It’s hard to picture Brett Goldstein playing Hagrid in the upcoming Harry Potter series. However, if casting rumors are to be believed, it’s within the realm of possibility. So, as we ponder what it’d look like to see the Ted Lasso actor play the lovable half-giant, a trio of VFX artists and YouTube creators broke down how the Harry Potter team made Hagrid look so big in the OG movies, and it feels like this could help the actor pull off the role in the upcoming series if he lands it.
Calling it “one of the most important visual effects” in the films, Corridor Crew’s and VFX artist Jordan Allen said Hagrid is supposed to be 8’6”. However, no one is that tall in real life, plus, the late Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid in the films, is 6’1” and Goldstein, who is apparently being considered for the part, is 5’11”.
So, through a big mix of practical effects and CGI, the creative team was able to make Hagrid with great success in the Harry Potter movies, and Niko Pueringer partially explained how through an analysis of a shot of Harry and Hagrid at the train station:
So, here, you’ve got your classic over-the-shoulder cinematography language. So, you go over the shoulder of a big person who is perhaps standing on a platform looking down at Harry Potter. Next shot, you look up at a person from over the shoulder of Harry Potter and you assume that that’s the person you were just looking over the shoulder of. But in reality, that person could be three feet tall, you wouldn’t be able to tell.
Then, after chatting about how they filmed scenes of Hagrid walking with the kids by doing one shot with him and one shot with just the children, Jordan Allen explained a few different ways they could have pulled off this incredible visual effect. He said:
They did pretty much every trick you could think of to make Hagrid taller, right? They have the wide-angle lenses, they have low-angle shots, they have the forced perspective where they pull the background talent and items away from Hagrid in order to make them appear smaller in frame. And when all else fails, they just old school composite, green screen, blue screen footage and just slot them on in there.
While watching a behind-the-scenes featurette of the films, they discussed the fact that a body double was also used during production. Allen called it the “giant Hagrid suit,” and explained that Martin Bayfield, a 6’10” rugby player, wore it and a massive headpiece called a “dead head” that looked like Coltrane. He had the perfect proportions for the role, and between him, fancy camera work and Coltrane’s performance, they could make Hagrid look like a real giant on screen.
This is all entirely possible with Brett Goldstein if he is indeed cast as Hagrid. They could have the Shrinking co-creator do exactly what Coltrane did. Then, through a mix of practical effects, precise camera and shot choices as well as CGI (which is notably much better now than it was in the early 2000s) they could really make this work well.
As we’ve learned from watching Goldstein in Shrinking, he’s so much more than the grumbly Roy Kent, and he totally has what it takes to play the lovable gamekeeper. Plus, while fans are worried about the height situation, since Coltrane was quite a bit bigger than the comedian, this explanation of how they filmed Hagrid in the movies puts that problem to rest. As Pueringer said, he could be “three feet tall, and you wouldn’t be able to tell.” So, when it comes to casting Hagrid, height isn’t necessarily a problem.
Now, the question becomes: Will Brett Goldstein actually get cast as Hagrid? At the moment, no official casting has been announced. However, along with this rumor, it’s been alleged that Mark Rylance is a frontrunner for Dumbledore while Paapa Essiedu is being eyed for Snape. Plus, they are auditioning tens of thousands of kids for the lead roles. So, hopefully, as they get closer to starting production this summer, we’ll learn more about the cast and how they plan to tackle Hagrid as well as his literally and emotionally massive presence.
In the meantime, you can watch the Harry Potter movies with a Max subscription or Peacock subscription, and you can see Brett Goldstein in Ted Lasso and Shrinking with an Apple TV+ subscription and try to picture him as Hagrid.
