Summary
- Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman were fun-loving on the set of Harry Potter, pranking Daniel Radcliffe and even messing up a complicated shot.
- Daniel Radcliffe admired actors like Gambon, Rickman, and others for their ability to switch between being normal and turning on their performances.
- Radcliffe spoke highly of Alan Rickman, describing him as kind, generous, and funny, and praised his loyalty and support in the film industry.
Easily one of the most successful film franchises of all time, the Harry Potter movies introduced the world to many actors including Daniel Radcliffe. On top of featuring new actors, the Potter films also cast some of the most respected and famous British actors of all time.
Since millions of fans adore the Potter movies, many of them want to know what Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman's relationships with their castmates were like. As it turns out, Rickman and Gambon were so fun-loving while filming the Potter movies that they messed up a complicated shot to prank Radcliffe.
Did Daniel Radcliffe Like Working With Michael Gambon?
In October 2022, Daniel Radcliffe sat down to film a video that was released on GQ's YouTube channel. While speaking directly to the camera, Radcliffe spoke about his most iconic roles to date.
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While reflecting on his experience making the Harry Potter movies, Radcliffe spoke about what it was like to work with Michael Gambon. As Radcliffe made clear, he admires actors like Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis, and Gary Oldman.
"I don't think I was thinking particularly deeply about the characters or acting when I was that age. The people I really admired were the people that didn't mystify acting too much, who were just able to come to set and do it. Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis, Gary Oldman, Michael Gambon; they're all people that can be very normal and chatting away, and then can just turn it on and 'action.'"
While Radcliffe looks up to Gambon's ability to delve into character the moment the cameras roll, that could cause problems. While it is obvious that he enjoyed working with the Albus Dumbledore actor, Radcliffe admitted that Gambon used his skills to mess with him at times.
"Michael Gambon could do that to a frustrating degree. He learned that he could, when I was a teenager, he could make me laugh very, very easily. Making me laugh right up until the word 'action,' at which point I was pretty much unable to recover and he could just snap into a performance with inherent gravitas and charm. Yeah. He's awesome."
How Did Alan Rickman And Michael Gambon Prank Daniel Radcliffe?
After Daniel Radcliffe starred in the Harry Potter movies, he was one of the most famous actors in the world. World-famous since he was a child, it is remarkable that Radcliffe never seems to take himself overly seriously. Instead, it only seems like Radcliffe is interested in doing one thing with his career, working on projects that interest him.
In 2014, one of Radcliffe's more unique movies was being released, an indie drama titled Horns. Since Radcliffe has always come across as the kind of movie star that fully embraces fans, it makes sense that he took part in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session to promote Horns.
During Radcliffe's AMA, several interesting questions were answered. A perfect example of that is Radcliffe revealed that if he got the chance to portray any comic book character he wanted to on the big screen, he would portray Marvel's Daredevil.
As fascinating as that is, one question cast a light on Radcliffe's relationship with one of the most respected actors of all time, Alan Rickman.
When Rickman tragically passed away in 2016 when he was only 69 years old, film fans all over the world mourned him. In response to the news of Rickman's passing, Daniel Radcliffe wrote a touching tribute to his multiple-time former co-star.
"Alan Rickman is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with. He is also one of the loyalest and most supportive people I’ve ever met in the film industry. He was so encouraging of me both on set and in the years post-Potter. I’m pretty sure he came and saw everything I ever did on stage both in London and New York. He didn’t have to do that."
Radcliffe continued, "I know other people who’ve been friends with him for much much longer than I have and they all say, “If you call Alan, it doesn’t matter where in the world he is or how busy he is with what he’s doing, he’ll get back to you within a day.”
Radcliffe went on to write about what it was like to spend time with Rickman. According to Radcliffe, Rickman was the opposite of the many scary characters he portrayed during his lengthy career.
"People create perceptions of actors based on the parts they played, so it might surprise some people to learn that contrary to some of the sterner (or downright scary) characters he played, Alan was extremely kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny. And certain things obviously became even funnier when delivered in his unmistakable double-bass."
Based on that description of who Rickman was, it isn't overly surprising that he could be a prankster on set. Still, it is amazing to know that Rickman and Harry Potter's Michael Gambon were so dedicated to one of their pranks that they were willing to mess up filming.
During Radcliffe's AMA, he was asked what the best prank he pulled during the making of the Harry Potter films was. Instead of responding with the mischievous fun he got into on the set of the Potter movies, Radcliffe revealed the time that Gambon and Rickman pranked him.
"God... I should probably about the one that was pulled on ME, rather than any I pulled. Because it came from a very unexpected place."
Radcliffe continued, "There's - in the 3rd film - there's a shot in the great hall of all the kids sleeping in the great hall, and the camera starts very very wide, and comes in so that it's an inch from my face, a very long developing set, yeah, and Alan Rickman decided he would plant one of those fart machines in my, uh, sleeping bag, and they waited until like -the camera had come in for this huge DRAMATIC developing shot, and then unleashed this tremendous noise in the great hall."
"I immediately thought: 'This is one of the other kids f***ing around, and we were going to get in trouble.'" Radcliffe continuned, "But as it turns out, it was one of the members of Britain's acting royalty. I think I laughed a lot, was probably a bit embarrassed, but it was really really funny."
While pranking a child with a fart machine is a silly and fun thing to do, Rickman and Gambon's prank was remarkable. The reason for that is the amount of effort that goes into each take of a shot as complicated as the one they messed up is immense.
