It can be safely said that Robbie Coltrane’s portrayal of the half giant Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series was pretty damn spot on. For anyone who read the Harry Potter book series before seeing the movies knows that Coltrane’s casting was brilliant. But if the late Robin Williams had his way, he would have been playing everyone’s favorite gamekeeper. Casting director Janet Hirshenson told the Huffington Post that Williams campaigned for the role, even going as far as calling Sorcerer’s Stone director Chris Columbus. But the production’s strict Brit only casting rule wouldn’t allow it:
“Robin [Williams] had called [director Chris Columbus] because he really wanted to be in the movie, but it was a British-only edict, and once he said no to Robin, he wasn’t going to say yes to anybody else, that’s for sure,” said Hirshenson. “It couldn’t be.”
There’s no doubt Williams could have pulled it off, but it Coltrane was perfect.
