The stars that out of the Harry Potter franchise which first hit the silver screen for the first time back in 2001 are countless.
And, because the franchise is just so huge, far more than the obvious stars like Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have become household names.
Even smaller characters in the movies have gone on to act in other Blockbusters and hit TV shows, including the actor who played Nymphadora Tonks.
The Hufflepuff half-blood witch who joined the Ministry of Magic after leaving Hogwarts married Remus Lupin and went on to have a son Teddy Remus Lupin, Harry Potter’s godson.
The witch was murdered in the Battle of Hogwarts in the films.
READ MORE:Harry Potter: The incredibly famous Hollywood and Netflix star who was supposed to play Cedric Diggory in Goblet of Fire
The character’s story line might be ringing bells for you, but the actor who played the role has actually become very famous too.
Natalia Tena, 37, went on to play the wildling Osha in the incredibly successful HBO series Game of Thrones, as well as featuring in the Black Mirror festive episode ‘White Christmas’.
In fact, even before Harry Potter, the 37-year-old made her debut in the noughties classic film ‘About a Boy’ that starred Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult and Rachel Weisz.
And acting is not the only string this Londoner has to her bow. She has previously spoken about learning to play the piano at a young age from her mother before busking on the London Underground as a teenager.
Natalia is the lead singer and accordionist of band Molotov Jukebox (Image: Publicity Picture)
Now, Natalia is the lead singer and accordionist of Molotov Jukebox. The band released their first album ‘Carnival Flower’ 2014.
They then went on to release another, Tropical Gypsy, a couple of years later, which was promoted on the band’s Tropical Gypsy Tour the same year.
Get London’s biggest stories straight in your inbox
Do you want to stay up to date with the latest news, views, features and opinion from across the city?
MyLondon’s brilliant newsletter The 12 is absolutely jam packed with all the latest to keep you keep you entertained, informed and uplifted.
You’ll get 12 stories straight to your inbox at around 12pm. It’s the perfect lunchtime read.
And what’s more – it’s FREE!
The MyLondon team tells London stories for Londoners. Our journalists cover all the news you need – from City Hall to your local streets, so you’ll never miss a moment.
Don’t skip a beat and sign up to The 12 newsletter here.
Although, of course, playing Tonks is still a highlight of the Londoner’s career. She actually hosted, produced and directed a behind-the-scenes featurette entitled ‘Trailing Tonks’ that was released in 2007.
In quite a lovely full-circle moment, Natalia performs an original Christmas-themed blues song on guitar in the film, which she composed during the time that she was busking on the Tube.
Do you have a story you think we should be covering? Email tara.cobham@reachplc.com
Want more news? Sign up to My London’s FREE newslettershere.
Speaking to Simon Armitage on his The Poet Laureate Has Gone To His Shed podcast, the writer said she did not want to catch the attention of her Portuguese first husband, Jorge Arantes, who she married in 1992 before splitting a year later.
She said: “I’ve actually never said part of this before, it is true that my publisher felt that this was a book that boys would also like and they were definitely keen to ‘unisex’ me a bit.
“This is the bit I’ve never actually said before: I actually wanted to be published under a completely different name because I’d come out of this very difficult marriage and I was a little bit paranoid.
“It was silly really because my ex-husband knew what I’d been writing, he never read it but we had talked about it so if he ever heard about it I suppose he would know it was me.
“But I didn’t imagine it was going to be a success, I didn’t imagine it was going to be in Portugal, but I was a little bit paranoid at the time.”
Asked by poet Armitage if she feared having her full name on the book might make her “vulnerable”, Rowling said she had a restraining order against her ex-husband when she decided on a pseudonym.
She said: “So JK actually suited me a bit, to not have my name on (the book) somehow, although of course it is my surname, but I don’t really feel like ‘JK’.”
Rowling, 55, has daughter Jessica, 27, with TV reporter Arantes.
She has been married to Scottish doctor Neil Murray since 2001 and they have a son and a daughter together.
