Harry Potter director reveals Robin Williams wanted to play Lupin

Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter — (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone turns 20 this year. As part of the anniversary celebrations, sister publication Total Film sat down with director Chris Columbus about launching the billion-dollar phenomenon on the big screen – and even confirmed a surprising casting rumor.

To maintain a degree of authenticity, one of the franchise’s early rules was that the series wouldn’t cast any American actors: "That was the goal. No American actors in this film," Columbus, who is American himself, says.

That led to some interesting conversations, including one with legendary comedian Robin Williams – who seemingly had his heart set on playing Remus Lupin. That role eventually went to David Thewlis, but Columbus reveals the story behind the rejection.

"I had a conversation with Robin Williams, who wanted to play Lupin," Columbus explains. "It was very difficult for me to say ‘It’s all British. There’s nothing I can do.’" What could have been…

"I didn’t really think Alan would do it after playing such an iconic villain in Die Hard," says Columbus. "I can’t imagine anyone else playing Snape. And Alan was just the utmost professional."

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Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.