Robin Williams Wanted To Play Remus Lupin In Harry Potter

Beloved Hollywood icon Robin Williams was such a huge fan of the wizarding world, he wanted to join the Harry Potter film franchise, director Christopher Columbus has revealed.

To celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the film that started the craze, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Christopher decided to reveal everything about Robin’s involvement with the film and why he was turned down.

Sony Pictures)

In an interview with Total Film, the director of the first two Harry Potter films, revealed the late actor had his sights set on playing Hogwarts teacher Remus Lupin.

American director Christopher said the “goal” was to have “no American actors” in the franchise, meaning Chicago native Robin was unable to take part.

"I had a conversation with Robin Williams, who wanted to play Lupin,” the director explained. "It was very difficult for me to say ‘It’s all British. There’s nothing I can do.'"

Warner Bros.)

Potterheads will know that English actor David Thewlis eventually got the role, who is introduced in the third instalment, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004. He continued appearing in the film adaptations up to the 2011 film harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

Fans across the world are celebrating the release Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which made its debut on 4th November 2001 at the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square.

It was released across all UK cinemas on the 10th November and cinemas in the US less than a week later.

Warner Bros.)

And in the two decades that have passed since the world's third biggest film franchise begam, fans are still discovering new things about the books and the film.

Another fun fact is there's actually a staggering difference in names between the US and UK editions of the first Harry Potter book.

In the UK, the book has the same title as the film - however, in the US it's called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Obviously the two words mean very different things. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a philosopher is a 'learned academic' and a sorcerer is a 'wizard'.

You can read more about the differences here.

Topics: TV And Film, Harry Potter

Gregory Robinson

Gregory is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, he has worked for both print and online publications and is particularly interested in TV, (pop) music and lifestyle. He loves Madonna, teen dramas from the '90s and prefers tea over coffee.