Elsewhere on the podcast, Rowling brought along two rare artefacts from her writing career in the form of “minuscule, very old notebooks” from her early work on boy wizard Harry.
She said: “These were my first two Potter notebooks, and to date only three people including me have ever seen them. I’ve never shown people this because there are things in these notebooks I just didn’t want seen.”
Rowling, who has sold more than 500 million Harry Potter books, admitted she almost considered them too private to bring on to the show.
She said: “I nearly chickened out of bringing these Simon, and I’m not going to show you the bit I’m talking about because I flicked through them last night, I got them down from the attic and I realise there’s an appalling poem in one of them.”
And Rowling, who has attracted criticism for her stance on transgender issues, said it is doubtful she will ever write a memoir, blaming her often poor recollection of events.
Listen to The Poet Laureate Has Gone To His Shed at 7.15pm on July 24 on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
In media news today, The Washington Post issues a clarification after saying Clarence Thomas resembles the thinking of ‘White conservatives,’ Ex-New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is declared ineligible to run for governor of Oregon, and liberal journalists lash out at Ilhan Omar.
The New York Times was sharply rebuked by critics this week for running an ad campaign that appeared to celebrate the imaginary exclusion of “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling from being associated with the popular series.
“Lianna is imagining Harry Potter without its creator,” read billboards placed in a Washington, D.C. metro station.
It was the first of several images on a video ad, going on to have the captions, “Lianna is a harmony of flavors,” and, “Independent journalism for an independent life.”
The suggestion that the “creator” of “Harry Potter” would be imagined out of any association with the series appeared to refer to past efforts by left-wing activists to cancel Rowling because of her views on transgender issues.
“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,” Rowling tweeted. “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
She was accused of being transphobic, and eventually returned an award from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization following remarks from the organization’s president describing her as such.
Two Quidditch leagues, United States Quidditch and Major League Quidditch, which were formed to play a game popularized by the “Harry Potter” series, released a statement late last year explaining they were seeking a name change in order to distance themselves from Rowling and her “anti-trans” views.
Critics took to social media to blast The Times, with some calling the ad “nasty,” and others suggesting it was condescending to Rowling.
“Shocking condescension. [W]e are trying to imagine the N Y Times without its marketing dept., without its editors, without its owners, without its Op-Ed columnists without its loyal subscriber base,” wrote one critic.
“This thread is astonishing. Is this real? How can the NYT advertise itself through the rhetorical vehicle of separating JK Rowling from her own artistic creation/ intellectual property?” wrote Thomas Chatterton Williams of The Atlantic, while another critic jokingly suggested “Lianna” go “learn about intellectual property law.”
Rupert Grint, the actor who portrayed Ron Weasley in the “Harry Potter” film series, swung by a popular Main Line restaurant Sunday morning to grab a bite to eat.
Minella’s Diner in Wayne, Delaware County shared on social media that the former Gryffindor wizard was a guest.
MORE: How to stream all the movies nominated for best picture at the 2022 Oscars
“Can you name this Hogwarts graduate?” the diner wrote in an Instagram post that included a photo of Grint standing outside the restaurant.
Minella’s Diner is a popular spot among local residents and students of Villanova University, which is located less than three miles away. Getting a table on a weekend morning for breakfast almost always comes with a wait.
Grint’s appearance was the restaurant’s second celebrity sighting within days. 6ABC anchor Jim Gardner and actor David Boreanaz, who spent most of his childhood growing up on the Main Line, dined there too.
Grint is back in the Philadelphia region filming the fourth and final season of M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological thriller “Servant.” Production began in February, according to Shyamalan, and the show’s cast was spotted filming scenes in Philly last month. A premiere date for the season has not been announced.
The third season debuted on Apple TV+ in January. New episodes premiere on Fridays. The show’s first two seasons are also available on the streaming service.
