Forget J.K. Rowling, Steven Spielberg Created Your Favorite Harry Potter Characters

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Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Published Jun 15, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT

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Regardless of your thoughts on the Harry Potter series, the one thing that's unanimous is that the casting of the Hogwarts faculty was flawless. It was nothing short of perfection, and even now, when you hear the names of Dumbledore, McGonagall or Hagrid, chances are you see the actors who perfectly imbued those parts. But as it turns out, before Chris Columbus directed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Steven Spielberg was the favored choice of J.K. Rowling — and he was involved in casting three of the most iconic characters.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast while discussing Disclosure Day, Spielberg confirmed that he was briefly involved in developing the first Harry Potter movie and helped propose three major cast members. According to Spielberg, he suggested Maggie Smith for Professor McGonagall, Richard Harris for Albus Dumbledore, and Robbie Coltrane for Rubeus Hagrid before ultimately stepping away from the project.

“I developed the second draft with Steve [Kloves, writer,] trying to turn it into something that I was interested in directing…I had just worked with Maggie Smith on Hook, so I proposed Maggie Smith. I knew Richard Harris — he was a friend from a long time ago — I put him in the movie. And Robbie Coltrane. That was it. But then I got out of the movie for personal reasons. No anger, no big controversy, I stepped out. And then my protege, Chris Columbus, stepped in and made two great Harry Potter films.”

Who Directed 'Harry Potter'?

Spielberg was attached to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, as it was known in the United States, during its early development, before leaving the project for what he described as personal reasons. Columbus later took over and directed both Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, doing some terrific word building and shepherding the young actors perfectly.

Even though Spielberg didn’t end up directing the movie, his casting input clearly stuck. Smith, Harris, and Coltrane became three of the franchise’s defining adult performers. Harris played Dumbledore in the first two films before his death in 2002, after which Michael Gambon took over the role. Smith continued as McGonagall throughout the series, while Coltrane remained the franchise’s Hagrid from beginning to end.

The original cast of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone also included Daniel Radcliffe (Swiss Army Man) as Harry Potter, Emma Watson (Little Women) as Hermione Granger, Rupert Grint (Servant) as Ron Weasley, and Alan Rickman (Die Hard) as Severus Snape.

The wizarding world is now being recast for HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series, which will adapt the books again for a new generation. In that version, John Lithgow (Conclave) will play Dumbledore, Janet McTeer (Ozark) will play McGonagall, and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) will play Hagrid.

Harry Potter will premiere on HBO Max this Christmas.