Super Fan Robin Williams had all the right qualifications to be part of the Harry Potter film series. As an accomplished actor, he excelled in both comedy and drama, earning an Academy Award for his talent. He had a successful career, working with numerous notable authors, and was involved in the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, as a friend of Director Chris Columbus, known for his hit comedy Mrs. Doubtfire.
The comedian once shared, “There were roles I wanted to play,” expressing his interest in portraying Hagrid in the initial film, according to Far Out. Unfortunately, that part went to Robbie Coltrane. After missing that opportunity, he tried for the role of Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which was ultimately played by David Thewlis.
However, Williams faced an uphill battle. Columbus and subsequent directors adhered to strict casting guidelines. “There are no American actors in this film,” the director reiterated when Williams approached him again. “It’s all British. There’s nothing I can do.”
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The author of the book was in agreement. “J.K. Rowling and I agreed from the start, ‘I want this cast to be 100% UK,'” Columbus told Business Insider. “And I stuck to that.”
When Williams was turned down, other American actors realized they had also lost their chance at roles in the franchise. “It was a British-only directive, and once (Columbus) said ‘No,’ he wasn’t going to say ‘yes’ to anyone else,” casting director Janet Hershenson told The Huffington Post. “We couldn’t do that.”
Despite this, there were a couple of exceptions. Verne “Mini Me” Troyer played Griphook in the original film, and Columbus cast his daughter as a Hogwarts student, although she was not allowed to speak. “She worked for about 80 days,” Columbus recalled. “But she never spoke because, you know, if you’re not British, you can’t speak.”
If Williams had achieved his goal of joining the Harry Potter universe, Remus Lupin could have seen a different portrayal. “Robin would have been fantastic,” Columbus speculated. “That would have been a different interpretation—I thought David Thewlis was great, but Robin would have been amazing.”
Williams never completely abandoned the idea of making an appearance in the Potter films. “Maybe someday,” he mused to The New York Post, imagining a sequel that hasn’t been written yet. “Please let me know when Harry goes to Yale and becomes president.”