“Servant” follows a Philly couple, Dorothy and Sean Turner, who are coping with the tragic loss of their 13-week-old infant son Jericho. Dorothy is a local news reporter, while Sean is a stay-at-home consulting chef.
After the death of their baby, the couple hires a nanny from Wisconsin named Leanne Grayson to look after their reborn therapy doll, who is also named Jericho.
But the doll causes a rift in the couple’s marriage, as Dorothy convinces herself that it is an actual living infant. The arrival of Grayson also brings mysterious happenings between the couple and within their Philly home.
Grint plays Dorothy’s younger brother, Julian Pearce. The main cast also consists of Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell and Nell Tiger Free.
Filming for the show’s four seasons has primarily taken place in Philly and Delaware County, as well as along the Jersey Shore.
Exterior shots have been filmed across Rittenhouse Square and Fitler Square. Interior sets were constructed in a former paint factory in Bethel Township.
Since “Servant” began production in 2019, Grint has become quite familiar with the Philly dining scene. The British actor told the New York Times in January 2021 that the popular deli-diner Middle Child is one of his favorite restaurants in the city.
Maybe Grint will also get a chance to see “Harry Potter: The Exhibition” at the Franklin Institute while he’s in the area. The new exhibit includes costumes, characters, settings and beasts seen in the “Harry Potter” films and books.
SAN ANTONIO – We solemnly swear this haute couture dress is just too good.
Leia, an eighth-grade student at Jackson Middle School in NEISD, spent weeks creating a gold, sleeveless dress out of 200 pages of a “Harry Potter” book.
She used wire and hot glue to tie it all together, and she accentuated the flow with golden butterflies on rods.
Leia’s dress received praise when NEISD posted images of the creation on Facebook over the weekend — praise that a veteran artist or designer would normally see.
But Leia’s Advanced Art 1 teacher, Ymelda Salas, told KSAT that the “Harry Potter” dress was actually her first-ever design.
Salas explained that Leia wanted to expand her portfolio for her application to NEISD’s North East School of the Arts, and her goal was to experiment with a variety of media.
With two life-sized mannequins sitting in the corner of her classroom, Salas knew the answer.
“I suggested she design and create something out of recycled materials,” Salas said. “Now, because she loves to attempt to create at any opportunity, she was all for it.”
In the Facebook post, Leia stated she created the dress because she enjoys books and wanted to make something unique.
“I love reading, and I use it as a way to escape reality and live in my own magical world,” Leia said. “So, I think that by creating a project in real life, something that can be seen and touched, I think that, in a way, it was like I was bringing the book to life. It was also like nothing I’d ever done before, so I think that I really didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to create something like this.”
Since the “Harry Potter” dress, Leia has created two other pieces and is currently working on a disco ball painting, Salas said. A portion of her portfolio includes a self-portrait, a drawing of a horse and a 3D piece called “Not so Happy Meal.”
Salas said Leia wants to pursue a career in art “to continue working on her passion.” Whatever her path, Salas said Leia is “phenomenal,” humble and set up for success.
Leia said thanks to Salas, she has been able to flex her creativity.
“Being in this class has allowed me to grow and challenge myself, and I will be forever grateful that I had the chance to take it.”
Artwork from Leia, an eighth-grade student at Jackson Middle School in NEISD. (Courtesy, North East Independent School District)Artwork from Leia, an eighth-grade student at Jackson Middle School in NEISD. (Courtesy, North East Independent School District)Artwork from Leia, an eighth-grade student at Jackson Middle School in NEISD. (Courtesy, North East Independent School District)
Harry Potter: Magic Awakened has generated over $228 million across Google Play and the Apple App Store in the two months since it launched, according to data from Sensor Tower.
The mobile title, published by NetEase, launched in selected Asian territories (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao) on September 9, and is already the second-highest grossing mobile game using the Harry Potter IP.
