Thewlis Has Had A Busy Career Since Harry Potter
In 2012, he starred in Wright’s short film “Separate We Come, Separate We Go” which premiered at Cannes.
Other notable film credits include “RED 2” , “The Theory of Everything” , “Macbeth” , “Anomalisa” , “Wonder Woman” , and “Justice League” .
Thewlis also voices the Shame Wizard on the animated Netflix series “Big Mouth” and recently had a recurring role on National Geographic’s “Barkskins.”
The actor recently appeared in “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” and “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” , and he’s slated to appear in “Avatar 3.”
Harry Potter Bus Tour Of London
Ready yourselves peeps the Harry Potter Bus Tour takes you on a whirlwind excursion of Londons biggest Harry Potter sights.
From the entrance to the Ministry of Magic at Scotland Yard to popping into Diagon Alley and Gringotts Bank its pretty much three hours of non-stop excitement.
Led by some rather talented guides , youre given a glimpse at the wizarding world complete with insider knowledge about how the films were made.
Ralph Fiennes Played He Who Must Not Be Named Lord Voldemort
Lord Voldemort was portrayed by actor Ralph Fiennes.
Before stepping into the villainous role in “Goblet of Fire,” the English actor was best known for his parts in “Wuthering Heights” , “Schindler’s List” , and “Maid in Manhattan” .
He also voiced characters in “The Prince of Egypt” and “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabit” .
Throughout filming “Harry Potter,” Fiennes also appeared in “The Duchess” , “The Hurt Locker” , and “Clash of the Titans” .
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The Moorlands Of Grassington Yorkshire Aka Setting For The Lovegood House
Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Grassington is a little village in North Yorkshire, and it was near it that they did some filming for background shots to be used in Deathly Hallows Part 1, most notably for the strange and whimsical Lovegood house, which the squad visits and where they learn what the Deathly Hallows actually are.
Gloucester Cathedral Aka Hogwarts
Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and a bit of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
While there were many real-life stand-ins for Hogwarts over the years , one of the most iconic ones is the stunning Gloucester Cathedral.
Many interior shots for Hogwarts were filmed here early in the series. Most notably, during the troll scenes when Percys freaking out and leading the mini-Gryffindors back to their common room, when Harry and Ron break off to look for Hermione, and in Chamber of Secrets when the bloody words first appear and they find Filchs petrified cat. You also get a very clear view of it when Moaning Mrytle has flooded the bathroom and they pan to all the water on the ground
The crew returned to film a few scenes for Half-Blood Prince, a shoot that came with a hefty price tag of 100,000 pounds! An assortment of hallway scenes were shot here, including near the start, when McGonagall convinces Harry to take up Potions with Slughorn, and later after Slughorns big Christmas bash, when Harry overhears Snape and Malfoy chatting after Malfoys dumb blunder getting caught at the party. Of course, its at this point that Harry discovers Snape has made an unbreakable vow to protect Malfoy.
If youre curious to learn more about the Harry Potter/Gloucester Cathedral connection, you can check out a full article about that here.
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Gloucester Cathedral Visitors Info
Gloucester Cathedral is a fantastic place to spend a few hours. Heres everything you need to know for your visit:Entrance price: free. Its not customary to pay to visit places of worship hence why there is no official fee to enter Gloucester Cathedral. However, its recommended you donate to its upkeep. £5 per person is suggested. You can pay with cash or card.Harry Potter Gloucester Cathedral tickets: Formal tickets arent required and theres no need to book anything online before your visit. Simply enter the Cathedral and give a contribution at the Welcome Desk.Opening times:
Check updates and plan your visit to Gloucester Cathedral via their website.Gloucester Wi-Fi & app: For a 1,300-year-old building, the Cathedral is surprisingly with the times! Theres free Wi-Fi in the lobby where you can download the Gloucester Cathedral app . This includes the history, a map and walking tour. If you dont have your own headphones, you can buy them from the Welcome Desk .
Mcgonagall Joins The Fun
Its unheard of Snape and Voldemort to crack a smile, but the idea of Professor McGonagall displaying a hearty laugh is just as off putting. The Hogwarts Headmistress is notorious for being a no-nonsense type despite how close she may be to someone.
Maggie Smith isnt McGonagall in real life and so had a good laugh with Daniel Radcliffe after filming the Battle of Hogwarts. While they werent actually fighting the forces of evil, a shared sense of accomplishment must have been running through the actors that day.
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Emma Thompson Had To Deal With Seeing Her Ex
Emma Thompson portrayed Sybill Trelawney in the movies. And she ran into her ex-husband Kenneth Branagh and the woman he had cheated on her with, Helena Bonham Carter, while on the set of Harry Potter. How? Well, it turns out that they were part of the cast as well! Carter had been cast in the role of Bellatrix Lestrange, while Branagh had been cast as Gilderoy Lockhart. We go through life hoping to never run into our exes. And Thompson had to work with her ex AND the mistress he had left her for! Ouch. That had to be awkward. Imagine the tension involved with that triangle on set. Thompson has since remarried and moved past that experience. In fact, she told Hello Magazine that she and Carter actually get along, as well as two women in their situation could get along.
