Behind the scenes of the Harry Potter films were not always magical! Join us as we explore the most tension-filled moments during production that pushed the actors to their limits and made filming challenging.
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00:00This is the most complicated scene in the world.
00:02I know pretty much how it's going to be.
00:04None of us quite have any idea what's going on.
00:06Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the
00:09Harry Potter scenes that were hard to shoot for the actors involved,
00:12for a variety of reasons.
00:14Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I feared.
00:1910. Ron and Hermione's First Kiss
00:22Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
00:24Rupert was like, I don't know how we're going to do it,
00:26and I was like, I've got no idea either.
00:29We were both more worried about the fact that we just wouldn't be able to do it.
00:37The long-awaited kiss between Ron and Hermione
00:39was executed differently in the movies than in the books.
00:42Nevertheless, it was a cathartic triumph for Hermione fans,
00:45eager to see their ship finally set sail.
00:48Unfortunately, it wasn't so much for Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
00:51Having grown up together, Watson and Grint have viewed each other
00:54more as siblings than anything else.
00:56If someone is literally like a sibling to you,
00:58you've grown up with them.
01:00Being put in a situation where you have to kiss them is just really awkward.
01:04Watson particularly could not take it seriously,
01:07and they had to do four takes before it finally gelled.
01:09Her kiss with Daniel Radcliffe during the locket scene was even more awkward,
01:13as Watson had to film it topless and with silver paint.
01:17Rest in peace, golden trio.
01:19You are not allowed to be here.
01:21Everyone was there for my kiss.
01:239. Hermione Arrives at the Yule Ball
01:26Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
01:28She looks beautiful.
01:30Yeah, she does.
01:38A dolled-up Hermione descending gracefully down the Great Hall staircase
01:41for the Yule Ball is a lovely moment.
01:43It's a character turn for Hermione,
01:45especially if you have the book's context in mind.
01:48It sounds simple enough to shoot, right?
01:50Not quite.
01:51According to Watson, the experience was nowhere near easy or enjoyable.
01:55I put your hands up in the air
01:58Like an ogre, just don't care
02:01Why can't you dance? I hate low grip
02:04Ma-ma-ma, ma-ma-ma, ma-ma-ma
02:06Director Mike Newell bombarded her with instructions on how to walk down,
02:10saying she was walking too fast and her arms were swinging too much.
02:14Watson even fell down the stairs at one point.
02:16Fortunately, Newell did get his perfect take in the end,
02:19which turned out splendidly.
02:21He actually wanted the camera to pick up
02:25the fact that none of us had a clue what we were doing.
02:278. Aragog's Lair
02:29Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
02:31The casting for this franchise was even more perfect than most know.
02:35Rupert Grint is very much like Ron in many ways.
02:38One trait he shares with his red-headed character
02:40is that they are both afraid of spiders.
02:42Yes, even the rubbery kinds.
02:45But I cannot deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our midst.
02:51Goodbye, friend of Hagrid's.
02:55Don't we panic now!
02:57This made filming the scene where he and Harry meet Hagrid's former pet acromantula,
03:02Aragog, in the Forbidden Forest even more challenging.
03:05It was also exciting to make a darker picture,
03:07slightly more of an action-adventure film this time around,
03:10which is really exciting to me. It appeals to the 10-year-old boy inside of me.
03:16Don't panic!
03:17Unlike a pure remake or a pure sequel,
03:20it's a story that exists on its own terms.
03:23While most of the spiders were created via CGI,
03:25a massive animatronic puppet was constructed for Aragog.
03:29Poor Grint didn't have to work too hard to portray his character's terror,
03:33especially when a spider actually grabs hold of his neck.
03:36Aranea, activate!
03:44Thanks for that.
03:46Feasts in the Great Hall
03:48Harry Potter franchise
03:49Let the feast begin.
03:52One of the most alluring scenes in the franchise
03:54always involves those grand feasts in the Great Hall.
03:57It helps that the Great Hall is a practical set with candles and everything,
04:01beautifully shot in the first film.
04:03In real life, however, it was not so luxurious.
04:06I'll say one, two, three, and action, the food appears.
04:09Set! One, two, three, action!
04:13While the actors were initially encouraged to eat the food
04:15during the production of Philosopher's Stone,
04:17the long time between takes meant that plates were left there for days on end.
04:21It grew so bad that the actors could smell the rot from other locations.
04:26Suffice to say, they switched to artificial and treated food in subsequent films.
04:31Do you ever stop eating?
04:33Oh, I'm hungry.
