Image Source: Yahoo, WHEREISTHEBUZZ
HBO Max decided to give the Potterheads a real treat for New Year’s by releasing a one-hour forty-three-minute special reunion episode titled, ‘Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts’, that saw the return of the alums and the beloved co-stars of the movie talking and discussing how much they have grown and what else they remember about their career-defining movie.
Here are the major takeaways from the ‘Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts’:
During the episode, it was discovered that actors had initially signed up for the first two movies, and then the makers had to renegotiate each time. According to David Heyman, Emma Watson had considered taking a step back from the series before they started working on ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Talking about her decision, Emma said to actor Rupert Grint during the episode, "I did find a diary entry, and I can see that at times I was lonely. I think I was scared, I don’t know if you ever felt like it got to a tipping point when you were like, ‘This is kind of forever now." Tom Felton also shared the same, "People definitely forget what she took on, and how gracefully she did it. Emma was not only younger, but she was by herself."
The cast paid tribute to the members of the Harry Potter family who passed away. Image Source: Get India News
The cast, during a section of their reunion, did not forget to pay tribute to the members of their Harry Potter family whom they lost, including Richard Harris, Richard Griffiths, John Hurt, Helen McCrory, and Alan Rickman. They also discussed what these extremely talented actors brought to the movie. Emma Watson recalled that Alan Rickman, who played Professor Severus Snape, never talked to her like she was a child. She said, "He always took my thoughts and opinions very seriously, which I was always very touched by."
Emma Watson and Rupert Grint talked about their romance in the movie that was building up in the entire series, but the duo finally kissed in ‘Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows Part 2', which Emma described as ‘most horrifying thing’, they had to go through. Rupert Grint said, "I think I kind of blacked out. I just remember your face coming closer and closer to mine, " to which Emma added, "Every time you talk about this you make it sound like an absolute horror show." In her one-on-one interviews, Emma clarified her comment, stating, "Kissing Rupert is one of the hardest things I ever had to do. It just felt wrong, so wrong on every level because Dan, Rupert, and I are so much like siblings. All three of us felt so matched in how much it meant to us."
Emma Watson and Rupert Grint shared about their kiss. Image Source: TV Insider
Emma later mentioned to Rupert, "The way it feels for me now, like seeing you here having had time apart—I’m trying not to get emotional—it feels like you’re like,a pillar of my life." The actor also added, "It’s a very overwhelming thing because I’ve watched you grow up. We’ve watched each other grow up. We grew up together. We’re family, we always will be, we don’t need to see each other. Even though we don’t see each other all the time. It’s a strong bond we’ll always have and we’ll always be part of each other’s lives. I love you." Then Emma added, ‘as a friend just to be clear for everyone watching.’
The cast also discussed how it was tough to find an actor who could play Harry Potter and how the casting team just couldn’t find Harry. Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter movies, shared, "The search for Harry Potter was insane. I think the biggest pressure at the beginning was who was going to be Harry Potter." Until the director spotted Daniel Radcliffe in the BBC version of David Copperfield and explained, "Immediately, a lightbulb went off in my head and I said, ‘This is Harry Potter. This is the kid we’ve been looking for for months.’" It was shared that the author of the book, J.K. Rowling, was emotional to see her beloved character coming to life through Daniel Radcliffe, and the moment she saw him, she knew that he was the one. Finding Rupert Grint for Ron Weasley and Emma Watson for Hermione Granger was easier because they are so similar to their characters.
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson. Image Source: Complex The actors and the directors who appeared during the special episode focused on appreciating the books that made it to the screen and how they impacted the audience. They shared their favorite moments from their journey of starting as kids and now as grown-ups and having successful careers. Although a couple of actors were missing from the special episode, including the author, her clips of talking about the book and movie were shown to the audience.
The cast of the movie also went on to praise the director, Chris Columbus, who directed the first two movies of the franchise and appreciated him for being so patient in handling the kids. Tom said, "How did Chris Columbus stay in such good spirits?" to which Daniel agreed and said, "Columbus basically just let us be kids. I never recall feeling like we were working. They probably made their jobs harder for themselves by letting us have as much fun as we had because it distracted us from the work we were supposed to be doing."
