The ‘Harry Potter’ franchise grew to include eight films. Daniel Radcliffe portrayed the titular character in all three films. Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, and Michael Gambon were guests. Some franchise secrets may be unknown to you. Check out what we discovered:

Originally, Steven Spielberg intended for the films to be animated.

“We offered it to him,” Warner Bros. president Alan Horn told the L.A. Times. But one of Dreamworks’ and Steven’s ideas was, “Let’s combine a couple of the books, let’s make it animated,” and this was because of the [visual effects] and because Pixar had shown that animated movies could be highly successful.” “But I didn’t want to combine the movies, and I wanted it to be live-action,” he continued.

Scenes from Privet Drive were filmed on a real street.

4 Privet Drive was filmed on a real street with actual houses. According to Seventeen, filming took place in a neighborhood called Picket Post Close. The film crew, however, had to construct some identical model houses. They couldn’t access the houses for reshoots because they weren’t allowed.

During filming, apple juice was used as butterbeer.

Remember how the cast was shown drinking butterbeer in several scenes? According to Hollywood, they had been drinking apple juice the whole time. Apple juice, after all, appears to be far healthier. Meanwhile, the Universal Orlando Resort is known to serve butterbeer.

The Great Hall’s Food Is Real (In The First Movie)

There was always plenty of food when the children gathered in the great hall. The feasts were, in fact, authentic. According to IMDb, “all of the food seen in the Great Hall feasts is real.” Chris Columbus wanted a lavish welcome feast to match the book’s description, complete with roast beef, ham, turkey, and all the fixings.”

At least 14 cars were damaged in the ‘Chamber Of Secrets’ Whomping Willow Scene.

This is when Harry and his friend Ron collide with the Whomping Willow. Many cars were reportedly wrecked while filming the Whomping Willow Scene. Seventeen reports that up to 14 Ford Anglias were totaled.

The children were asked to make dental casts because they might lose teeth as they grew older.

When ‘Harry Potter’ first came out, Radcliffe, Watson, Grint, and the rest of the cast were all kids. The kids had to have their teeth casts made to ensure that filming was not hampered. And the crew was well aware that as they grew, they might lose their teeth. “Because you’ve got a set full of twenty 10-year-olds, so they’d cast everyone’s mouths,” Radcliffe once said, according to Cinemablend.

Hugh Grant was supposed to play Gilderoy Lockhart.

Hugh Grant, a veteran actor, was once cast as Gilderoy Lockhart, Harry’s second-year professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Unfortunately, Grant was forced to leave the project due to scheduling conflicts. Kenneth Branagh was cast in the role in the end.

Emma Watson Wasn’t Initially Interested In Auditioning.

Watson was the perfect Hermione in the movies, but she wasn’t particularly interested in the part. The casting team allegedly held auditions at Watson’s school, but Watson was said to be uninterested in participating. “Emma’s teacher persuaded her to audition, and she wound up being the last girl that day,” Seventeen reports. After that, I’m surprised she got the part!”

Only because he kept stumbling at the Yule Ball was Daniel Radcliffe shot from the waist up.

During the Yule Ball scenes, Harry was only shot from the waist up. This is presumably due to Radcliffe’s stumbling while dancing. “For the Yule Ball waltz, the kids had around three weeks of dancing practise,” IMDb reports. On the other hand, Daniel Radcliffe appears in almost every scene of the film and thus had only four days to prepare.”

After losing so much weight, Harry Melling almost lost his role.

Between filming ‘Chamber of Secrets’ and ‘Prisoner of Azkaban,’ Melling lost a lot of weight. This was especially problematic for the production because Dudley Dursley is supposed to be muscular. Melling, fortunately, did not lose his job. He did, however, have to dress in a fat suit.

Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes Books Should Never Be Read

Some of the franchise’s most prominent stars decided not to read the books even while preparing for the role. Rickman, Fiennes, and Gambon are among the deceased. Furthermore, Gambon told CBR.com that he’d “get upset about all the scenes it’s missing.” As you may recall, Gambon was cast in the role after Richard Harris died.

Harry Potter’s Mother was offered to J.K. Rowling.

She once revealed on her website that she was considered for the role of Lily Potter in the Mirror of Erised scene. She, however, declined the part. And we have to say; she did an excellent job. Geraldine Somerville was cast as Harry’s mother in the end.

In ‘Deathly Hallows,’ the ‘Seven Harrys’ scene took over 90 takes.

“Filming the seven Harrys’ scene was so complicated, Daniel Radcliffe counted over ninety takes for just a single shot,” according to IMDb. The ‘Harry Potter’ film production team is a perfectionist. Their efforts were rewarded in the end. In the final cut, Radcliffe looked incredible.

The ‘Goblet Of Fire’ Was Almost Split Into Two Movies

“We always thought it would be two movies,” ‘Harry Potter’ screenwriter Steve Kloves told CBR. The third and longest of the ‘Harry Potter’ books is ‘Goblet of Fire.’ The longest book is ‘The Order of the Phoenix.’ Because there isn’t much action, it’s easier to turn into a single film.

Alan Rickman Knew Snape’s Fate All Along

On Twitter, a fan asked Rowling, “Will you tell us the piece of information you told Alan Rickman about Severus Snape?” Or will it always be a mystery?” “I explained to Alan what the meaning of the word ‘always’ is,” the author replied. Rickman passed away on January 14, 2016.