For comparison, Jam City’s Hogwarts Mystery is the highest-grossing, and has generated $342 million in lifetime revenue globally since its launch in April 2018. Harry Potter: Puzzle Spells, from Zynga takes third place, and has made $135 million globally since its September 2020 release.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has made significantly less — since its launch in June 2019, Niantic’s AR game has generated $39.4 million, with $4.1 million of the total made in 2021. For context, Niantic’s flagship, Pokémon Go, is closing in on $1.1 billion in revenue this year alone.
It’s the biggest launch for a Harry Potter mobile title too. In its first month, Magic Awakened generated $180.7 million. Hogwarts Mystery generated $32.6 million during its launch month, and Wizards Unite made $12.3 million.
The totals do not include revenue from third-party Android stores in China or other regions.
If you ask pretty much any fan of the Harry Potter books and movies what their number one dream is, it would probably be to visit Hogwarts. Number two? Ride a broomstick, preferably in the Quidditch Cup. And though there have been attempts at channeling the magic of those fictional experiences in the real world, not many have come close… Until now, at the Harry Potter Store in New York, which is adding two stunningly immersive Virtual Reality experiences, as of today.
After an extremely long delay due to — what else — COVID, the flagship Wizarding World store officially opened in New York on June 3, 2021. With two packed floors filled with authentic movie props, exclusive goodies, chances to take pictures in Hagrid’s giant shoes or taste some authentic, fizzy Butterbeer, the Harry Potter New York store is a paradise for fans of the franchise, albeit one that demands a hefty tax on your wallet if you want to walk away with all the exclusive merch.
What Harry Potter Store New York wasn’t, up until now, was something that you could really spend more than an hour or two browsing in. Granted, that’s already a pretty nice amount of time for something that is essentially a museum/gift shop, with a small cafe stuck on the side (for the Butterbeer and Butterbeer ice cream, naturally). These two new VR experiences will turn your visit from a casual shopping experience into a full day extravaganza.
And having walked through both of them, I’m here to say: it’s worth the time.
Like I mentioned earlier, there are a number of ways of experiencing Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, even the London streets Harry Potter traipsed around in with his friends and enemies, from the Studio Tour in the UK, to Universal Studios around the world, to pop-ups organized by fans and even unofficial bars (there’s used to a really good one in Toronto, RIP, The Lockhart). The Universal Studios experience in particular is incredibly immersive, with meticulous set design filled with Easter eggs and buildings that make you feel like you’re walking through the sets in the movie.
But being in a theme park with thousands of other guests, waiting a queue line to watch the movie actors entertain you with footage recorded years ago, is not exactly the same as living in the world of the films. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve been to the dual Wizarding World areas in Universal Studios Florida so many times, my blood is basically half pumpkin juice. Still, as magical as it is, there’s something that pulls you out of the fiction, from the Florida weather, to the massive crowds.
The two VR experiences at the Harry Potter Store New York (created by interactive software company Wevr for WarnerMedia) take things to another level. And I dare say that particularly for hardcore fans of the movies, there are parts that might come close to feeling like a religious experience, so visceral is the world you’re plunged into.
The recommended first experience (and I’d tend to agree) is called “Wizards Take Flight.” Located on the basement level of the store right past the fancy jewelry and next to a truly magical stationary shop, you’re whisked past a small area devoted to info about Quidditch, the sport created for the Wizarding World, and into what is outfitted to look like a locker room for a Quidditch team. There’s even a locker filled with used Quidditch gear for some guy named “Harry.”
Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros
There, an actor excitedly informs you that you’re going to get to do some broomstick training, and that you should put relatively innocuous VR sensors on your hands. You also choose your avatar, based on your Hogwarts house (of course), and four different variations of sex and skin color, though they’re all vague enough that they should cover pretty much any gender and heritage. Probably.
After a quick introduction in how to use wands — basically, put your hand behind your back, then throw it forward, and shout a spell — you’re taken into a dark, airy room with six broomsticks arranged in a circle. This part is easily the least magical section of the whole thing, and is surprisingly under-themed for Wizarding World experiences, which tend to be as immersive as possible. Also of note: the whole room and all the rigs are completely sanitized between each group who plays through the experience, which is also not magical, but is necessary when we’re still in the middle of a pandemic.
Okay, back to the walkthrough. After sitting down on the “broomstick,” you place the VR goggles on your head. One quick calibration later, and suddenly you’re seeing the pre-selected avatars of you and your fellow Hogwarts students sitting on brooms. And that’s when you start flying.
Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros
Look, I get that this is all brain tricks, but with a bit of wind from a fan in front of you, the “broom” lifting slightly off the ground, and good sound and excellently rendered CG graphics, your practice session flying over Hogwarts and the surrounding grounds feels like the real thing. You can’t really die or crash — if you run into a building, the rig mildly shakes and then you fly off in another direction, or if you knock into the ground you get right back up again — but by leaning to the right or left, as well as pushing or pulling the broom, it truly feels like you’re flying in the air over the same environs as seen in the movie.
There’s a part of me that wishes this was the whole experience, so thrilling was it to have free rein to soar around the Hogwarts grounds and explore. You’ll occasionally see your fellow flyers (I think, unless those were random CG models), but the whole environment feels so massive that they’re more often specks in the distance.
That’s when Dobby shows up. The apologetic house elf explains that you need to go help Hagrid, so you’re off to London to chase down some Death Eaters. The rest of the experience is a blast — sometimes literally — as you fly over the cityscape at night using your wand to stupefy Voldemort’s minions. Lightning crashes, you’re pelted with extremely light rain, and yes, you can still steer as you fly, though the path Hagrid is taking on his flying motorcycle mostly dictates where you’re headed. To that end, I missed the free play of the beginning a bit once this section started, though zooming over the Thames, and later, around the Quidditch pitch is still a lot of fun.
The reason it’s smart to do “Wizards Take Flight” first, and probably important at this point to mention they’re both separate tickets at $34 each for the 7-10 minute experiences, is that “Chaos at Hogwarts” is so far beyond even the delightful broomstick simulator. The skills you learn in the former, from using your wand, to orienting yourself in the digital world, will come in handy in the shockingly realistic journey through the Wizarding World’s premiere institute of learning.
Head up to the second floor of the Harry Potter Store in the real world, check in, and you’re climbing the stairs one additional level to King’s Cross Station. The outside is filled with more Easter eggs, from a Niffler that steals things off the departures board, to how occasionally the “A”s will turn into Deathly Hallows symbols. Once you’re ready to “board,” though, you’ll be brought into a gear room that is themed around seats at a train station.
Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros.
The gear itself is more intense for “Chaos at Hogwarts,” including the hand and head gear from the prior experience, as well as feet gear and a whole backpack attachment. Again, you enter a decidedly unmagical room, and this time are asked to stand on a number you’ve been assigned. After another tech check, this time a blueprint wireframe of King’s Cross Station, you see your pre-chosen avatars next to you (you choose a new Avatar each time, so if you want to be Slytherin in one and Hufflepuff in the other: live your dream). You walk forward, grip a real handle that seems to be connected to virtual luggage, and run through the wall to reach Platform 9 3/4, home of the Hogwarts Express.
So there you are, standing on the train platform, maybe you turn your head and see the train leave, maybe you see the other avatars (they’re basically like something out of Ready Player One, but with slightly more rendered LEGO person hands), but it’s not clear what you do next. That’s when Dobby asks you to come around the corner.
Reader, I was so confused. Come around the corner? Walk forward? But we’re on a small platform in a room on the third floor of a store off Madison Square park… Right? There’s no “around the corner.” I know this all sounds silly, but the way your brain tricks you into creating a new three dimensional space in the pre-existing, real space you’re actually existing in is immediately mind-warping.
Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros.
Thankfully, they ease you into it, as Dobby explains he needs to get a special suitcase to Hogwarts. Fans will know that it’s Newt Scamander’s suitcase from the Fantastic Beasts movies, and it’s no big spoiler that it’s full of creatures who go wild. But first, Dobby transports you to a boat to Hogwarts, and then to Hogwarts itself.