Felton Went On To Star In Films And On Tv
After “Harry Potter” wrapped, Felton starred as another villain in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” , but most of his work has been in smaller-budget dramas and thrillers.
Felton has also found success on TV. He played Erich Blunt on TNT’s “Murder in the First,” Julian Albert on The CW’s “The Flash,” and Logan on the YouTube original series “Origin.”
In 2018, he played Laertes in “Ophelia,” and his most recent acting credit was in “Braking for Whales” .
Felton recently starred in “A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting” and the Dutch period piece “The Forgotten Battle” .
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Swinley Forest Aka One Of The Forests They Camp In
Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Parts of Swinley Forest in Bracknell were used for miscellaneous scenes in Deathly Hallows Part 1, like when theyre being chased by Snatchers but most of them used green screens to add more dramatic landscapes, so I wouldnt go out of my way to see this place.
That said, I found this hilarious news article about how the crew kept denying that they were filming Harry Potter there, until a 10 year old boy literally just found a callsheet in the bushes that had ALL THE ACTORS ON-SET TIMES, where they would be, and a map of the locations! Luckily, he only found this after the filming wrapped up, otherwise it would have made fangirl stalking a little too easy.
Other Harry Potter Sites You Can Visit
If you are in Scotland, you may also want to consider the Harry Potter related sites in Edinburgh Scotland. You might also want to consider a day trip to Alnwick Castle, one of the more dramatic Harry Potter locations located in northern England, which is located less than 2 hour drive from Edinburgh.
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Design And Special Effects
Judianna Makovsky served as the costume designer. She re-designed the Quidditch robes, having initially planned to use those shown on the cover of the American book, but deemed them “a mess.” Instead, she dressed the Quidditch players in “preppie sweaters, 19th-century fencing breeches and arm guards.” Production designer Stuart Craig built the sets at Leavesden Studios, including Hogwarts Great Hall, basing it on many English cathedrals. Although originally asked to use an existing old street to film the Diagon Alley scenes, Craig decided to build his own set, comprising Tudor, Georgian and Queen Anne architecture.
Columbus originally planned to use both animatronics and CGI animation to create the magical creatures, including Fluffy. Nick Dudman, who worked on Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, was given the task of creating the needed prosthetics, with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop providing creature effects. John Coppinger stated that the magical creatures that needed to be created had to be designed multiple times. The film features nearly 600 special effects shots, involving numerous companies. Industrial Light & Magic created Lord Voldemort‘s face on the back of Quirrell, Rhythm & Hues animated Norbert and Sony Pictures Imageworks produced the Quidditch scenes.
Warner Brothers Studio Tour Peek Behind The Scenes At The Ultimate Harry Potter Filming Location In London
Short version of that talk = Its brilliant.
Longer version: I finally went last month, trying to pretend that I was totally chilled out about the fact that I was going to spend hours in the film studios where the Harry Potter films were created.
Obviously, I was not chilled out, I was more excited than a five year old at Christmas. Even so, it still managed to exceed expectations.
Seeing the sets and props IRL, walking along Diagon Alley, seeing the scale construction of Hogwarts as I said, its brilliant.
I know that tickets are quite expensive and you have to book ages ahead but its absolutely worth it.
PS the studios are in Leavesden, which is a bit of a pain to get to from London. If you dont have your own transport, its easier to book on a tour than trying to get there independently.
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We Almost Got A Green
Warner Bros. has gotten a lot of criticism for not making the characters more accurate to the books, but some fans might not be aware that the studio initially tried to give Harry green eyes and Hermione buck teeth from the very start of filming.
The first scene shot for The Sorcerers Stone was actually the movie’s final scene where the trio are saying their goodbyes as they board the Hogwarts Express. If you look closely, youll see that in several shots, Radcliffe is wearing green tinted contacts and Watson is wearing a set of false teeth.
Unfortunately, the two actors, who were children at the time, experienced much discomfort with their respective modifications. Radcliffe had an allergic reaction to the contacts, and Watson had trouble speaking with her false teeth. Ultimately, the filmmakers decided that it wasnt worth the trouble.
Secrets Behind The Making Of The Harry Potter Films
Harry Potter’s come and gone, but the Wizard World isn’t going away anytime soon not with all those secrets behind the making of the films.
It’s been several years since the last Harry Potter film released in theaters. Nonetheless, there is still a lot of passion for this franchise. Based on a series of books by author J.K. Rowling, this is the only fictional world where youve got wizards, magic spells, and more.
The Harry Potter franchise ended up being a collection of eight films. These include Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. In all the movies, actor Daniel Radcliffe portrayed the titular character. He was joined by Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, and Michael Gambon.
