The Funniest and Most Surprising Facts about All the "Harry Potter" Movies

Grab your wands: it's time to go back to Hogwarts! From the funniest incidents to genuine mortal danger; from Emma Watson's hamster to Daniel Radcliffe's chaos of glasses - there's plenty to explore! So get ready for a magical journey behind the scenes: Here are the most thrilling facts about all the "Harry Potter" movies!

1. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (2001) - Hair, Dialects and Blue Eyes

The first "Harry Potter" film was not only a magical experience for the audience, but equally so for the young actors. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson first had to get used to their roles and the huge film production. Task number one: learning to speak properly! The actors had to master the British accent of their characters perfectly for their roles. This meant that dialect lessons were part of their daily routine.

However, Emma Watson sadly suffered a loss during filming: Her beloved hamster Millie died of a heart attack. In order to make it easier for the young actress to say goodbye, the film team planned something very special: they made a small mahogany coffin, lined with velvet and a silver badge with the little rodent's name on it. Emma Watson shared this heartwarming story when she accepted the Bafta Award for British Artist of the Year in 2014 and dedicated the award to her deceased pet.

Moreover, Harry's hair posed unexpected difficulties. According to the book, his hairstyle was always supposed to be wild and almost impossible to comb. Again and again, the crew tried to achieve this exact look - but with only moderate results.

Compared to the book, one of the biggest changes was the color of Harry's eyes. In the original story, Harry's eyes were green, whereas in the movie they were blue. This was by no means intentional: Daniel Radcliffe was in fact supposed to wear contacts. However, this practice was abandoned shortly after - the actor was simply unable to tolerate them.

In other respects, the main character's look was also a lot of work: Harry's lightning bolt scar on his forehead had to be touched up over 2,000 times by the make-up artist. And the iconic pair of round glasses didn't last all that long either - Radcliffe is said to have worn a total of around 160 pairs of glasses during filming.

2. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (2002) - Arachnophobia and Castings

In "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", Ron's fear of spiders plays a central role, especially when he and Harry encounter Aragog and its brood in the Forbidden Forest. Rupert Grint didn't even have to pretend to be afraid of spiders, as he was actually terrified of the creatures. The production frequently relied on practical effects. That's why Grint panicked a few times during filming, as real-looking spider puppets often crawled towards him. Honestly, who can blame him?

Originally, Hugh Grant was supposed to take on the role of the charming and self-absorbed professor Gilderoy Lockhart. Due to scheduling conflicts with the filming of "Two Weeks Notice", however, Grant had to drop out. Jude Law was also considered for the role at one point. In the end, though, the part was given to Kenneth Branagh, who played Lockhart with great wit and charm. Jude Law was to join the franchise many years later: as Albus Dumbledore in the "Fantastic Beasts" films.

3. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (2004) - The Influence of Alfonso Cuarón and a Whoopee Cushion

When Alfonso Cuarón took over the direction of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", he introduced a number of new ideas. One of them was to ask the main actors to write essays from the perspective of their characters. Emma Watson wrote a detailed, multi-page essay, while Rupert Grint immersed himself so deeply in his role that he only got to say one sentence: "I'm Ron, Ron wouldn't do it". Daniel Radcliffe, on the other hand, wrote a short and concise essay. This unusual method helped the young actors to delve deeper into their roles.

During filming, Alan Rickman and Michael Gambon proved that they are always up for a good prank. Do you remember the scene where the students are lying in sleeping bags and Dumbledore is giving a serious monologue? The pair had hidden a fart machine in Daniel Radcliffe's sleeping bag, which Gambon activated during the recording. The loud sound not only embarrassed the Harry Potter actor, but also caused the entire crew to burst out laughing. It was particularly embarrassing for Radcliffe, who had asked to lie next to a girl he secretly had a crush on.

4. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2005) - The Unforgettable Yule Ball

In "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", romantic feelings come into play for the first time when the characters attend the Yule Ball. The dancing scenes presented a great challenge for the young actors, however. Many of them had never taken part in a formal dance before and, as a result, the dance rehearsals were full of embarrassing mishaps. Rupert Grint was particularly awkward and uncomfortable on the dance floor, which suited his role perfectly.

In order to perform the dance convincingly, many of the actors took dancing classes. While most of them had three weeks to practice, Daniel Radcliffe's schedule was too tight, so he only had four days of dancing lessons. However, the limited time was not enough to learn the waltz perfectly. The solution? In Harry's dancing scene, only the upper half of his body is shown for the most part to hide his dancing deficits.

