Surprising Behind-The-Scenes Facts About ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’

According to actor Tom Felton, the script initially called for a slap - but if you had the chance to punch Draco Malfoy, wouldn't you take it? 

"The fact that she hits him, with a fist, and it's not like a spell or something, it's actually like a physical hit, there's something very satisfying about that," Emma Watson said. 

Not only did Hermione upgrade her slap to a punch onscreen, but Watson also punched Felton while they were filming. Felton asked Watson if she wanted to practice her slap, and Watson seemed to want to do a little more than just practice. Watson has since said she felt terrible about actually hitting Felton, and wasn't sure what she was thinking. 

Maybe Rupert Grint blew off writing his essay, or maybe not writing the essay on his character was the essay on his character. What could say more about slacker Ron Weasley than to say nothing at all? 

Grint has said that he shirked his responsibility not as an abstract take on his character, but so he could study for a standardized test. He also stated that he felt his director appreciated the humor in Ron being the only one not to turn in the assignment. Also true to character, Daniel Radcliffe turned in an acceptable one-page report on time, and Emma Watson turned in a whopping 16 full pages. 

When a prank is pulled, especially one low-brow enough to involve a fart machine, Alan Rickman isn't exactly who you would imagine as the mastermind. With that said, living in an alternate universe where Alan Rickman replaced Ashton Kutcher as the host of Punk'd would be a treat. 

In a Reddit AMA, Daniel Radcliffe recalled a prank pulled on him while filming a scene for Prisoner of Azkaban. While the children were lying down in sleeping bags in the middle of the great hall, Rickman activated a fart machine he had planted inside of Radcliffe's bag. Alfonso Cuarón added another embarrassing detail to the prank, explaining that Radcliffe had his sleeping bag next to a girl he fancied at the time of the prank. 

J.K. Rowling has become famous for adding extra tidbits of backstory to her characters that aren't in the books, and it seems that Alfonso Cuarón dabbled in that, as well. 

While filming Prisoner Of Azkaban, without Rowling's knowledge, Cuarón told Thewlis that his character Remus Lupin was gay. David Thewlis said this affected his take on the role, at least up until his character got married to Tonks. 

In a world with the saying, "Don't meet your heroes," actually being someone's hero must be a lot of pressure. 

While filming Prisoner of Azkaban, Gary Oldman knew the child actors looked up to him, and it was important to him to live up to that. With that said, it seems to have gone the other way, as well, and Daniel Radcliffe really impressed Oldman. Oldman describes him as "very dedicated, serious... and focused."

While it certainly looks unpleasant to turn into a werewolf, apparently, it doesn't feel much better to pretend to turn into one.

According to Gary Oldman and David Thewlis, the transformations into their animal alter egos were "really uncomfortable to do." Oldman described the lenses they had to wear as being terrible, as they would make the slightest light appear incredibly blinding. With that said, Thewlis still feels that you should be able to say at least once in your career that you've "done the whole werewolf transformation thing."