check out the more <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/behind-the-scenes-pictures-harry-potter/lee-emjay" target="_blank">interesting stories</a> that came from the production.

Fantasy

From September&nbsp;29, 2000&nbsp;to June 12, 2010, Daniel Radcliffe went through 70 wands and 160 pairs of round glasses during the filming of eight Harry Potter movies. After a <a href="https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/our-history/" target="_blank">decade</a> working together, he and the other Harry Potter cast members shared tears and memories on&nbsp;their <a href="https://twitter.com/HPotterUniverse/status/1006563884679991297" target="_blank">final day</a> of filming, with <a href="https://youtu.be/meRv7341jTc?t=253" target="_blank">Radcliffe saying</a> he had been on the set for so long that &quot;I don&#39;t know what my day-to-day life consists of without you.&quot;

The cast members,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/harry-potter-then-and-now/lisa-waugh" target="_blank">from then until now</a>, have shared their favorite memories from the series, whether it was a cherished scene to film or a behind-the-scenes moment.

Harry Potter

The Harry Potter franchise is made even better by one of the best and friendliest casts. Here are some of the best behind the scenes moments captured on Twitter!

The&nbsp;Harry Potter&nbsp;movies are lauded for their loyalty to the original books, their&nbsp;impressive visual effects, and their instantly recognizable music, but one major&nbsp;factor of production&nbsp;often goes unnoticed: the costumes. The Hogwarts uniform has been spoofed, replicated, and cosplayed into oblivion since the first film debuted in 2001, and it&#39;s one of the crucial elements that immerses viewers in <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-to-worst-harry-potter-films-as-rated-by-fans-" target="_blank">J.K. Rowling&#39;s cinematic universe</a>.

While <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/creative-halloween-costume-ideas-for-couples/whitneysmoore" target="_blank">costumer</a> Jany Temime was unaware of the&nbsp;Harry Potter&nbsp;canon before she began working on the&nbsp;Prisoner of Azkaban&nbsp;film, she&nbsp;enjoyed collaborating alongside the actors who knew the material inside and out. While her name may not be as instantly recognizable as that of Daniel Radcliffe or Emma Watson, the pieces produced by Temime and the rest of the costuming team were of inimitable importance to the beloved series.

Celebrities

Whether Snape was ultimately a good or&nbsp;bad guy is a matter of eternal debate, but one thing is for certain: the actor who played him was definitely a good guy, as these&nbsp;stories about Severus Snape behind the scenes prove. Well, not Snape, exactly, but <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/greatest-british-actors-of-all-time" target="_blank">acclaimed British actor</a> Alan Rickman. On the set of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/harry-potter-characters" target="_blank">Harry Potter</a>, he brought his professional A-game, as well as an undeniable sense of fun and generosity. As the actors who worked with Alan Rickman have attested, he left a memorable and lasting impression on all fortunate enough to share the lens with him.

Rickman was already an award-winning, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art-trained stage and screen actor when he landed the role of Snape. By all accounts, he embraced the epic importance the role had for Harry Potter fans, but he also had a sense of humor and kindness about the whole thing. At his memorial service, actress <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/stories-about-alan-rickman/donn-saylor" target="_blank">Juliet Stevenson remembered</a>, &quot;Whenever Al would go out to supper, and anyone else would try and pay, he would somehow have phoned ahead or slipped his credit card ahead of the meal, so no one even got a look at the check. He&#39;d just say, &#39;I&#39;ve got two words for you: Harry Potter.&#39; And he became known for doing that.&quot;

Rickman passed in January 2016 after battling pancreatic cancer. Let&#39;s revisit some behind-the-scenes stories of Alan Rickman on&nbsp;Harry Potter as a way to commemorate everyone&#39;s favorite potions master.

You know which Hogwarts house you&#39;re a member of, which <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/every-harry-potter-wand/tamar-altebarmakian" target="_blank">character&#39;s wand</a> you&#39;d want to use in real life, and you&#39;ve even been to Universal Studios to drink down a cool, crisp Butterbeer. Superfan you may be, but do you know how&nbsp;Harry Potter&nbsp;actors were chosen for their respective roles?

You may have an idea about how some&nbsp;of these actors landed their iconic roles, but not all casting stories are made equal. Did you know Daniel Radcliffe didn&#39;t even want to audition for Harry? Or that Rupert Grint&nbsp;wrote and performed a rap&nbsp;in his&nbsp;audition tape? Can you name the actor who was originally cast as Severus Snape? If you&#39;re in the mood for some magical stories about auditions, replacements, and even a bit of old-fashioned pettiness, scroll on and find out how key Harry Potter&nbsp;cast members landed their roles.