Here’s where you grab your wands, another disorienting moment as you pick up a real wand in virtual space. In “Chaos at Hogwarts” you can use nearly any spell in the Harry Potter books, at any time. Stupefy, Wingardium Leviosa… You can even use Avada Kedavra, a death curse, which causes your wand to smoke and shake in your hand. Some of those spells play into the story, or are prompts from Dobby, but little moments like when myself and my party were in a dark area of the school and figured out we could use Lumos, the lighting spell, were revelations.
(And as a little note, you can also play around with these various spells in “Wizards Take Flight,” too, though I was mostly focused on stupefying Death Eaters in that experience.)
The true stand-out of the experience though — and there are many — is when you enter the central area of the school, with it’s nearly infinite moving paintings, and constantly shifting staircases. As you stand on one, intellectually you know that the real platform below you is mildly shaking, and you’re not going anywhere. It doesn’t matter. It feels like a staircase is shifting from one side of the room to another. And the sheer scale of it makes it feel like you are in there in Hogwarts at that moment. For real.
I won’t spoil all the surprises in “Chaos at Hogwarts,” but I will say that thanks to the amount of walking you do, carefully crossing over wet stones, riding elevators with ghosts, and battling everything from pixies to a massive extremely realistic dragon, I would pay double the money for a tape of everyone stumbling around the room in the real world. It’s wild the tricks your brain can pull on you, with some clever sound and the right external cues.
It also helps if you’re with a group you know and trust… I ran through “Chaos at Hogwarts” once with a group of strangers, and we were all hesitant and clearly keeping our social distance. The second time I traversed Hogwarts with people I knew, and the interaction made everything so much better, as we talked to each other in real life while our avatars were in the virtual world. It even helped us unlock a different part of the experience… Suffice to say, whether you work together to stop the dragon from running amok, or don’t, things go in very different directions.
That’s one of the joys, too, particularly with “Chaos at Hogwarts.” While many sections are pre-dictated, or will eventually reach their conclusion whether you participate or not, others can be changed and tweaked simply by using the wrong spell at the wrong time. It’s the sort of experience that demands multiple visits, just to figure out all the secrets and Easter eggs in the experience.
(One particularly weird one I was told, but did not try: stick your head in the dragon at the end if you manage to subdue him, as some intrepid designer actually rendered the dragon’s insides.)
Ultimately, it’s understandable that not everyone will want to shell out $68 for two VR experiences, or want to spend an entire day of their New York vacation inside a store. However, like a good theme park ride, even with the short-ish running time, this is fulfilling experience that you’ll want to do again — and again. And for diehards, it’s the chance to live out a life-long dream, and finally go to Hogwarts, or fly on a broomstick. It really is that immersive, and that good — the pictures and video currently online don’t do justice to actually “living” it.
The Broadway actor who played Harry Potter in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” has been fired following a complaint about his conduct lodged by a co-star last year.
The show’s producers made the announcement Sunday night without specifying the allegations made against actor James Snyder.
A female co-star made the claims last November, prompting an independent investigation, the producers said.
Snyder had been suspended after the accusations and the woman took a leave of absence from the show.
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which won a Tony Award for best new play in 2018, portrays Potter and his wizard pals as grown-ups.
Actor James Snyder reportedly was fired from the Broadway cast of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”Getty Images for ReedPOP
“We are committed to fostering a safe and inclusive workplace, which is why we have robust workplace policies and procedures in place for all those involved in ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,’” the statement by producers said.
“We will continue to do all we can to ensure the extremely talented team that brings this production to life feels safe, empowered, and fully supported,” the producers said.
With Post wires
James Snyder as Harry Potter and Zendaya pose backstage at the hit play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One Two” on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre.Bruce Glikas/WireImageJames Snyder speaks with Al Roker.NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