04:35Number six, Cedric's death.
04:37Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
04:39Go on, take it. If you save me, take it.
04:42Together. One, two, three.
04:45Cedric's death was devastating behind the scenes as well,
04:48though for an entirely different reason.
04:50Actor Robert Pattinson had to endure being jolted around by wires.
04:54These wires would launch him backward to the ground as the Avada Kedavra spell hit him.
04:59One was even tied around his groin area.
05:02It was a terribly uncomfortable experience Pattinson had to undergo numerous times
05:06before Mike Newell was satisfied.
05:09Who are you? What do you want?
05:10Kill the spell!
05:12Avada Kedavra!
05:13No!
05:14Cedric!
05:15The scene was executed well, though, marking the first major death of the series.
05:20Godspeed, Pattinson. Cedric deserved better, and so did you.
05:24I don't know about everybody else who are the new people,
05:26but I was just so desperate to look cool in front of Potter,
05:30especially as I was older than them as well.
05:32I was really desperate.
05:33Number five, Harry's detention with Professor Umbridge.
05:36Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
05:38I want you to write, I must not tell lies.
05:46How many times?
05:48Well, let's say for as long as it takes for the message to sink in.
05:52As if we needed yet another reason to hate this scene,
05:55Umbridge's sadistic torture of Harry in the guise of discipline
05:58includes Harry writing lines in special ink, his blood.
06:02Umbridge is the most universally loathed Harry Potter character for very good reason.
06:07But if it's hard for us to watch, it was even harder for Imelda Staunton to perform.
06:12Imelda Staunton. She's very talented.
06:14And more than that, she keeps everyone laughing in between takes.
06:16She's a very, very funny woman.
06:18It's a great role, and I don't think for a moment she thinks she's doing anything wrong.
06:22Not for a moment.
06:23This talented actress admitted that particular scene left her
06:26feeling pretty bad for a couple of days.
06:28You know you're foul when your own actor can't stomach playing you.
06:32I predict Umbridge is going to stay in people's memories quite a bit,
06:36because she's quite scary and interesting and funny all at the same time.
06:41And I think there are going to be a lot of kids out there
06:43who are going to probably have a few nightmares about Dolores Umbridge.
06:46I certainly do, and I've been working with her.
06:49Enough!
06:50Number four, defense lessons in the Room of Requirement.
06:53Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
06:55It's also known as the Come and Go Room.
06:57The Room of Requirement only appears when a person has real need of it.
07:01And is always equipped for the seeker's needs.
07:04Is there any magical location cooler than the Room of Requirement?
07:07Harry first used the Come and Go Room as a room to teach defensive magic to his peers.
07:12Unfortunately, the set built for this consequential location
07:15was very uncomfortable to be in for the actors involved.
07:18Because wherever you point the camera, you're going to see yourself.
07:21So we had weeks and weeks of meetings about how practical it was to shoot in this environment.
07:26James and Oliver Phelps, who played Fred and George, revealed it grew hot quickly.
07:30And Ginny's actress, Bonnie Wright, described it as claustrophobic with so many people in the scene.
07:36The many fireplaces in the room did not help matters either.
07:39If nothing else, at least Umbridge's Bombarda Maxima aired things out a bit.
07:44I'll make short work of this.
07:48Bombarda Maxima!
07:52Number three, Harry, Ron and Hermione jump off of a dragon into a lake.
07:57Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two.
07:59It's a thrilling scene indeed.
08:02Harry, Ron and Hermione escape Gringotts Bank on the back of a dragon.
08:07I won't!
08:08Reducto!
08:11Hold on!
08:22That was brilliant!
08:23Was it the terrifying height the actors disliked?
08:26Surprisingly, it was the jump into the lake that was problematic.
08:29Not only did they have to plunge into the lake many times, the water was genuinely cold.
08:33In a sequence, the three also had to change clothes right after, which made them colder.
08:38Emma Watson described it as the absolute worst experience she had filming the series.
08:43We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose.
08:46He's right. One problem.
08:49Snape's headmaster now. We can't just walk through the front door.
08:52Um, well, we'll go to Hogsmeade.
08:56Darn it, you. Take the secret passage in the cellar.
08:59Poor Rupert Grint apparently even thought his heart stopped beating at one point.
09:02No acting was involved, clearly, in delivering the characters' teeth-rattling lines.
09:07Maybe it's the Horcruxes. Maybe he's growing weaker. Maybe he's dying.
09:10No. No, it's more like he's wounded.
09:14If anything, he feels more dangerous.
