Nick Frost recently told the Guardian that he identified himself as Hagrid in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter reboot by watching all eight Harry Potter movies on TV and handwriting the name “Hagrid” thousands of times. It may sound bold, but when the “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead” star landed the role of Hogwarts’ beloved groundskeeper, previously played on screen by the late Robbie Coltrane, the universe clearly listened.
“I’ve seen all the movies. Every Christmas, my family and I watch all the movies,” Frost told the magazine. “It starts on December 20th and ends a week and a half later. Before I was cast as Hagrid, my partner suggested I try to portray it. So last Christmas I wrote the word ‘Hagrid’ 7,000 times while watching all the Harry Potter films in quick succession on Sky’s Harry Potter channel.”
Speaking to Collider early last year, Frost praised Coltrane’s performance of Hagrid and told fans not to expect a carbon copy.
“We’re going to try to do something that’s not ‘different.’ I think you have to be respectful of the subject matter, but there’s room for small details within that,” Frost explained. “I read Hagrid all the time. He’s like a lovely, lost, violent, funny, warm child. I think the great thing about being able to publish one book per season means we can explore that more. I can’t wait.”
Original “Harry Potter” director Chris Columbus made headlines last year when he questioned the HBO reboot in an interview on the podcast “The Rest is Entertainment” after seeing set photos of Frost as Hagrid.
“So I’m looking at these pictures…and[Nick Frost]is wearing the exact same outfit that we designed for Hagrid, and part of me was like, what’s the point?” Columbus said. “I thought the costumes and everything would be different, but it’s more of the same. Everything’s going to be the same. That’s very pleasing to me, because I think that’s exactly the costume that we designed for Hagrid. So I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with it, because in part it’s really exciting. In part, it’s a sense of déjà vu all over again.”
In a separate interview with the Standard, Columbus said that when he met Nick Frost recently, he told him honestly: “I said, ‘This is so surreal to me — you have to understand, Robbie Coltrane and I were very close.'” So it’s just weird and weird. ”
HBO’s “Harry Potter” is scheduled to air in 2027.
