Why actor Alan Cumming told Harry Potter producers to ‘f**k off’

Actor Alan Cumming reveals he was offered a key role in the Harry Potter movie series - but he had a four-letter response to the offer.

Actor Alan Cumming had a few choice syllables for Harry Potter producers when they offered him a role in the billion-dollar franchise.

The Good Wife star, 56, was in the running to play Hogwarts professor Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002, alongside actors Rupert Everett and Hugh Grant.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Cumming explained why he declined the coveted role.

“I didn’t turn it down,” he told the British publication. “I told them to f**k off!”

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“They wanted me and Rupert Everett to do a screen test, and they said they couldn’t pay me more than a certain sum, they just didn’t have any more money in the budget,” the Scottish performer added. “And I had the same agent as Rupert, who of course, they were going to pay more. Blatantly lying, stupidly lying, as well. Like, if you’re going to lie, be clever about it.”

“I said, tell them to f**k right off,” he continued. “And thought, well Rupert’s going to get the part. They made him screen test, and I remember he brought his own wig. And then they f**king gave it to Kenneth Branagh, came out of the shadows.”

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Cumming says he had a four-letter response to the offer from Harry Potter producers. Picture: AP

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Cumming starred in the Apple TV+ comedy musical series Schmigadoon! as Mayor Menlove and has lent his voice to the controversial new animated sitcom The Prince.

The Harry Potter film franchise completed its run in 2011 after eight films.

It has grossed over $7 billion at the box office since its inception in 2001.

To celebrate the upcoming 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, WarnerMedia is set to create a quiz-style game show and retrospective special on HBO Max in the US later this year.

This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission.