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Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: film, harry potter, james mcavoy, Warner Bros
James McAvoy Reveals That He Was Nearly Cast in Harry Potter
James McAvoy shares details about the casting process for Harry Potter and why he opted to decline the role of Tom Riddle.
Article Summary
- James McAvoy reveals he was nearly cast as Tom Riddle in the first Harry Potter movie.
- McAvoy turned down the role after his manager advised against the lengthy retainer contract.
- The actor chose a lower-paying job that offered valuable experience over joining the Potter franchise.
- McAvoy believes the career-enhancing choice was greater than a large role in Harry Potter.
James McAvoy has already been a part of a massively influential franchise through the popular X-Men prequel flicks, but as it turns out, he was nearly attached to one of the most successful book-to-film adaptations of all time via Harry Potter. Now, the X-Men star is offering details about why he opted to pass on a potential place in the timeless franchise.
James McAvoy on Almost Playing Tom Riddle in Harry Potter
During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, McAvoy revealed his surprising Harry Potter connection, telling the host, "I was nearly in Harry Potter. The very first movie, I think it was. Tom Riddle's in the first one, right? I remember it was right at the beginning of my career. I auditioned for it, and I think they wanted to put me on a retainer. I'd hardly done any work and me and I think ten other actors, they wanted to put us on a retainer so that they could hold us and keep us to choose later. And they offered quite a lot of money. For me at that time, it was a ton of money. It was like 40 thousand pounds or something like that. I'd done very little work, and I wouldn't be able to do any work for about seven months, I think."
As the conversation continues, the actor goes on to admit that his manager advised him to decline the role after seeing the terms, which led him to another production where he earned much less — but plenty of career-enhancing experience that he still wouldn't trade for a role in the film series. Sure, a franchise check is nice, but it's safe to say that McAvoy hasn't had trouble nabbing any roles, either.
Do you think McAvoy would have been a good fit for the Harry Potter franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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