09:16Number two, the seven Harrys.
09:18Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One.
09:20I believe you're familiar with this particular brew.
09:23No. Absolutely not.
09:25I told you you'd take it well.
09:27Now, this scene had to be tricky to execute.
09:30In order to spirit Harry away to safety, the plan was to disguise Order members as Harry,
09:35via polyjuice potion, to confuse Death Eaters.
09:38This scene alone took a whopping 95 takes to complete.
09:42Literally everything about this scene was tricky to pull off.
09:45And it was very specific stuff, so, like, if you moved too far an inch to your left,
09:50it was unusable because then you would, in theory, be standing on a version of me
09:55that we then filmed next, which is going to be put in later, if you sort of follow me.
10:00If you do follow that, then well done, you should join the visual effects department.
10:03They had to film each actor as they physically transformed into Harry,
10:07which required 30 backup cameras.
10:09Radcliffe had to study how the other actors portrayed their characters
10:12in order to convincingly play them turning into his character.
10:15The bra's not coming off.
10:16They're doing that again, ladies and gents.
10:18All right, we'll be turning off.
10:20Dan plays women really well, actually.
10:25I was thrilled. That was one of the things I was delighted about,
10:28was how good I looked in Fleur's costume.
10:30I look fantastic in women's clothing.
10:31And I was like, yeah, man, I look good, I look like a rock star, so I was quite pleased with that.
10:35Not only that, but he couldn't move around a lot,
10:37or else he would be stepping into a shot with another version of himself.
10:41It was executed brilliantly, but it was definitely very challenging to shoot.
10:46It all counts as the same shot for each pass,
10:49when I do Fleur and Malongas and all those characters.
10:52It all counts as one shot, and we did get up to, I think, 95 takes on that one.
10:55It was a long day.
10:56Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.
11:04Screenwriter Steve Kloves wanted Harry to duel Snape.
11:07Thankfully, Rowling convinced him otherwise.
11:11No!
11:24Sirius and the Dementors.
11:26Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
11:28Poor Gary Oldman had to lie on the cold ground for a week.
11:32What they did was they built this lake inside the studio,
11:36they cooled it down, and they froze this lake.
11:41And I had to just lie there for a week.
11:46Day in, day out, doing nothing.
11:48Underwater scene. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
11:51Daniel Radcliffe spent six weeks underwater.
11:54It was hard work, and it was very physical, but it was really rewarding.
11:57I got given by the stunt department, this was my Christmas present from them,
12:00which was the Professional Diver's Daily Record.
12:03It has in it every dive that I ever did while filming,
12:06and the total time that I spent underwater was 41 hours and 38 minutes.
12:11Quidditch matches. Harry Potter franchise.
12:14Those broomsticks were really uncomfortable to ride on.
12:17The Quaffle is released, and the game begins!
12:21The roof during the first task. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
12:25It was a real drop, and Daniel Radcliffe genuinely feared for his life.
12:29Well done, well done, man.
12:32That was really, really terrifying, and I'm not afraid to admit that.
12:35That was really scary. Anyone would be scared, I'm convinced.
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12:541. Bellatrix tortures Hermione. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
12:59Torture scenes are often also torturous for the actors involved.
13:02In Deathly Hallows Part 1, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are captured and taken to Malfoy Manor.
13:07Upon seeing Gryffindor's sword and believing the trio had stolen it from her Gringotts vault,
13:12Bellatrix takes things out on Hermione.
13:14Put the boys in the cellar. I want to have a little conversation with this one.
13:20Girl to girl.
13:22It's a hard scene to watch, but even harder on the actors.
13:25Watson did her research on real-life torture victims,
13:28and delivered a chilling performance that managed to disturb even her fellow actors.
13:33Poor Helena Bonham Carter also felt guilty about accidentally injuring Neville actor,
13:37Matthew Lewis, in Order of the Phoenix.
13:40To think that children stood a chance against us.
13:51I'll make this simple for you, Potter.
13:54While her character was threatening him, she actually perforated his eardrum,
13:58causing internal bleeding.
14:00Lewis not wanting to make Bonham Carter feel bad, never told her.
14:03I've done witches before, and I've done the hag look.
14:06I thought, I've got to be sexier.
14:08Boo!
14:09Get there.
14:10She's a real psycho.
14:11If you could play any character in Harry Potter, who would it be?
14:14Let us know in the comments.
14:16I'm delighted with it because seven of me are once on screen, so it's any actor's dream.
14:20Do you agree with our picks?
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