September 17, 2017 | Josh Mendelssohn

Magical Facts About Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows


Released in 2010 AND 2011 respectively, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts One and Two, capped off an enormously successful film franchise, based on the books of the same name.

Here are a few things you might not know about the final films of the Harry Potter story.


Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Facts

42. Prison Break

Advertisement

Jason Isaacs almost didn’t sign on for the film because he was arrested and imprisoned at the end of The Order of the Phoenix and feared his character wouldn’t get much screen time. He begged J.K. Rowling to write him back in, and she told him he’d be out of prison before the end of the first chapter. He signed on immediately.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsGetty Images

Advertisement

41. Down Under

Two minutes into the first film, we can hear Hermione’s parents talking about Australia. This is a reference to the book where Hermione claims to have wiped herself from her parents’ memories and gave them new identities involving a move to Australia, something they’ve always wanted to do.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

40. They Had to Split

The work print of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows clocked in at five hours and the shooting script was over 500 pages long, justifying the decision to chop the movie into two parts. We’re sure it was a purely artistic decision and had nothing to do with double dipping at the box office.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsGetty Images

Advertisement

39. Hurt’s So Good

John Hurt’s return as Ollivander the wand maker after a nine year absence represents the longest gap between appearances in the franchise.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsGetty Images

Advertisement

38. Nerd!

Upon first seeing the set for Hermione’s bedroom, Emma Watson insisted to the set decorators that there should be more books.

Advertisement
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

 

Advertisement

37. Pure Lunacy

As in previous films, Evanna Lynch, who played Luna Lovegood, chose a lot of what she wore and how the house would be decorated. She even invented the dance moves for the wedding scene, which she based on the concept of “wafting wrackspurts away,” as described in the novel. We have to say. She nailed it.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

36. Horsing Around

One of the posters in the café where Harry, Ron and Hermione appear after apparating to London is for Daniel Radcliffe’s play Equus in which audience members were all treated to a view of his... wand.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

35. Another Feather in the Cap

This is the first of the films to have JK Rowling as a producer. Something else to put on her already extensive resume.

Emma Watson factsGetty Images

Advertisement

34. Oh Baby

There was a scene in which Tonks told Mrs. Weasley she was pregnant, but it was cut from the film. However, if you look closely, you’ll notice Tonks was wearing a maternity gown at Bill and Fleur’s wedding.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Factinate

Sign up to our newsletter.

History’s most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Making distraction rewarding since 2017.

Thank you!
Error, please try again.
Advertisement

33. Mc-Gone-A-Gall

The first Deathly Hallows is the only film in the series to not feature Dame Maggie Smith as Professor Minerva McGonagall.

Advertisement
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince FactsHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

32. Pain in the Rear

Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double suffered a seriously injured while filming Deathly Hallows Part 1.  He was slammed into a wall after being pulled backwards by a high-strength wire to simulate the effect of an explosion. He was left paralyzed from the neck down.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers FactsShutterstock

Advertisement

31. Like Snowflakes

Every wand seen in the franchise was created on-site. Basing the designs on the descriptions from the book, each wand was 13-15 inches long and created specifically for each character. No two wands were alike.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

30. Give ‘em Props

The props department created over five hundred wands for the film, which were checked in and checked out for each day of filming. Many of them came back broken suggesting they needed either sturdier wands or a more responsible cast.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsPxHere

Advertisement

29. The Little Drummer Boy Who Lived

Daniel Radcliffe himself was reported to have broken nearly eighty wands because he insisted on using them as drumsticks. Perhaps he’s the one who deserved a drumming.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsPixabay

Advertisement

28. Not Just a Pretty Voice

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Griphook was played by Verne Troyer of Mini-Me fame but voiced by Warwick Davis of Ewok fame. In the Deathly Hallows, Griphook was both played and voiced by Davis.

Advertisement
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

27. Don’t Forget About the Little People

In addition to the two characters Warwick Davis played in the film, he also runs a company that found the stand-ins for Dobby and Kreacher and the actors to play the goblins at Gringotts.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

26. Dancing With the Stars

The scene from the first film where Hermione and Harry dance was written exclusively for the film and does not feature in the novel. It is one of director David Heyman’s favorite moments of the franchise.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

25. Do I Look Fat?

Harry Melling, who played Dudley Dursley, lost so much weight during his one-year hiatus from the films that he had to wear special prosthetics to make him look plump again. Serves him right for trying to get healthy.

Harry Potter and the goblet of fire FactsHarry Potter and the Philosopher

Advertisement

24. Another Dimension

The first film was supposed to be released in 3D, but it was decided that it would be too complicated to do and left it in the traditional 2D.

Human Psychology FactsShutterstock

Advertisement

23. Not Ifan

Rhys Ifans admitted to never having read the books but took the role of Mr. Lovegood so that he could work with an all-star cast.

Advertisement
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsGetty Images

Advertisement

22. A Harry Situation

Filming the scene with the seven Harrys was so complex that Radcliffe had to do 90 takes for a single shot.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

21. Right-Hand Woman

In every shot where Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange appear together, she always moves so that she stands on his right, traditionally the spot reserved for the most loyal and trusted follower.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

20. What a Twist!

Night Shyamalan was reportedly interested in directing the first Deathly Hallows but did not get the job, presumably because the producers feared a last minute twist revealing that Harry was dead the whole time. Spoiler alert: It was the opposite.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsGetty Images

Advertisement

19. A Professorial Battle

The fight between McGonagall and Snape at the end was almost rewritten so that Harry fought Snape. Rowling insisted that the fight remain as it was in the book as she felt it was a key moment for McGonagall’s character.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

18. The Hug That Must Not be Named

According to Tom Felton, Voldemort awkwardly hugging Draco was improvised by Ralph Fiennes and Felton’s confused reaction is genuine.

