Harry Potter: 9 Obscure Movie Secrets That Took Years To Discover
One Slytherin member managed to get past McGonagal but not the law.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Whether it be easter eggs that were simply overlooked, or secrets that were unveiled
00:04via J.K.
00:05Rowling's Twitter account, Harry Potter has plenty of untold secrets across the film series.
00:10From secret perforated eardrums to the troublesome Slytherins, Rowling has had plenty of fun
00:15slowly leaking some of the Potter truths over the years.
00:19Her Twitter account, as well as the Pottermore page, has served as the ultimate fountain
00:23of mythology for fans around the world.
00:26In a made-up world filled with fantastical beasts and freaky moving staircases, there
00:30are bound to be a few unexplained elements.
00:33The secrets that Hogwarts contains are bountiful, but over the years the drawbridge has been
00:38lowered slowly, revealing the truth behind the mystical and magical world of wizarding
00:42and what goes on behind closed set doors.
00:45Let's take a look at some of the sneaky secrets that have managed to slither out of
00:50the Hogwarts set over the years.
00:52Hold on to your broomsticks, because what we're about to tell you might just blow
00:55you away.
00:56And with that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture, here with nine obscure Harry Potter movie
01:02secrets that took years to discover.
01:04Number 9.
01:06Rupert Grint wasn't acting during the Aragog scene
01:10It turns out, wizards aren't the only ones who are scared of spiders.
01:13In an interview that took place after the release of the film, The Chamber of Secrets,
01:18Rupert Grint had a secret of his own that he revealed to the world.
01:22What you may have thought was excellent acting in the Aragog scene was actually a genuine
01:27phobia that the actor was attempting to harness.
01:30His fear goes as far as making him check his shoes every morning to make sure there are
01:34no spiders in there.
01:36Maybe he checks his coffee for slugs, too.
01:38Which is worse, filming a scene with a bunch of spiders, or having to throw up a whole
01:41load of slugs?
01:42Poor Rupert did not have it easy on the set of Harry Potter, and he probably came away
01:47with a few new fears on top of the already existing ones.
01:50As it turns out, Weasley's fear of spiders stems from Rowling's fear of spiders in
01:55real life.
01:56Could there be a spell for curing arachnophobia?
01:59Number 8.
02:00Harry's broken glasses weren't a prop
02:03Daniel Radcliffe was made to play Harry Potter.
02:06He's just as clumsy when it comes to his glasses, and ended up needing over 100 pairs
02:11to get through the filming.
02:12If he wasn't losing them, he was sitting on them, stepping on them, or simply taking
02:17them home for his own little Harry shrine.
02:19At first, he claimed to have stolen a few pairs, but he revealed in an interview that
02:23they were actually given to him as a gift after filming.
02:27The broken glasses in the film were a very real prop, and had over 160 stunt doubles.
02:32That's 160 pairs of broken glasses for 8 films.
02:3620 pairs for every movie.
02:39If only Oculus Reparo worked in real life.
02:41It has also since been revealed that at first Radcliffe was unable to wear the iconic glasses
02:46without breaking out in a mysterious rash.
02:49The frames of the glasses contained ingredients known as nickel that can be found in a lot
02:53of cheaply made jewellery and eyewear.
02:55It took them a while, but they figured it out, and Harry was given a very special pair
02:59of hypoallergenic glasses, and the rash went away.
03:03Number 7.
03:04Wizarding is international
03:05The American sibling of the prestigious school for magic was already hinted at during the
03:10Harry Potter film series, but Rowling has since revealed that there are 11 wizarding
03:14schools worldwide, and that they are all registered with the very important-sounding
03:18International Confederation of Wizards.
03:21The fourth instalment of the series, The Goblet of Fire, revealed two of the 11 schools, naming
03:26them Durmstrang, and the same magnifique French school known as Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.
03:32Since then, it has been revealed that wizarding is a worldwide thing, and is taught all over
03:37the globe in countries such as Japan, Uganda, Brazil, and Northern Europe, and each of the
03:42schools has its own speciality, such as Quidditch or Herbology and Magizoology.
03:47The Pottermore site now has an in-depth section regarding the schools for curious fans to
03:52study.
03:53Would you attend one of the others, or would you stick to the classic Scotland-based school
03:56of Hogwarts?
03:57Apparently, they do look at your proximity to the schools, so you might not have a choice
04:01in the matter.
04:02Number 6.
04:03The books weren't actually floating
04:05It can be tough to find a troll to act in your movie, or a freakishly large spider willing
04:10to retake scenes, so a lot of the visual effects in the film series are done using CGI, but
04:16on the odd occasion, the director will employ a very simple trick to achieve the desired
04:21effect.
04:22The books in the Hogwarts library are known for rearranging themselves, but they aren't
04:26doing it all by themselves.
04:28What actually happened is that there was a huge behind-the-scenes team consisting of
04:31green-gloved individuals.
04:34The green gloves work in the same way as a green screen would, and the post-production
04:37team just had to edit the hands out of the shot.
04:40The result is a fantastic shot in which it appears that Hermione is grabbing a book from
04:45the air as it floats past and replaces it with a different book.
04:48Now, this is some real-life magic that needs more appreciation than it gets.
04:53There are so many moving parts in these movies that there are bound to be a few little tricks
04:57here and there so that they could achieve the perfect moving staircase or talking hat.
