When Chris Columbus took on the Herculean task of directing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, he had more than just magic and mayhem on his plate. While on one hand he was levied with the task of bringing J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world to life, on the other hand, he had to manage a gaggle of young actors.
Therefore, in between his visual imagination of the magical world, as Chris Columbus struggled to keep the child actors under control, he implemented a novel solution of using the Red Card system. But as Tom Felton revealed, the scheme wasn’t enough to keep one actor in check. It’s none other than the giggle master Rupert Grint.
Tom Felton Recalled Chris Columbus’ Red Card System from Harry Potter Sets
Shooting any film with child actors in it is considered a difficult task for directors, let alone helm one of the biggest franchises of all time. This is exactly the issue Chris Columbus struggled with while filming the first two Harry Potter films. According to Tom Felton’s memoir, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard, the actor reflected on the troubles and chaos that Columbus had to withstand to deliver timeless masterpieces.
According to snippets of Tom Felton‘s memoir shared by The Independent, the actor recalled how Chris Columbus came up with the brilliant plan of introducing Red Cards as a disciplinary measure to keep the young actors in check. Based on Felton’s explanation, each card implied a £10 ($12.73) donation into a bag, which at the end of the shoot was accumulated and donated to charity.
Any time one of us disturbed a take, we were given a red card. A red card meant you had to put £10 into a bag and, at the end of the shoot, all the money was donated to charity. It was a good plan to keep us on the straight and narrow, but it didn’t always work.
Although the disciplinary measure was turned into a philanthropic tool, it didn’t always work at keeping the young stars in check. As mentioned by Tom Felton, while this strategy was designed to keep the young actors on their toes, it seems a few of them were a bit too mischievous for their own good. And apparently, Rupert Grint was among those few stars who ended up being unintentional cash cows for charity, due to his infectious giggle.
Rupert Grint’s Uncontrollable Laughter Made Him the Biggest Donor
Rupert Grint, famously known for his role as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter franchise, had an issue with relentless giggling. Often ruining takes and spoiling other actors’ performances with his uncontrollable urge to laugh, Grint evidently suffered the most when it came to Chris Columbus’ Red Card scheme. Reflecting on the actor’s issue, Tom Felton noted how the filmmaker’s disciplinary system drove Grint towards unintentional donations.
Since Chris Columbus’ Red Card system was intended to be a deterrent, Rupert Grint’s uncontrollable giggles turned him into a one-man charity fundraiser. Eventually, the actor who played Harry Potter’s sidekick stopped putting effort into controlling his laughter and while each giggle likely meant extra takes and additional costs, Grint paid a hefty sum for his symphony of mischief, echoing through the set.
I believe he [Rupert Grint] put in over £2,500 [$3,183] during the first two films alone, such was his inability to control himself when the giggles hit.
So it seems that Rupert Grint’s laughter was so uncontrollable that it not only ruined takes but also turned him into the Harry Potter universe’s most charitable troublemaker. Perhaps, in the future, when we see a charity event, we should just invite Grint and let his giggles do the rest.
Harry Potter films are available on Max.
