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This is the surprising reason Robin Williams was rejected for the role of Hagrid in Harry Potter

Published 15:09 2 Jan 2017 GMT

JOE
This is the surprising reason Robin Williams was rejected for the role of Hagrid in Harry Potter

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We doubt there were many films the late, great Robin Williams would not make better...

His joyful, irrepressible style made him one of the most-loved presences on the big screen. So when he came calling, any director would have to have an incredibly good reason to turn him down. But when Williams, who sadly passed away in August 2014, expressed an interest in playing Hagrid in the first Harry Potter film, he was politely declined due to a surprising rule. Casting director Janet Hirshenson has told The Huffington Post that the film had a very strict 'British only' rule for the main roles and that that rule even extended to superstars such as Robin Williams. She said, "Robin [Williams] had called [director Chris 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, that’s for sure." The casting director also adds that Robbie Coltrane, who got the role in the end, was J.K. Rowling's first choice in the end. harry potter train hp hagrid hogwarts express

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This is the surprising reason Robin Williams was rejected for the role of Hagrid in Harry Potter