05:03Number 5.
05:04Vincent Crabbe was fired
05:05Have you ever wondered where the third member of the Slytherin posse went?
05:09Turns out he was just as much trouble on set as he was in the movie.
05:13Actor Jamie Waylett was fired from the film set after being arrested for growing marijuana
05:17back in 2009.
05:19The character who stepped in to take his place was Blaise Zabini.
05:23Blaise was, however, featured in the books, but not meant to appear in the Room of Requirements
05:27scene, causing fans to question what had happened to the original member of the trio.
05:31Losing the role in the movie obviously wasn't enough to set the actor on a straighter path,
05:36and he was arrested again in 2011 for stealing from a shop during the London riots.
05:42You can take the boy out of Slytherin, but you can't take the Slytherin out of the
05:45boy, it seems.
05:46Number 4.
05:47Warner Bros. couldn't afford Madame Hooch
05:50Another secret that only the keenest of fans would have noticed is the absence of Madame
05:54Hooch from the films.
05:56The Hogwarts flying instructor and Quidditch coach played a significant role in the books,
06:00but didn't feature as much as fans expected in the movies.
06:04We are first introduced to the character played by Zoe Wanamaker in The Philosopher's Stone.
06:08Her role is to teach Potter how to fly and how to win.
06:12She is written into the story throughout the books, but doesn't make an appearance past
06:16the first film instalment.
06:18Zoe puts the lack of her character being in the movies down to the fact that Warner Bros.
06:22didn't want to increase her salary.
06:24In an interview, she said that she had asked for a pay rise for the remainder of the series,
06:28but was turned down.
06:30Clearly, Warner Bros. either weren't a fan of her acting or of her character.
06:34Maybe the lack of Madame Hooch was for the better, who knows?
06:38Number 3.
06:39Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint were just being themselves
06:42When filming for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the director at the time, Alfonso
06:47Cuaron, asked the main trio to write an essay about their characters for homework.
06:52In true Harry, Hermione, and Ron style, the trio tackled the task appropriate to their
06:56characters.
06:57Emma Watson wrote a 16-page essay going into detail about her role.
07:01Daniel Radcliffe kept it short but deep and wrote a meaningful piece that would have received
07:05top marks if they were being graded.
07:07Rupert didn't do anything and turned up to set empty-handed, claiming that his character
07:11would have done the same and therefore he had nailed the homework assignment.
07:16This lesser-known behind-the-scenes secret captures just how perfect the casting was
07:20for the movie, and explains why the actors nailed their characters and the chemistry
07:24on set so well.
07:26The film series went through quite a few directors, but none of the changes ever affected
07:31how the actors interacted on screen.
07:33Daniel, Emma, and Rupert are highly skilled at what they do and were able to maintain
07:37their characters' identity despite the disruptions along the way.
07:41Number 2.
07:42Alan Rickman had a soft spot for Snape Rumour has it that Alan Rickman was informed
07:47of his character's loyalties right from the start.
07:50Apparently, when the actor was cast as Snape, J.K. Rowling told him about his love for Lily
07:55and that no one else knew.
07:57As he was the only one to know this very important piece of information, he would often reject
08:01direction from the directors on set.
08:04But he also couldn't let anyone in on the secret, but it was all made clear when his
08:08broken heart was revealed in the Deathly Hallows.
08:11Many on set thought that he was simply embodying his character's sass when the cameras weren't
08:15rolling, but it turns out he had good reason for being as stubborn as he was about his
08:19character.
08:21David Heyman, the producer of the Harry Potter film series, claimed that there were multiple
08:25times Rickman refused to do as he was told and that it all made sense when the reveal
08:30happened.
08:31Alan Rickman is another good example of excellent casting.
08:34Rickman understood the assignment and kept his major secret until the very end, adding
08:39to the impact on everyone involved and everyone watching.
08:43Number 1.
08:44Helena Bonham Carter didn't know she'd stabbed a co-star
08:47Helena Bonham Carter is known for her method acting techniques and has a long history of
08:52giving herself wholly to the role at hand.
08:55Fortunately for the viewers, but unfortunately for some of her co-stars, her role as Bellatrix
09:00Lestrange was no exception.
09:02While they were filming for the Deathly Hallows, Helena let things get a little bit out of
09:06hand while acting in the scene where Lestrange has Neville at wand point.
09:11Thinking that the wand was soft and cotton bud-like, Helena went to stick the wand in
09:14his ear just as he moved his head towards her.
09:17The small movement unfortunately meant that Matthew Lewis' eardrum was stabbed, perforating
09:22it in the process.
09:23Playing it off as if it were nothing due to politeness and fear for the character, Lewis
09:28only fessed up to the injury weeks later.
09:31Bonham Carter was apparently mortified and very apologetic.
09:34I mean, who can blame Lewis for not fessing up sooner?
09:37Would you complain to Bellatrix Lestrange that she'd poked a little too hard at your
09:41eardrum?
09:42I mean, Lewis really is a sweetheart in real life and he fits his character so well.
09:47That concludes our list.
09:48If you can think of any that we missed, then do let us know in the comments below and while
09:52you're there don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
09:56Also head over to Twitter and follow us there and I can be found across various social medias
10:00just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
10:02I've been Ellie with What Culture, I hope you have a magical day and I'll see you real
10:07soon.