The cast of Harry Potter stole our hearts almost immediately. Not only were they perfectly <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/harry-potter-then-and-now/lisa-waugh" target="_blank">cast</a>, they all seemed to genuinely get along off-screen. Over the course of filming eight movies&nbsp;the cast became a <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/behind-the-scenes-pictures-harry-potter/lee-emjay" target="_blank">family</a>, and naturally love to riff off each other. During interviews they always take the opportunity to roast each other, and the results are funnier than a tickling charm. These are the best cast interview answers of all time.&nbsp;

You most likely know everything that&nbsp;happens in the Harry Potter books, the movies, and on Pottermore. You&#39;re probably the type of person that could crush at canonical HP trivia -&nbsp;but how much do you know about what was happening behind the scenes while filming Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban?&nbsp;

Two significant&nbsp;changes rocked the Harry Potter series at the start of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Behind the camera, Alfonso Cuar&oacute;n&nbsp;replaced Chris Columbus as the director, and on screen, Michael Gambon took over as Dumbledore for Richard Harris. Cuar&oacute;n&#39;s directing changed the tone of the films&nbsp;in a big way, helping the series grow up with both the maturing cast members and fans in the audience.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Read on and discover&nbsp;the moments&nbsp;that created your <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-harry-potter-prisoner-of-azkaban-movie-quotes/movie-and-tv-quotes" target="_blank">favorite on-camera quotes</a> and scenes.

The Harry Potter films brought to life a highly intricate and complex setting revolving around Hogwarts. The book and film series are both rich with mythological themes, historical allusions, and references to arcane historical figures like <a href="https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/nicolas-flamel-0013076" target="_blank">Nicolas Flamel</a>, among others. The filmmakers, however, went beyond using&nbsp;the larger, more overarching legendary features of the story of Harry Potter. Throughout this fantasy world, historically relevant details were carefully placed in the background, adding more depth to the&nbsp;ancient castle and the wizarding world that surrounds it. It adds an extra layer of intrigue to know the set designers and artists inserted interesting <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/historical-events-that-might-have-parallels-in-the-fantastic-beasts-universe/joedonley" target="_blank">historical parallels</a>, objects, and works of art&nbsp;where they could. Some of these are so unobtrusive, and touched upon so quickly, that they&#39;re easy for fans to overlook.

This list takes an in-depth look at the historical Easter eggs hidden in the films, including references to&nbsp;art history, political ideologies, astronomical events, and more. Weigh in on the details you find&nbsp;to be the most intriguing or surprising.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince&nbsp;was unsurprisingly a smash hit when it came to theaters in 2009, but some of the stories from behind the scenes of the production are just as interesting as the tale being told on the big screen. For the sixth film in the Harry Potter film series, most of the actors and crew members had been around the set for a long time, but new challenges, on and off the set, kept them on their toes.&nbsp;

In a film with an&nbsp;equal amount of dark material and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/half-blood-prince-comebacks/ddefrank" target="_blank">witty comebacks</a>, the actors, directors, and other crew members&nbsp;had plenty of opportunities for behind-the-scenes drama, and in some cases - like the Harry-Ginny kissing scene - comedy as well.&nbsp;

What could be better that watching a Harry Potter movie for the 27th time? Getting a glimpse at some of the&nbsp;most wonderful behind-the-scenes photos from the Harry Potter movies. For many people, the Harry Potter books and movies were crucial parts of&nbsp;childhood. Who didn&#39;t beg their parents to drive them to the nearest Borders when The Goblet of Fire&nbsp;came&nbsp;out? Who didn&#39;t wait in line, in full Potter regalia, for a midnight showing when The Prisoner of Azkaban was released?

While there will likely be no more&nbsp;Potter movies with the classic cast, one&nbsp;can always relive the memories by watching the movies again. Now, you&nbsp;can&nbsp;even feel what it must have been like to hang <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/harry-potter-half-blood-prince-behind-the-scenes/tyler-mitchell" target="_blank">on set with the kids during filming</a>, thanks to the glory of the Internet and these wonderful Harry Potter set pictures!

