It turns out that the world of Harry Potter isn’t without some magical peer pressure. During an interview with Vanity Fair, Bill Nighy broke down his career and shared the reasoning behind his choice to join the Harry Potter family in 2010.
For those who may not know the Harry Potter cast like the back of your hands, Bill Nighy played the Harry Potter character Rufus Scrimgeour in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. And what made him take on the role in the acclaimed Harry Potter movie wasn’t so much that he was a mega fan of the IP. Instead, his reasoning is downright hilarious and oddly relatable for all of us muggles.
While looking back on his career, Nighy shared that he was struck by how many of his English acting peers had been cast in the Wizarding franchise, and basically, it was a case of “Oh well, I’m going to do it too.”
“I did wonder that I was the only English actor of a certain age that wasn’t in Harry Potter,” he explained. “And I was trying to come to some accommodation about that. You know, all of my friends were in Harry Potter. And I’m not hard to find, you know what I mean?”
To be fair, Nighy does have a point. The Harry Potter cast has several English big names such as Mark Williams, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, and who could forget Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort? At one point, Ian McKellen was also approached to play Dumbledore before turning the offer down, so we understand why Nighy was eyeing the franchise.
The star also explained that his casting wasn’t just related to his professional friends’ careers. Joining Harry Potter was for his family as well. “I was quite pleased, and my grandchildren, there are going to be thrilled,” he said.
”I don’t think they’ve seen anything I’ve done. They’re completely unaware of my career. Can you believe that? They have no idea who I am.”
Hopefully, Nighy’s grandkids saw him on the big screen. Still, even if not, at least we can thank the rest of Harry Potter’s big-name stars for pushing Nighy into the beloved franchise. Who knows, maybe we will see him again in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series as well. Fingers crossed.
For more magic, here is our list of the best Harry Potter villains and everyone who has owned the Elder Wand.