1. Adult Learners

One of the most surprising fun facts about the Harry Potter movies is the age of the actress who played Moaning Myrtle. Shirley Henderson, who portrayed Moaning Myrtle in the movies, was 37 when she first appeared in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” That makes her 24 years older than her costar Daniel Radcliffe, and the oldest actress to portray a Hogwarts student.

2. Snape's Spoilers

Unlike most actors, Alan Rickman knew the fate of his character the entire time. Before the last book’s release, J.K. Rowling told him details of his character that had not been released. This was to help him better portray Snape with a full idea of his back-story. Looking back on the previous movies, you can tell the influence these details had on Rickman’s performance.

3. Unconventional Audition

While there have been some pretty hilarious stories of auditions for movies, not many can top Rupert Grint’s audition for Ron Weasley. He dressed up as his female drama teacher and started rapping for the directors. He first line started off, “Hello my name is Rupert Grint, I hope you don’t think I stink.” Talk about creativity. His bold choice of audition material eventually paid off, as he obviously landed the role that changed his life forever.

4. Bad News Beard

Hagrid might be known for his giant stature, but his beard might have been the most interesting part of his costume. During filming, Robbie Coltrane had gotten a mini-fan and a fruit bat stuck in his signature beard. I wonder how the costume crew dealt with that predicament?

5. Sewn Shut

Tom Felton’s character, Draco Malfoy, was known as the bad boy of the movies, but Felton had his own baddy streak behind the scenes. He was known for constantly sneaking food onto the set - so much so that the costume department had to sew his robe pockets shut so that he couldn’t sneak any more food on set.

6. Extra Credit

During the filming of “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” director Alfonso Cuarón had the Daniel, Emma, and Rupert all write essays about their characters. I guess they wanted to really get in touch with their characters because Emma wrote a 16-page essay, Daniel wrote a 1-page essay, and Rupert never turned his in. Talk about staying in character.

7. Weasley Twin Retakes

This might be one of my favorite fun facts about the Harry Potter movies. During an interview, James and Oliver Phelps, who play Fred and George Weasley, have admitted to trading places during a few of the scenes. The switch up wasn’t caught until it hit the editing table, so the actors had to go back and re-shoot a handful of scenes. I guess the Phelps twins are just as big pranksters as their characters.

8. Movie Magic

Rather than use special effects to make Hagrid look like a giant, the producers created two separate sets for many of the scenes Hagrid was in. For example, they had two separate huts; one was a larger size to make Harry, Hermione, and Ron look tiny, and then another, smaller set was used to make Hagrid look larger in comparison to everything else. It is amazing what some set production magic can do to the audience.

9. Sorry Twilight

There has been a long-standing rivalry between “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” fans, but I am here to put that feud to an end. The least successful Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” made $90 million more than the most successful Twilight film. Sorry, Edward and Bella; you are no match for Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Having the movies be such a huge part of my life, these fun facts made me smile. I love that the kids played pranks, the amount of magic that went into production, and the fact that Harry Potter was more successful than Twilight (sorry, Twihards). What did you think of these fun facts about the Harry Potter movies? Do you know any other fun facts about the movies?

Sources: list25.com, businessinsider.com, bellaonline.com,