However, many of them didn't get the job due to creative differences they had with J.K. Rowling.

For example, Spielberg wanted Haley Joel Osment to play Harry and also wanted to condense some of the books together.

But in the end, Chris Columbus of Home Alone fame was the one chosen to direct because according to him, J.K. Rowling said he understood the books the best and wanted most of all to be faithful to her work.

"You're a wizard, Harry."

The filmmakers auditioned over 1,000 young boys for the role of Harry, but they still didn't have anyone for the part with only a few months before filming.

However, one day the producer David Hayman went to see a theater production and he saw Daniel Radcliffe sitting behind him, was inspired by the way he looked, and knew he had to be the one to play Harry Potter.

Chris Columbus also came across Radcliffe when he saw him in BBC's "David Copperfield" and knew then that he wanted the young actor to play Harry.

It is often said of Harry Potter that he has his mother's eyes,

but in the films, they don't share the same eye color because reportedly Daniel Radcliffe was allergic to his green contacts and, as a result, had to film without them.

Rupert Grint desperately wanted to play Ron because he was Rupert's favorite character.

The young actor submitted a video of himself dressed up as his drama teacher and did a rap about how much he wanted to be Ron to try to get the filmmakers' attention.

Amazingly, it worked!

So after having only done school plays, he got a lead role in a major movie franchise.

"Wicked!"

Emma Watson went through at least seven auditions before getting the role of Hermione Granger, and she admitted to Katie Couric in an interview that she's nothing like Hermione in real life.

For example, her character counter-part is a book worm, and wears nerdy clothes, whereas Emma Watson at the time didn't like to read, and was obsessed with fashion.

"And... you are?"

Emma Watson also had fake buck teeth to make her character more faithful to her book counter-part, but they were left out of the movie because she wasn't able to deliver her lines clearly while wearing them.

"You won't make a fool of yourself. It's in your blood."

One of the main challenges of working with child actors is the limited amount of time they can work each day.

At the time, England's labor laws permitted the three young actors to work for 9.5 hours,

but daily school tutoring sessions, mandatory 20 minute breaks every hour, and an hour lunch break left them with only about 4 hours of filming time each day.

J.K. Rowling already had many actors in mind who she wanted to play the adult roles; however, that didn't stop other actors from trying to change her mind.

For example, Robin Williams reportedly wanted to play the role of Hagrid so badly that he was willing to do the movie for free, but because of the strict "No Americans" casting rule, his wish wasn't granted.

"Well, I feel sheepish."

Along with that, Verne Troyer from Austin Powers fame was cast as Griphook, but his voice was provided by British actor Warwick Davis to keep the authenticity of the characters to be non-American.

"Key, please!"

Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore was one of the actors who actually rejected his role at first because he didn't like choosing parts that would commit himself to multiple films.

But when his granddaughter found out that he turned down the role, she called him up and said if he didn't say "yes," she would never speak to him again, so he changed his mind.

Harry Potter movies are filled with amazing amounts of detail,

and one of these Easter eggs is that the Leaky Cauldron sign is blank until Hagrid and Harry approach in order to ward off muggles unless a wizard is nearby to reveal it.

There's a subtle hint about Snape's connection to Harry's mother Lily when he asks the young wizard a question about asphodel.

"Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

In Victorian Flower language, Asphodel is a type of lily and is symbolic for 'regret' and 'remembrance beyond the grave', and wormwood can symbolize 'bitter sorrow'.

So in a way Snape is really giving Harry a coded message about his "bitter regret for Lily's death that he'll remember beyond the grave."

Pretty cool connection, huh?

The Canterbury Cathedral was first considered to be the location of Hogwarts, but at the time the clergy disapproved of the books' pagan imagery, so the offer was declined.

The Great Hall was designed after the dining hall of the Christ Church College in Oxford, using the same physical dimensions and York stone flooring in its design.

"Let the feast... begin."

They used real food for the banquet in the Great Hall, but after a few hours under the hot lights, the food began to smell pretty bad,

so for future films, the food was made from molds to maintain its tasty appearance without the bad smell and the mess.

According to Chris Columbus, 80% of the owls delivering mail were real.

However, they only used a few trained owls at a time to avoid any mid-air collisions and then compiled all the shots together, and filled in the rest with CG owls.

Fantasy movies require a lot of special effects, and this film was no different with more than 700 visual effect shots.

However, the wizard's chessboard was a real set, and Chris Columbus often went in to check on its progress because he was so excited to film that scene.

Ron's sacrifice in the full-size wizard's chess game is foreshadowed early on in the film when he and Harry are playing in the Great Hall,

and the way Harry loses mirrors the way Ron sacrifices himself to save his friends.

J.K. Rowling was considered to play Lily Potter inside the Mirror of Erised, but she declined the offer to avoid messing up the movie in any way.

The late James Horner was first considered to write the score for Harry Potter, but he turned down the offer because he reportedly was more interested in art films than commercial ones.

So instead, we got stuck with second-string John Williams, who has composed some of the most forgettable themes of all time.

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