“He would have been brilliant”: Harry Potter Director Regretted Not Allowing Robin Williams to Even Audition Because of J.K. Rowling’s Draconian Rule

Little did anyone know what started as a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J.K. Rowling, would end up becoming one of the biggest franchises in the world. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The main cast of the Harry Potter film franchise

The Harry Potter series has been translated into 80 languages and has sold more than 500 million copies worldwide. The film adaptations of the books have grossed over $7.7 billion worldwide. The films are the third highest-grossing film series of all time. And when the first installment of the series was announced, the biggest names in global cinema wanted to be a part of it. This, however, wasn’t possible thanks to a non-negotiable rule by J.K. Rowling.

Robin Williams’ affinity for the Boy Who Lived

The Harry Potter series is a beloved cultural phenomenon that has captured the imaginations of readers and viewers around the world. It is a story about friendship, courage, and the power of good to triumph over evil. So naturally, when Warner Bros. bought the film rights from J.K. Rowling in 1999, everybody wanted a piece of the cake.

Among many popular actors, there was also Robin Williams, who wanted desperately to be a part of the magical world of Harry Potter.

Robin Williams

Williams wanted to portray either the character of the beloved Rubeus Hagrid (played by Robbie Coltrane), the gentle giant who rescues Harry from his relatives’ house; or that of Remus Lupin (played by David Thewlis), the werewolf who turns out to be great buds with the Boy Who Lived.

Chris Columbus, the director of the first two installments of the franchise, expressed his regret about Robin Williams not being able to be a part of the franchise. He said,
“Robin would have been brilliant. It would have been a different interpretation — I thought David Thewlis was great — but Robin would have been brilliant.”

J.K. Rowling

The reason behind this misfortune is that while selling the film rights to Warner Bros., Rowling made abundantly clear that the casting for the films would be strictly British and Irish. The casting of European actors was allowed only in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because the books specified a few characters with European origins. Though initially hesitant to sell the rights, Rowling eventually sold the film rights to Warner Bros. but retained the rights to the characters so that they wouldn’t make any sequels not written by Rowling herself; which, as it turns out, was a really smart decision, and yet not one that George R.R. Martin could make.

Well, well.

The Harry Potter franchise had its cake and ate it too

The franchise is the fourth highest-grossing cinema franchise of all time, with $7.7 billion in global earnings. Six films in the Harry Potter franchise have grossed around $216 million in IMAX theaters worldwide.

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg was one of the directors who was originally in the running to direct the first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. He then withdrew as a directorial candidate because he saw it as a money-making endeavor more than a cinematic challenge. In an (now couple of decades old) interview with PageSix.com, Spielberg said,

“I purposely didn’t do the Harry Potter movie because, for me, that was shooting ducks in a barrel. It’s just a slam dunk. It’s just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There’s no challenge.”

Harry Potter

Well, Spielberg called it.