Will fans ever stop obsessing over Harry Potter? Why would they? Many are&nbsp;still waiting for that Hogwarts letter, even after all these years. <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-to-worst-harry-potter-films-as-rated-by-fans-">Harry Potter movie marathons</a>&nbsp;pack houses.&nbsp;There are tons of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/harry-potter-fan-theories/lisa-waugh">Harry Potter fan theories</a> emerging every day. <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/jk-rowling-harry-potter-reveals/lisa-waugh">J.K. Rowling keeps revealing</a> more and more info about the wizarding world. And the films&#39; actors still like to reminisce about the days they spent filming and share exciting <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/harry-potter-prisoner-of-azkaban-behind-the-scenes-facts/williamsbrianjake" target="_blank">Harry Potter</a> behind-the-scenes stories. When it comes to making these magical movies,&nbsp;Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire&nbsp;has some of the most intriguing behind the scenes info.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth installment in the Harry Potter film series and was released in 2005. Directed by Mike Newell, the movie follows Harry as he attends the Quidditch World Cup, participates in the Triwizard Tournament, and eventually faces off with Voldemort himself. It&rsquo;s one of the best reviewed movies in the series and the second one to be released in IMAX.

As these facts prove, the process of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/harry-potter-was-high-school-behind-the-scenes/jonathan-kantor" target="_blank">making the Harry Potter films</a> is just as wonderful and strange as the finished products themselves.&nbsp;If you&rsquo;re a hardcore Potterhead, make sure you check the list to see which Goblet of Fire&nbsp;movie facts and bits of trivia were you already familiar with.

Chances are, you totally forgot about many of the&nbsp;famous actors in Harry Potter movies. Over the course of eight feature-length Harry Potter movies, it became practically a rite of passage for British thespians to grace at least one of those&nbsp;big-budget&nbsp;fantasy films, even if it was&nbsp;just to pop in for a quick cameo.

Some of the actors you forgot were in Harry Potter movies&nbsp;include stars like Robert Pattinson and Scarlett Byrne, who were just starting out in the industry at the time. On the other hand, some others, like John Cleese and Kenneth Branagh, were already veteran performers on&nbsp;the big screen.

Which famous extras in Harry Potter films did you totally forget about? Which popular actor played the best muggle or wizard? From Potter friends to foes, here are some&nbsp;famous actors who are forever a part of the Harry Potter universe.

Just try to find actors who hated their time on the Harry Potter films. You can&#39;t. Overwhelmingly, the Harry Potter cast members, from the main actors to the extras, felt extremely positive about their experiences on set - which for some, spanned over 10 years. But every once in a while, in an interview sharing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/harry-potter-actors-franchise/garri-chaverst" target="_blank">their memories and opinions</a> of the film series, the actors will admit something that wasn&#39;t the most positive experience&nbsp;or that they disliked. No movie experience is perfect. After all, especially when the Hogwarts students became teenagers, Harry Potter could be a bit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/harry-potter-was-high-school-behind-the-scenes/jonathan-kantor" target="_blank">like high school behind the scenes</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

But when you hear about things they didn&#39;t like, remember that even though sitting on a broomstick was uncomfortable&nbsp;and walking a red carpet was intimidating, they mostly think being Harry, Ron, Hermione, Snape, and all the rest was a pretty great thing.

The Harry Potter movies have generated a large community of fans. And with a film series as long as Harry Potter, there are bound to be scenes that don&#39;t make the final cut. Here are some scenes fans believe should never have been cut. Vote up your favorites below!

You can also check out <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/harry-potter-wholesome-behind-the-scenes/joshualee" target="_blank">wholesome behind the scenes moments</a> and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/harry-potter-small-movie-details/raelyn-giansanti" target="_blank">small details fans noticed about the series</a>.

Harry Potter Movie Magic

Most of the time, it&rsquo;s a controversial thing to say that a movie is better than the book it&rsquo;s based on. Film adaptations have a reputation for dumbing down their source material, serving as shortcuts for lazy students trying to cut corners on their book reports. But both the Harry Potter books and the films based on the series have equal standing in the hearts of many Potter fanatics. The films give expression to the stories we love, sometimes even eclipsing the original work of J.K. Rowling in the eyes of her loyal fans.

So which of the installments in the Harry Potter film series outshines the original novels? And where do the movie versions fall short? We broke it down with this handy scatterplot, comparing the results of two Ranker lists: <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-harry-potter-books/ranker-books?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">All Harry Potter Books</a>, Ranked Best to Worst, and All Harry Potter Movies, Ranked Best to Worst. Keep in mind, when we say a movie or book is &ldquo;bad,&rdquo; we mean relative to the other entries in their respective series: every book and movie on these lists was voted up by 64% of voters or more.

Word Wizardry vs Movie Magic

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The Harry Potter movies have generated a large community of fans. And with a film series as long as Harry Potter, there are bound to be scenes that don't make ...