Casting a part like Harry Potter needs to be done right. There’s intense scrutiny when you’re dealing with a legendary character from a book and casting for a movie franchise expected to be a worldwide smash. Finding the child actors to fill the golden trio roles took more than a year, but the casting directors got it right. Apparently, Daniel Radcliffe won the Harry Potter part thanks to a specific set of rules, a little bit of luck, and perhaps a hidden talent.
Daniel Radcliffe | Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic
Emma Watson and Rupert Grint had unique audition processes
Both Emma Watson and Rupert Grint made their professional acting debuts in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. They didn’t have any experience in movies, TV shows, or large stage productions on their resumes.
Each of them won their roles in unique ways.
Finding Hermione was an unusual process. There was no open audition, according to Watson. Casting directors stopped by her school looking for children who looked the part of Hermione. The directors liked what they saw, and they invited her to be part of the grueling audition process that lasted eight rounds before she won the role.
Grint knew competition for the part of Ron would be fierce. To set himself apart from other interested child actors, he recorded a video in which he performed an original rap listing his vitals (name, height, contact information).
Casting The Boy Who Lived was equally arduous. Radcliffe won the part of Harry Potter because of a strict set of rules (and a little bit of luck).
Strict rules helped Radcliffe win his ‘Potter’ part
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HuffPost.
Casting Harry was a different story.
The producers and director Chris Columbus had a specific and strict set of rules, which made finding the perfect Harry as challenging as catching the golden snitch in a thunderstorm:
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