‘Harry Potter’ casting director on how main leads stole hearts instantly

Harry Potter TV series casting Director, Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, opened up about how she saw over 40,000 Auditions of children across UK & Ireland before finding the main leads.

In the 30-minute special, titled Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic, gave viewers a glimpse at the creation of Season 1, Bevan revealed that children across the United Kingdom had the opportunity to submit their auditions online.

Following that, the team headed to Manchester, Scotland, Ireland, and Cardiff for in-person auditions, seeking out the actors for the Golden Trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Recalling the auditions of Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout, she and the team were blown away by their skills.

Stout (Ron Weasley) auditioned in Manchester, with the directors finding him "charming and funny from the word 'go.'"

Stanton (Hermione Granger) met them in London, performing the poem Invictus and later did some humorous scene for the casting directors to show production as proof tha she could be playful too.

For Harry they needed someone who showed expressions of being "sceptical of the adult world."

About the character Bevan further added, "He’s got a vulnerability and a melancholy and a solitary quality to him. It’s basically: find an incredible actor, age 10."

Talking about the importance of the iconic character, Brockmann added that "He means so much to people in different ways."

"You’re looking for a kid who, perhaps on the face of it, looks quite ordinary but is ultimately very extraordinary."

Luckily, they found McLaughlin (Harry Potter) in Glasgow with a poem he’d written himself about a weekend in his life, quickly fascinating the directors with his "quite confidence."

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone TV series is slated to release on Christmas. 

Meanwhile, Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic, in now available to stream on HBO Max.