Hey everyone, welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re going to be discussing
Harry Potter actor replacements. As a series that spanned an entire
decade, it’s no surprise that Warner Bros found itself forced to recast
actors and actresses. You might have noticed some of these, but others, probably passed you by.
Today, we’re going to take a look at all the recastings, big and small,
and see what changed between the films.
Let’s dive in to it.
15. Griphook
Griphook was one of the many goblins who found himself
working within Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Just like his predecessors had done since 1474,
Griphook handled the finances of some of Britain’s wealthiest wizards and witches.
Eventually, during the rise of the second Wizarding War, he would find himself without
a job, and incidentally ,responsible for the death of many of his fellow goblins.
In the films, Verne Troyer was the first actor to portray the goblin banker. His version debuted
in 2001’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Troyer was famous at the time for his
performances in the Austin Powers movies, where he played a smaller clone of Doctor Evil, Mini-Me.
But when it came time to film the final movies in the Harry Potter series,
the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2, the producers decided to recast the role.
They wanted to make sure the entire cast was British, so they decided to rely on one of
their current actors to fill in for Verne. Warwick Davis, who already portrayed PRofessor Flitwick,
took on the added responsibility of bringing Griphook to life.
14. Parvati Patil
PArvati was one of Harry Potter’s fellow housemates, and best friend to Lavender
Brown. During the escalation of conflict between the Ministry and the Death Eaters,
PArvati eventually went on to join Dumbledore’s army.
In the films, Parvati first appeared in PRisoner of Azkaban, and was portrayed by Sitara Shah at
the time. But by the time Goblet of Fire went into production, she was replaced by Shefali
Chowdhury. When we look for a reason for Sitara’s seemingly rushed replacement,
we can’t really find anything. It’s not unlikely that she stepped away for
personal reasons, or, her management simply failed to negotiate better terms.
13. Padma Patil
Padma was Parvati’s twin, but unlike her sister, she wasn’t sorted into Gryffindor.
Instead, the Sorting Hat thought Ravenclaw was a better fit,
but that didn’t stop her from playing a crucial role in the war against Voldemort.
Just like her sister, she joined Dumbledore’s Army, and fought against the Death Eaters.
Now, in the films, PAdma was actually enrolled in Gryffindor, to make things a bit simpler.
At first, in the Prisoner of Azkaban, the actress Sharon Sandhu portrayed Padma. But in later films,
Afshan Azad took over duties. Again, we can’t really be sure why the producers
decided to recast her, but it could have been for any number of reasons.
12. Lavender Brown
Lavender Brown is one of the most tragic heroes from the final years of the Second Wizarding War.
As a student in Hogwarts, she was close with the Patil sisters,
particularly Parvati. And at one point, when Ron Weasley wanted to make Hermione jealous,
Lavender became Ron’s girlfriend. Tragically, by the final year of her education,
Voldemort laid siege to Hogwarts, and the werewolf Fenrir Greyback murdered her.
In the films, Lavender Brown was actually portrayed by three different actresses,
and the recasting caused quite a controversy. Kathleen Cauley first played her in Chamber of
Secrets, and then Jennifer Smith played her in Harry Potter and the PRisoner of Azakaban. But
in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, a new actress, Jessie Cave, was brought in.
The problem with this was… the first two actresses were black,
and Jessie was white. In the minds of many film fans, this meant that the producers were
white-casting a black role. But the creative minds at Warner Bros tried to explain their decision,
by claiming that the original two actresses were cast as “Lavender Brown '' in name only. They
were basically just extras, or small speaking roles, and the producers had just assigned the
extras with existing names from the Harry Potter books, instead of giving them new names. So in
their minds, they never actually intended for those earliest casting decisions to apply to
Lavender Brown, when her role was eventually expanded into a love interest for Ron Weasley.
11. Angelina Johnson
Angelina Johnson was one of Harry Potter’s favorite upperclassmen. She was two years above
Harry, and was actually one of his Quidditch Team captains during his time at school.
Eventually, Angelina actually became Harry’s family,
when she married George Weasley, becoming Harry’s sister-in-law.
In the movies, Angelina was originally portrayed by an actress named Danielle Tabor
in the Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets,and Prisoner of Azakaban. But there
was a problem. Since Angelina would eventually become a love interest for George Weasley,
Danielle’s extremely young appearance was kind of off-putting. The producers felt that a romance
between George and Danielle would come across as unbelievable at best, and creepy at worst,
so they recast the role in favor of someone who looked just as old as the Weasley Twin.
Tiana Benjamin took over from the Goblet of Fire.
10. Elphias Doge
Elphias Doge was an old-school,
pure-blood wizard who stood opposed to the rise of Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort.
During the final months of the Second Wizarding War, Doge wrote an obituary for his dear friend,
Albus Dumbledore, and kept up appearances with many prominent Gryffindor families.
In the movies, Doge was first portrayed by the accomplished stage and television actor,
PEter Cartwright, in the Order of the Phoenix. But he was replaced by David Ryall later,
during the filming of the wedding sequence in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
9. Fat lady
The Fat lady is a Hogwarts staple- a sassy portrait guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor
common room. With the Gryffindor common room password spoken aloud, the Fat Lady admits whoever
utters the words in to the room. Actress Elizabeth Spriggs was initially cast in the role, but when
Alfonso Cuaron took as over as director he recast the Fat Lady to British comedian Dawn French.