Advertisement
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

17. Auction Room

The stuff that fills the Room of Requirement was made almost entirely out of props from the films, seventy-two containers in all. These included the knight that Ron rode in The Sorcerer’s Stone and the Cornish Pixies set loose by Gilderoy Lockhart in The Chamber of Secrets.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

16. We Must Go Deeper

When Hermione takes the Polyjuice Potion to disguise herself as Bellatrix, Emma Watson first acted out the scene for Helena Bonham Carter so she would know how Hermione would act in that situation. So the scene is basically Carter acting like Watson acting like Hermione acting as Bellatrix. Whoa.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

15. It Was Our Favorite Line Too

Molly Weasley’s line, “Not my daughter, you bitch!” right before she kills Bellatrix, is Julie Walter’s favorite line throughout her entire tenure as Mrs. Weasley.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

14. What’s In a Name?

In the story, Voldemort creates Horcruxes in an attempt to cheat death. In French, Voldemort’s name means “Flight of Death” or it can also mean “Steal/Cheat of death."

Cher FactsFlickr jack dorsey

Advertisement

13. Scars for Life

By the end of the franchise, the lightning scar had been applied approximately fifty-eight hundred times to Radcliffe, stunt doubles, and stand-ins.

Advertisement
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

12. Harry Potter Meets 24

Most of the events of the second Deathly Hallows film, from the raid on Gringotts to the Battle of Hogwarts, take place over the course of a single day.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsShutterstock

Advertisement

11. Masters of Coin

To film the scene in Gringott’s, the prop department created over two hundred and ten thousand coins.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

10. They Were in Barney

Creating the scenes of destruction throughout the second film required a hundred and forty-five tons of polystyrene rubble.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsWikimedia Commons

Advertisement

9. Needs Better Frames

By the end of the franchise, Radcliffe had gone through a hundred and sixty pairs of prop glasses. Perhaps he should have considered contact lenses.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

8. Flying by the Seat of Their Pants

To make the brooms more comfortable to ride, casts were taken of Rupert Grint and Emma Watson’s buttocks to make custom seats. We’d love to get our hands on those casts. Y’know. For science.

Advertisement
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

7. Swan Song

In the final scene, as the train with the next generation of children leaves King’s Cross Station, the song playing is the same as in the last scene of The Sorcerer’s Stone. The song is titled “Leaving Hogwarts,” and it officially ended the series.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

6. Movie Logic

At the end of the film, Harry breaks the Elder wand and tosses it off a bridge. In the book, however, Harry uses the Elder Wand to fix his own and then returns the wand to Dumbledore’s grave, hoping to die of natural causes, so that the wand will be without a legitimate master and lose all its power. Breaking seemed way more convenient.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsHarry Potter And The Deathly Hallows ,‎Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

5. They Were Avenged

The second Deathly Hallows held the record for highest-grossing opening weekend ever, at $169.2 million dollars. It beat out The Dark Knight but lost the record ten months later to The Avengers. Hey, ten months is better than no months at all.

The Avengers factsGetty Images

Advertisement

4. Harry Potter and the Box Office Successes

The second Deathly Hallows is the eighth highest grossing film of all time.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows FactsShutterstock

Advertisement

3. Losers

The final film was nominated for three Oscars and when it failed to win, it cemented the Harry Potter franchise’s record of never winning a single Academy Award. They’ll just have to console themselves with billions of dollars.

Advertisement
Lauren Bacall factsGetty Images

Advertisement

2. Not a Sheep

Kate Winslet was reportedly offered the role of Helena Ravenclaw but her agent rejected it before she even saw it, believing that Winslet would not want to “follow suit with every actor in Britain by being a part of Harry Potter.” She’s a Divergent girl.

SFFILM's 60th Anniversary Awards Night - Arrivals. Kate Winslet.Getty Images

Advertisement

1. A Brassy Move

On the final day of filming, Rupert Grint gave his co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson each a trumpet. There was no reason. Rupert Grint is just a random human being.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone FactsGetty Images

 

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5

 

 

Advertisement

More from Factinate

Featured Article

My mom never told me how her best friend died. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery.

Dark Family Secrets

Dark Family Secrets Exposed

Nothing stays hidden forever—and these dark family secrets are proof that when the truth comes out, it can range from devastating to utterly chilling.
April 8, 2020 Samantha Henman

Featured Article

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.

Madame de Pompadour Facts

Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.
December 7, 2018 Kyle Climans

More from Factinate

Featured Article

I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life.

These People Got Genius Revenges

When someone really pushes our buttons, we'd like to think that we'd hold our head high and turn the other cheek, but revenge is so, so sweet.
April 22, 2020 Scott Mazza

Featured Article

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history.

Catherine of Aragon Facts

Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Wife

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but very few people know her even darker history.
June 7, 2018 Christine Tran



Dear reader,


Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? We’re always looking for your input! Please reach out to us to let us know what you’re interested in reading. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from “Life” to “Compact Cars and Trucks” to “A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius.” We’ll get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics you’re interested in. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your time!


Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. We want our readers to trust us. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Please let us know if a fact we’ve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect it’s inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your help!


Warmest regards,



The Factinate team




Want to learn something new every day?

Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter.

Thank you!

Error, please try again.