Harry Potter became a household name when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was released back in 2001. Baz Luhrmann, who directed Nicole Kidman’s Moulin Rouge had the golden opportunity of directing the first part of the franchise.

The director turned down the film because he wanted to work on a modern remake of the classic musical back in 2001. Well, Baz Luhrmann quickly regretted the decision when the Harry Potter franchise became bigger than ever over the coming years.

A still from the Harry Potter franchise

Baz Luhrmann Turned Down Harry Potter For Nicole Kidman

Back in 2001, director Christopher Columbus took matters into his own hands when he directed the first part of a franchise that would earn a billion dollars. Columbus started the journey by directing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone back in 2001 and other directors continued the legacy.

Nicole Kidman in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge (2001).

Before Christopher Columbus however, the opportunity was given to Baz Luhrmann. At the same time, Nicole Kidman was working as the lead actress in Moulin Rogue. Since director Baz Luhrmann was already attached to the project, he turned down the offer to direct Harry Potter. He would go on to regret the decision later on. In a 2013 interview on The Graham Norton Show, Baz Luhrmann talked about how he regretted the decision later on and called himself an idiot for his decision.
“The first one came along, and they rang me, and while I love the pictures and the books now, then I thought ‘what’s that?’. And said: ‘Well, that sounds interesting, but I’m thinking of doing a reinvention of the modern musical’, and that was Moulin Rouge! So I’m an obvious idiot because I should have taken Harry Potter.”

Although Moulin Rouge received a great rating of 7.6/10 on IMDB and 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, the Harry Potter franchise did win in the end. That wasn’t all since another notable actor refused to star in the iconic franchise after suffering an insult. The veteran actor, however, would go on to star in another classic franchise as Gandalf the Grey/White in The Lord of the Rings.

Sir Ian McKellen Also Refused To Star In The Harry Potter Franchise

Sir Ian McKellen

While choosing to portray the role of Gandalf the Grey/White in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Sir Ian McKellen refused to portray the role of Professor Albus Dumbledore in the billion-dollar franchise.

Richard Harris, who portrayed the role of Albus Dumbledore in the first two movies, had some disparaging comments about The Da Vinci Code actor and his co-stars Derek Jacobi and Kenneth Branagh by stating that they were “technically brilliant, but passionless”. Ian McKellen replied in kind by calling the statements “nonsense”. Sir Ian McKellen stated that he couldn’t take part in a project where he did not get respect.

“I couldn’t take over the part from an actor who I’d known didn’t approve of me.”

In the end, Ian McKellen went on to star in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy while Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone went on to be directed by Christopher Columbus. The billion-dollar franchise is available to stream on Max.

Source: The Graham Norton Show