8. Alicia spinnet
Alicia Spinnet is a very minor Harry Potter character that often appears in
the background but never utters any lines. For this reason, many actresses have played
the role of Alicia Spinnet- a Gryffindor student who started at Hogwarts in 1989.
Two actresses have been credited with the role, first Leilah Sutherland (who played
her in the Philosopher’s Stone), and next Rochelle Douglas who took over in the Chamber of Secrets.
7. Katie Bell
Katie Bell was a classmate of Harry Potter’s. She was sorted into House Gryffindor,
and was a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, serving as one of its Chasers. During the second
rise of Voldemort, Katie joined Dumbledore’s Army, and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.
In the films, the role passed through the hands of three different actresses.
At first, Emily Dale played the role in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,
and its sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
But later, when the role was reduced, a completely unnamed actress stepped in to bring her to life
in Prisoner of Azkaban. By the time Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was put into production,
a new actress, Georgina Leonidas, took over. Young Harry Potter fans probably
recognized the actress from her years of starring on The Basil Brush Show as Molly.
6. Voldemort
The Dark Lord himself was recast in the middle of the HArry Potter series. At first,
Voldemort was portrayed by actor Richard Bremmer. You probably remember him as the strapping,
red-haired viking from the Antonio Banderas film, 13th Warrior. Bremmer brought Voldemort to life,
with the help of CGI, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but was later replaced.
Besides the series of young actors who portrayed Voldemort in flashbacks, Ralph Fiennes was the
main actor to bring the villain to life as an adult. His tenure as the DArk Lord began in the
finale of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and continued on until Deathly Hallows Part 2.
5. Bill weasley
Bill Weasley was the eldest Weasley child- born as early as 1970. He attended Hogwarts between 1982
and 1989- and during this time he became both a prefect
and head boy. He’s only mentioned in passing during the first couple of books,
as he lives in Egypt, but when Arthur wins the Daily Prophet’s Grand Prize Galleon Draw, the
family is able to visit him. It’s at this point that we see him in a Weasley family photograph.
In this photo Bill is played by actor Richard Fish, however, he is later replaced by actor
Domhnall Gleeson. Dohmnall Gleeson is the SON of actor Brendan Gleeson who plays Mad-Eye Moody.
4. Pansy parkinson
Pansy Parkinson was a Slytherin witch in Harry Potter's year at Hogwarts.
The Parkinson family were pure-bloods and members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight-
a list of 28 PURE BLOOD wizarding families.
During her time at the school, Pansy was both a prefect and a member of the Inquisitorial squad.
In the first couple of films Pansy’s role is fairly benign, and she’s mainly just a
background character in Draco’s crew. The role was first filled by actress Genevieve Gaunt (I know,
perfect name for a Harry Potter casting), next by actress Lauren Shotton, and finally
(and perhaps most recognizably) by actress Scarlett Byrne.
3. Professor Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore was perhaps the most famous recasting of them all.
Richard HArris portrayed the actor in the first two films,
Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of SEcrets. But after the IRish actor passed away in 2002,
the producers were forced to re-cast. After a long search, they settled on Michael Gambon,
who played the character all the way until the DEathly Hallows Part 2. As an interesting
note between the two, both of the actors actually weren’t English… and instead were born in Ireland.
This is a rare departure from Warner Bro’s attempt to accurately cast performers
based on characters’ fictional hometowns. Dumbledore was undoubtedly English, as he
was raised at first in a small town called Mould on the Wold, and after moving, Godric’s Hollow.
2. Tom the Innkeeper
One of the minor roles to be recast was that of Tom the Inn Keeper.
In the novels, Tom was known as the proprietor of the Leaky Cauldron,
an ancient pub and inn on the threshold of Diagon Alley. While working there,
Tom had a chance to rub shoulders with some of the most famous members of the wizarding community.
In the films, Tom was first portrayed by an English ACtor named Derek DEadman,
who was popular for his performance as Ringo in the 80’s series, NEver the TWain. But his brief
appearance in Philosopher’s Stone wasn’t enough to keep him from getting replaced,
as the producers eyed a new actor for the role. This time, they chose Jim Tavare,
who gave one of my favorite performances from a minor character in the entire series. You might
remember TAvares version of Tom escorting HArry into a room within the inn, and while
the Minister of Magic gave Harry a lecture, Tom humorously offered plate after plate of food.
1 Helena Ravenclaw
Helena Ravenclaw was the daughter of one of Hogwarts four founders,
Rowena. Her life was cut tragically short when she was murdered by her mother’s acquaintence.
But in death, she remained at Hogwarts in paintings, and as a ghost.
In the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Chamber of SEcrets, HElena was portrayed by a young actress
named Nina Young. But when it came time for her appearance in the DEathly HAllows: Part 2,
the producers decided to recast, and actually turned to KAte Winslet for the role.
Since it was probably too small of a part, Winslet turned it down,
and actress Kelly Macdonald instead took it up.
And that’s it for this video! Which of these surprised you? What video do you want next?
Leave a comment down below
Until next time
Remember
It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”