Daniel Radcliffe cemented himself as a teen icon by playing the Boy who lived, Harry Potter, across 8 critically and commercially successful films. Much about the film has been made public, from test footage to chemistry reads. However, one behind-the-scenes detail cost the production a lot of time and effort, thanks to Radcliffe.
Across the 10 years that it took to start and complete the franchise, several props were replaced due to the various shenanigans of the cast, such as books, magical article props and wands. However, it is perhaps the Chosen One himself who takes the cake when it comes to the number of wands that have been replaced.
Daniel Radcliffe went through 80 wands for the course of the 8 films
Daniel Radcliff was no doubt the star of the films when it came to Harry Potter. Far eclipsing his costard Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, the actor launched a very successful career in the film industry, doing films like Horns, Guns Akimbo and Imperium. Throughout the filming of the franchise, Radcliffe went through a whopping 80 wands, being replaced for film continuity whenever one broke or was discoloured. Radcliffe was notoriously fidgety with his wand, tapping it like a drumstick on most surfaces, causing the wand to go through some wear and tear.
The boy wizard was unaware of this, and when informed of what the number was, he was flabbergasted. The actor, upon learning that he had gone through 80 wands in 10 years, said:
“80? I thought you said 8! Wow. I am so sorry Pierre. I don’t know how I have managed to break that many wands. I know I drum with my wands a lot. Or I bang them again on my leg and sort of do some rhythm. I really don’t know. I just feel very bad.”
Radcliffe referred to Pierre Bohana in the above quote, who was responsible for the props at the Harry Potter set, whose responsibility it was to keep the wands in filmable condition, as with all the other props.
Daniel Radcliffe has released a story about his stunt double, titled The Boy Who Lived
David Holmes was an important part of the on-screen and off-screen presence of Daniel Radcliffe. The stunt performer functioned as a stunt double for the boy who lived, who met with an unfortunate accident in 2009 while working on the last 2 films of the franchise. This accident left the stunt double paralyzed from the neck down. Holmes is now a wheelchair user.
Radcliffe has talked about how he would love to do something showcasing to people how amazing Holmes is, producing the documentary with a host of Harry Potter alums, such as Dan Heartly, who was a video operator on the Harry Potter films, and serves as the documentary’s director, producers Vennesa Davies and Amy Stares who served a publicists and assistant director respectively on the Harry Potter films.
Holmes currently hosts his podcast, called Cunning Stunts.
