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Harry Potter grew from a series of novels to a massive property that’s showing no signs of slowing down. The long legs of the Wizarding World came at least partly due to the eight-film movie franchise. It turns out that Jungle Cruise scene stealer Jack Whitehall auditioned for Harry Potter back in the day… but it did not go well.
Actor Jack Whitehall has been making headlines thanks to his acclaimed performance in The Jungle Cruise, which also features a groundbreaking moment in regards to on screen representation. Whitehall recently revealed that he botched an audition for Harry Potter years back, saying:
I was taken to the audition by my parents. They were like ‘Please don’t mess this up, this could be a huge career opportunity for you as a child actor.’ I learned all my lines, I felt like I gave it my best shot. And in the end they decided that Emma Watson was better for the part. What can I say?
Just like his character in Jungle Cruise, Jack Whitehall continues to be delightful. Even when he’s talking about a potential job that saw him miss out on both money and exposure. Luckily things seem to have worked out fine for the 33 year-old performer.
Jack Whitehall’s comments to Collider is a tale as old as time. Rejection is part of being an actor, and sometimes that extends to beloved properties like Harry Potter. Luckily Whitehall seems to have a good attitude about the Wizarding World, and he was still able to enjoy the movies as an audience member.
Moviegoers can catch Jack Whitehall in Jungle Cruise on Disney+ for an additional price. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.
Later in that same interview, Jack Whitehall went on to explain more about what went wrong during his big Harry Potter audition. While not revealing which character he might have been in the running for, Whitehall explained that he wasn’t a huge fan of the books when going in for the part. And that worked against him, as he put it,
I hadn’t read the book, that was the issue. They started asking me a lot of questions about Harry Potter, and I hadn’t completed the book at that time. That did not play particularly well. I think I started talking about goblins and elves and stuff like that and got slightly confused. It was not a great moment.
Typical muggle behavior. Because while Jack Whitehall was no doubt a talented young actor, it seems that messing up his Wizarding World details might have explained why he didn’t get his letter to Hogwarts. And in the end, that cast was pretty stacked.
Luckily for Jack Whitehall, he got to work with plenty of magical moments throughout the runtime of Jungle Cruise. We’ll just have to wait and see if Disney’s latest gets a sequel, and if the titular attraction ends up including Whitehall’s character MacGregor Houghton.
Jungle Cruise is in theaters and streaming to homes now. Be sure to check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
