Robin Williams
That’s why he didn’t get a role in “Harry Potter”
Robin William died in 2014 at the age of 63.
© Endico Canavero / PHOTOlink.net
Robin Williams and the “Harry Potter” films. There is a simple reason why this Hollywood dream combination never came about.
Nobody less than the late Hollywood star Robin Williams (1951-2014) has tried for a role in the “Harry Potter” universe. The actor once wanted to play the character of Remus Lupine. However, director Chris Columbus (63) gave him a rejection, as he has now revealed.
Columbus, who directed and produced the first three films, told the anecdote in an interview with “Total Film”. The problem at the time: One of the rules was not to cast US actors. “That was the goal,” said Columbus, “no American actors in the film.” He had a conversation with Williams. “It was very difficult for me to tell him, ‘It’s all British. There is nothing I can do for you.'”
Remus Lupine is one of the most popular characters in the “Harry Potter” world. In the films, David Thewlis (58) played the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. The Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams committed suicide in 2014 at the age of 63. Williams was heavily addicted to drugs and suffered from a neurodegenerative disease for many years.
Chris Columbus had doubts about Alan Rickman
Chris Columbus also expressed doubts about Alan Rickman (1946-2016), who had taken on the role of Professor Severus Snape. He “didn’t think” that the actor would play the “Harry Potter” character after his role as the “iconic villain” Hans Gruber in “Die Hard”. However, Columbus could not have imagined “that someone else would play Snape”.
Alan Rickman acted the hated teacher in all eight “Harry Potter” films from 2001 to 2011. The celebrated actor died in 2016 at the age of 69 as a result of cancer. Chris Columbus directed and produced the first two “Harry Potter” strips, the third he was only involved as a producer.