Less funny, however, was an incident that briefly caused panic on set. It concerned the underwater scenes of the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. These were filmed in a large water tank with strict safety guidelines. Unfortunately, Daniel Radcliffe got confused with the hand signals. He accidentally gave the signal for "oxygen is running low", although he only meant to say that everything was OK. Divers immediately hurried to bring him to the surface as quickly as possible. Of course, everyone involved was relieved when the misunderstanding was eventually cleared up.

5. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (2007) - Cute Kittens and Magic Wands in the Ear

In "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", Professor Umbridge, played by Imelda Staunton, is known for her fondness for porcelain plates with cat motifs. To bring the animated cats on the plates to life, the film crew bought hundreds of plates and painted them green. On a special day of filming, over 40 kittens were filmed in various poses so that the moving motifs could later be animated onto the plates using visual effects. The filming had a happy ending: all the baby cats were successfully adopted by new cat parents after the film shooting.

During filming, however, there was also an unfortunate incident between the actors Helena Bonham Carter and Matthew Lewis. In an intense scene in which Bellatrix holds Neville at bay, Bonham Carter wanted to improvise. The aim was to use the wand like a cotton swab to clean Neville's ears. But when the actor moved in the direction of the wand, she accidentally stuck it in his ear and injured his eardrum. This left Lewis temporarily deaf - but luckily the injury was not permanent. To this day, Bonham Carter remembers this incident in interviews with shame.

6. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (2009) - Hagrid's Chickens and a Young Voldemort

Hagrid actor Robbie Coltrane had his own hilarious experiences during the shooting of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". During an emotional scene where Hagrid, Slughorn and Harry toast the death of Aragog, chickens were running around freely, constantly getting in the way. Coltrane lost his composure several times because the animals were either making loud noises or pecking directly at him.

As in the book, the original script contained all of Dumbledore's memories of the young Voldemort. However, as these would have made the movie too long, only the most important situations were included in the final version. Speaking of young Voldemort: in one of the memories, he was played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin - the nephew of Voldemort actor Ralph Fiennes.

7. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" (2010) - Improvised Dance Interludes and a Laughing Fit

One of the most emotional scenes in "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" is the impromptu dance between Harry and Hermione after Ron leaves the group. But this scene was not in the script; it was added by director David Yates to emphasize the close friendship between the two characters. The dance, however, was completely improvised - Radcliffe and Watson simply danced the way they felt at that moment. This spontaneous dancing meant that the scene felt particularly authentic and emotional - a highlight that helped to lighten the depressing mood of the film.

Moreover, Rupert Grint caused unexpected merriment on set: particularly affecting was an intense kissing scene between Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, which was simply too funny for Grint to watch seriously. According to reports, Grint was laughing so uncontrollably behind the camera that he had to leave the set as his constant bursts of laughter were interfering with filming. Daniel Radcliffe later revealed in an interview that the kiss was quite intense and odd, but also amusing for him.

8. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" (2011) - Voldemort's Accidental Hug and a Burning Hogwarts

An unexpected comic moment in the last film occurs when Ralph Fiennes, in his role as Voldemort, embraces Draco Malfoy. However, this hug was not part of the script and took both Malfoy actor Tom Felton and the crew by surprise. The scene seems unnatural and bizarre, which led to many laughs on set. The hug quickly became a viral meme, including Voldemort laughing as he proudly announced that Harry was dead.

The props department had a particularly busy time with the franchise: Over 3,000 individual wands were made for the eight movies from materials such as wood, plastic and rubber. Each wand was uniquely designed to reflect the personality of its wearer. Daniel Radcliffe alone needed more than 70 wands. The reason for this was his habit of unconsciously drumming his wands on his knees during breaks in filming. This led to the props breaking on several occasions.

The climax of the final film is undoubtedly the massive battle for Hogwarts, in which Harry Potter and his allies fight against Voldemort and his henchmen. However, the intensive filming of this epic finale came close to becoming a disaster at one point: Things went wrong during a scene with pyro effects and the set of Hogwarts went up in flames. Over 100 people were present, but luckily no one was injured as everyone managed to get to safety in time. Although the set was ablaze, the fire was extinguished before it could spread to other sets. The damage amounted to around 100,000 pounds. Despite the horror, the crew later treated it with humor and said that the pyrotechnicians had to write "I must not burn down Hogwarts" countless times using Dolores Umbridge's quill as punishment.