Why Robin Williams missed out on Harry Potter role

Robin Williams was up for one of the main roles in Harry Potter, but the director has revealed why he didn’t want to cast him.

Robin Williams missed out on starring in the Harry Potter franchise, it’s been revealed.

The late US actor had expressed interest in playing Remus Lupin, who first appears in the third film, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

Director Chris Columbus revealed that Williams was interested in playing the werewolf – a role which ultimately went to British actor David Thewlis.

According to Columbus, Williams lost out on the role because hiring him would have broken a rule to avoid casting any American actors in an attempt to “maintain a degree of authenticity”.

“I had a conversation with Robin Williams, who wanted to play Lupin,” Columbus told Total Film, as quoted by GamesRadar. “It was very difficult for me to say, ‘It’s all British. There’s nothing I can do.’”

Robin Williams was reportedly desperate to star in Harry Potter. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Columbus, who directed both the first and second Harry Potter films, is American.

Mexican film director Alfonso Cuarón took on the third film, starring Thewlis as Lupin. The 58-year-old played the role until his final appearance in 2011.

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David Thewlis as Remus Lupin and Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in a scene from film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

However, back in 2016, casting director Janet Hirshenson told HuffPost that Williams was also turned down for another iconic role in the franchise – Hagrid.

“Robin 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,” she said at the time. “It couldn’t be.”

That role was played by Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane for all eight movies.

Williams also wanted the role of Hagrid, which was played by Robbie Coltrane.

Williams, who passed away in 2014 at age 63, told the New York Post in 2001 he had lobbied for a role in the smash hit fantasy franchise.

“There were a couple of parts I would have wanted to play, but there was a ban on American actors,” said the star, as quoted by Independent.

“Maybe one day,” Williams added. “Say if [Harry] goes to Yale and becomes president.”

The outlet noted that Williams attended the New York premiere of the first movie, Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone.

This story originally appeared on Fox News and has been reproduced here with permission

Originally published as Why Robin Williams missed out on Harry Potter role