Harry Potter is one of the most renowned franchises to ever be created. It is so well-known and beloved, in fact, that you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has never heard of the Boy Who Lived or the wizarding world at large. After all, Universal dedicated an entire theme park to Harry Potter, filled with butterbeer, goblin rides, wand shops, and magic. But underneath all the gushing love for Harry Potter are real people who played our beloved characters, and most fans have never considered how the cast of the popular films came to be.
We all know Daniel Radcliffe was destined to be Harry Potter, and Emma Watson knew the role of Hermione Granger belonged to her, but other cast members did not have the same fate. Whether they auditioned for different roles, or were assigned a different character due to external circumstances, some of our favorite Harry Potter actors weren’t always originally considered for the roles they played. Would the Harry Potter actors, who almost played a different role, have changed the films as we know them if they would’ve stayed in their original roles? Would we have still loved them the way we do? There’s only one way to find out.
5 Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) as Gilderoy Lockhart
As Lucius Malfoy, Jason Isaacs is the father we love to hate: he is rich, he's arrogant, and he's so good at being bad. If he's involved in a scene, there's bound to be a pompous comment or a general look of disgust on his face. And come on, poor Dobby. That being said, Isaacs wasn't always destined to be Lucius Malfoy — he actually didn't even want the role. During an interview on Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, he revealed that he never meant to audition for Lucius. In fact, he originally auditioned for Gilderoy Lockhart (via Bustle), the somewhat charming, but brainless Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Although the producers enjoyed his audition for Lockhart, they had him read for another character as well: the role of Lucius Malfoy. “I read through gritted teeth, deeply bitter, and of course, that’s exactly what was necessary and they asked me to play Lucius, and thank God they did,” Isaacs recalled. He may not have initially wanted the role, but he filled it excellently. Can we imagine getting this much disdain from only one movie?
4 Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lastrange) as Narcissa Malfoy
Helena Bonham Carter — you hear her name and automatically think of Bellatrix Lestrange, no matter what other films or TV shows she's appeared in. That is the mark of a truly well-executed role. To be fair, she left a mark on all Harry Potter fans with her twisted acts of cruelty, wicked laugh, and undying dedication to Lord Voldemort and the dark arts. Although she knocked her role out of the park, Carter wasn't always meant to be Bellatrix Lestrange. Originally, Helen McCrory, who played Narcissa Malfoy, was cast as Bellatrix, but due to her pregnancy with her first child, she had to drop out of the role and the producers searched for a new Bellatrix. In 2010, Carter told Entertainment Weekly: "They came to me [after McCrory had to leave the project] and I loved it. I love magic, I love witches, I love the whole [Harry Potter] world. I was all too happy to play a witch." Her love for the role shined brightly through, and she played her character in a way almost no one else could have.
3 Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) As Harry Potter
Draco Malfoy is another love-and-hate character in the Harry Potter series. We love to hate him, essentially. Like his dad, he's arrogant, hateful, and a downright bully, but he drives the story, serving as an essential evil in Harry, Hermione, and Ron's life. If the trio is doing the complete opposite of Draco Malfoy in a given situation, they're most likely on the right side of the moral compass. Although Tom Felton nailed his role of evil rich kid, he originally auditioned for a much kinder character. Before landing his role as Draco Malfoy, Felton actually auditioned for not only Harry Potter, but Ron Weasley as well. It's hard to imagine him in our full-of-life characters' places, but even he admitted during an interview with MTV that he would've been a "very different individual" if he had been cast as either one of the other two characters originally. In the same interview, he goes on to say, "I'm very grateful I am in the film at all, but even more grateful that I got the character of Draco. I think Rupert and Dan, there's no question in my mind, there's no one else in the world that, A) could have played the character better, but B) could have handled the behind-the-scenes pressure those guys have dealt with over the last decade."
2 David Thewlis (Remus Lupin) as Professor Quirrell
What would the Harry Potter films be without David Thewlis' kind but unique spirit? His role as Remus Lupin touched a spot in our souls. On one hand, Lupin was an outcast outside of his tight-knit group of friends, particularly for being a werewolf. He faced scrutiny, trouble getting or keeping jobs, and a sense of loneliness in the world. On the other hand, he never allowed these situations to make him bitter. He stayed true to his wholesome, helping personality, always looking out for Harry and those he held close. This allowed him to join up with so many allies and start a relationship with Tonks before his demise. With all this in mind, it does come as a surprise that Thewlis, although crushing his role as Remus Lupin, originally auditioned for Professor Quirrell, the first year Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and vessel for Voldemort. Yes, again, how could we have gone on only seeing him in the first Harry Potter movie? He may have auditioned for a role he felt suited for, but we all know he landed the role he was meant for.
1 Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy) as Bellatrix Lastrange
As most of us know, Helen McCrory, the lovely matriarch in Harry Potter and Peaky Blinders, unfortunately passed away from her battle with cancer in 2021. But during her acting career, she was most known for playing Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter. Although she housed a family of Death Eaters and regularly attended meetings with Voldemort, she never completely fit in to the dark side. As we observe in scenes from the final three Harry Potter movies, she has a lot of compassion for Harry and her family. She plays a perfect balance of mischief, evil, compassion, and class. Who could've played this role any better?
As we discussed earlier, McCrory was originally cast as Bellatrix Lestrange in 2007, the deranged Death Eater and sister to Narcissa Malfoy. Due to her pregnancy, she had to drop out of the role. But fortunately for all of us, she was then re-cast for the 2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, after which she made additional appearances in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. She may have had to drop out of her original role, but she played a killer Death Eater and mom to Draco.