Indeed, its been years since weve seen the Harry Potter films. Nonetheless, there are some secrets about the franchise that you may not know yet. Check out what we found:
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Harry Potter And The Cursed Child The Harry Potter Theatre In London
I have to be honest here. I havent actually been to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child yet.
It makes me endlessly sad inside and believe me, seeing the play is high up on the list of awesome things I need to do like, yesterday.
Everyone Ive spoken to says its awesome. Ill be going soon and will update as soon as I have.
P.S. Tickets for Londons Harry Potter theatre show are hard to come by. Theyre about to release tickets for October onwards but you can snaffle last minute tickets when theyre released each Friday.
Is There A Harry Potter Cast Reunion
HBO Max took the opportunity of the 20-year anniversary of the first Harry Potter film to announce an exciting Harry Potter cast reunion.
They released a trailer made up mostly of old clips from the films, but promising that the original stars, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint would return for a Harry Potter special in the new year.
J.K. Rowling will not be part of the TV special, coming after the author received widespread criticism for controversial comments about the trans community.
The TV special, named Return to Hogwarts, will premiere on January 1st 2022, where the Golden Trio will be joined by American filmmaker Chris Columbus, who also worked on the series, to discuss the films and explore their creation in depth.
The second trailer, debuting on December 7th, revealed that even more stars will be joining the original trio, including Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Tom Felton, James and Oliver Phelps, Mark Williams, Bonnie Wright, Alfred Enoch, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch and many more.
The new footage showed some of these well-loved stars receiving the iconic parchment envelopes, stamped with a red seal, inviting them to come back for the reunion.
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The Children Were Asked To Get Casts Of Their Teeth Done Because They Could Lose Teeth As They Got Older
As you may recall, Radcliffe, Watson, Grint and most of the cast members were kids when Harry Potter first filmed. And the crew was well aware that they may lose their teeth as they grow. To make sure it didn’t affect filming, the kids needed to get casts of their teeth done. According to Cinemablend, Radcliffe once remarked, Cause you’ve got a set full of twenty 10-year-olds, so they would cast everyone’s mouths.
When Was Deathly Hallows Filmed
Both parts were shot simultaneously, principal photography began on 19 February 2009 and was completed on 12 June 2010, with reshoots for the epilogue scene taking place in December 2010. Part 1 was released in 2D and IMAX on 19 November 2010, and Part 2 was released in 3D, 2D and IMAX on 15 July 2011.
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Glass Art Behind The Altar
Although many visitors leave after snapping photos of the sweeping hall, the devil is in the detail. These stained glass windows behind the altar are some of the most impressive Ive seen. Responsible is Thomas Denny, contemporary British painter and stained glass artist. They were painted in 2016.Dont miss the South Ambulatory Chapel where theres another, larger set of Dennys windows, painted in 1989 to celebrate the Cathedrals 900th anniversary.Fun fact the oldest existing images of golf can be found in the stained glass windows dating back to 1350. Theres also a carved statue of people playing medieval football.
Hugh Grant Was Originally Set To Portray Gilderoy Lockhart
Veteran actor Hugh Grant was once cast to play Gilderoy Lockhart, the professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts in Harry’s 2nd year. Unfortunately, Grant ran into some scheduling conflicts, which forced him to step away from the project for good. In the end, the movie ended up casting Kenneth Branagh for the role.
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Daniel Radcliffe Broke 80 Wands During Filming
For any given production, a props department will usually build several copies of one prop. Some are used for closeups and others are meant to be used as backups just in case the original prop gets damaged. The same applies to costumes. For example, during filming, Daniel Radcliffe reportedly went through 160 pairs of Harrys glasses.
He also went through nearly 80 wands, and a quick glance at some behind the scenes footage of Radcliffe filming shows us exactly why he needed so many wands.
Apparently, Radcliffe was slightly fidgety on set and liked to use his wand as a drumstick. Hed repeatedly tap his wand against a number of surfaces, and, over time, his wands would break. Luckily, the props department was on it, and they always had a backup one at the ready.
Jk Rowling Drew A Map Of Hogwarts For The Production Designer Who Referenced It Throughout All Eight Movies
Stuart Craig was the production designer of the “Harry Potter” movies, and rightfully earned an Oscar nomination for “The Sorcerer’s Stone” .
In his first meeting with J.K. Rowling in 1999, Craig asked the author about the geography of Hogwarts castle and its surrounding area. Rowling then drew a map of Hogwarts for Craig, and Craig kept it and referred to it on every following film.
He spoke about the map in the behind-the-scenes extras.
“This drawing is Jo Rowling’s drawing, that she executed in just a few minutes,” he said. “As you see it has all the principal ingredients. The Dark Forest is here, the Whomping Willow, the Quidditch Pitch, Hogwarts Castle itself, the black lake is there. The perimeter road, Hogsmeade village. She had a very, very exact and precise understanding of her world and her creation. She knew exactly the relationship between all the elements. So she was able to give it to us, and that became our bible.”
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