Harry Potter fans are losing it after Daniel Radcliffe's body double revealed himself and shared some of his favourite memories from set.
Benjamin Schiffer-Harte surprised members of the Harry Potter Fans Club on Facebook when he shared some behind the scenes details and documents from the set.
Defying sceptics who couldn't find his name in the film's credits, Benjamin shared all sorts of evidence of his time in Hogwarts, from old scripts to casting documents to call sheets - so rest assured this guy is the real deal.
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"Hello, I'm Benjamin and something to know about me is I was one of the Daniel Radcliffe/Harry Potter Doubles," he casually wrote before being swarmed with hundreds of questions from giddy Potterheads.
Rather than a stunt double, Benjamin worked as a body double, which involved standing in for Daniel Radcliffe for the less-intense scenes, even though he was quite a bit older than Radcliffe at the time of filming.
Benjamin explained that having body doubles was essential on the Harry Potter set since the film's stars were all under 18 and 'legally only allowed on set limited time.'
Now a teacher, author, and father, Benjamin explained how he ended up on the magical film set.
"I was at College studying Performing Arts whilst the 1st and 2nd book was being filmed," he wrote in the comments.
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"Then at uni studying theatre when books 3 and 4 were filmed.
I then moved to London to pursue the acting dream."
He continued: "Then I was invited to do HP6... Now I can pass on my skills and knowledge to the next generation - with me being a primary school teacher.
"Never give up on your dreams unless you’ve exhausted every single avenue. I’m proud of where I’ve come from and what I’ve achieved."
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How wholesome!
On his first day, Ben explained how he met Daniel right away and had to stand side by side with him in a 'sort of police line up' to see if their height, build, and hair matched up.
While most fans didn't really see a resemblance between Benjamin and Daniel Radcliffe, a lot did point out that he looked quite like James Potter.
After mind-blown fans begged for more behind-the-scenes details, Benjamin shared some of his favourite experiences on set.
"My favourite scene was in the Gryffindor Common room: sat next to Emma Watson and looking at the Marauder’s Map watching the imaginary (later added) footsteps of Draco in which he ‘disappeared’," Benjamin recalled.
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"It was filmed in December and I remember chatting to Emma about her planned Christmas. I was in awe indeed.
"The other one I vividly remember was celebrating Ron’s Quidditch win with everyone chanting 'Weasley, Weasley'.
"The pink pieces of paper had to be cleaned up after each take and then blown out again using a fan. The pieces got everywhere."
Benjamin also spoke about the scene when Ron fell under a love spell.
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"I had to search through Prof Slughorn’s Potion drawers to find a cure. That’s my arms and wrists being used to double as Daniel’s, for parts of scenes in which Daniel wasn’t being filmed face on," Ben shared.
"Also standing in to get a scene ready or for other cast members to deliver their lines towards me (camera filming over my shoulders). Correct Eye line was essential."
What an awesome claim to fame!
Topics: Harry Potter, TV and Film
Ali Condon