15 Facts About Harry Potter You Didn’t Know

Undoubtedly one of the most successful film and book series of all time, Harry Potter is the definitive fantasy series. This week we even found out that Harry Potter creator JK Rowling is turning sports writer to pen a series of match reports from the fictional Quidditch World Cup. Harry Potter fans will be able to read regular updates from the tournament, which first featured in her books about the teenage wizard, on the Pottermore website.

With a global following of children and adults alike, we thought it would be great to compile some fun facts surrounding the book and film series. Here are our top 15 facts about Harry Potter you probably didn’t know:

1. Russian prison tattoo designs were used for the character Sirius Black to portray a character that was feared and respected.
2. Michael Jackson wanted to make a musical version of Harry Potter. J.K Rowling thought a musical wasn’t fitting for the brand and thus the idea was never developed.
3. 6 actors played Voldermort over the course of the film series.
4. Ian McKellan was offered the role of Dumbledore but declined. Having played the legendary Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, he thought playing two famous wizards would have been a bit too much.
5. On the day of release, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was sold after school hours to try and reduce truancy rates.
6. The oldest actor to play a Hogwarts student was 37 years old.
7. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, a picture of Gandalf can be seen in Dumbledore’s study.
8. The Knight Bus drivers Ernie and Stanley are named after J.K Rowling’s grandfathers.
9. The character Ron was created before the writing of the series and was one of the few to keep their name from the original draft.
10. Harry Potter is supposed to be green eyed in the book series, however Daniel Radcliffs inability to wear coloured contact lenses meant Harry Potters’ eyes were blue in the film series.
11. J.K Rowling based the character Hermione largely on herself.
12. During the filming of Harry Potter, Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) wore his own clothes underneath the costume and kept cigarettes in his socks throughout.
13. You can Visit the Harry Potter Tour in London and experience how the film was made. Visit the Harry Potter Tour, see the famous sets and enjoy seasonal events based on the books and film series.
14. Quidditch is played in real life. There are currently 272 registered teams in the United States.
15. Due to the number of fans visiting King’s Cross station to take pictures of platform 9 and 10, management placed a sign in the station that says Platform 9 ¾.
16. So there are 15 brilliant Harry Potter facts that you might not have known! Hopefully that has helped give you an even better insight into the wonderful world of Harry Potter.

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Paul

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The founder of The People's Movies, started the site 20th November 2008.The site has excelled past all expectations with many only giving the site months and it's still going strong. A lover of French Thrillers, Post Apocalyptic films, Asian cinema. 2009 started Cinehouse to start his 'cinema education' learning their is life outside mainstream cinema. Outside of film, love to travel with Sorrento, Guangzhou and Manchester all favourite destinations.Musically loves David Bowie, Fishbone, Radiohead.

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