When it was first announced that the Harry Potter books were being adapted into films, a number of Hollywood actors expressed interest in being involved. Rosie O’Donnell was such a fan of the books that she called up director Chris Columbus and offered to play Molly Weasley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for free. Columbus declined to let her audition, and the role eventually went to Julie Walters. Robin Williams also threw his hat in the ring at one point and was willing to go without payment as well, but was turned away for the exact same reason as O’Donnell.
In a 2001 interview with the New York Post, Williams revealed that there were “a couple of parts” he would’ve wanted to play in the first Harry Potter film had they given him the opportunity. One of the roles he was eyeing, according to casting director Janet Hirshenson, was that of Hogwarts groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid (later played by Robbie Coltrane). “[Williams] had called [Columbus] because he really wanted to be in the movie, but it was a British-only edict, and once he said no to Robin, he wasn’t going to say yes to anybody else, that’s for sure,” Hirshenson told The Huffington Post in 2014. “It couldn’t be.”
The initial rejection didn’t deter Williams, however. He reached out to Columbus at least one other time about the possibility of playing Remus Lupin in a future film. “I had a conversation with [Williams], who wanted to play Lupin,” Columbus explained to Total Film in 2021. “It was very difficult for me to say, ‘It’s all British. There’s nothing I can do.’” The Lupin character was portrayed by David Thewlis starting with 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. As for what Williams’s take would’ve been like, Columbus said, “It would have been a different interpretation. I thought [Thewlis] was great, but [Williams] would have been brilliant.”
Williams remained optimistic about appearing in one of the Harry Potter sequels, telling the New York Post, “Maybe one day. Say if [Harry] goes to Yale and becomes president.” The 100% British rule was pretty strictly enforced, though, with two minor exceptions. Columbus’s daughter had a cameo in the first two films, but wasn’t allowed to speak. And although Verne Troyer played Griphook in Philosopher’s Stone, the character’s voice was provided by Leprechaun star Warwick Davis, who would go on to replace Troyer in the last two movies in the series.
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