Helen McCrory played the role of Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies. There is a longstanding rumor that McCrory was actually originally supposed to play the role of Bellatrix Lestrange, before the role went to Helena Bonham Carter.
In this edition of Harry Potter Facts From the Source, I dive deeper into this using as many first-hand sources as possibe. I was able to find out more about what actually happened.
The original rumor comes from a 2005 article in The Mirror, which was talking about casting for the Order of the Phoenix movie. Here is a quote from that article
A source revealed: “The producers are trying to keep the cast a secret until it’s all sealed. But they are really keen on Helen.
They think she has the gravitas and looks to pull off the part of Bellatrix.”
This was followed up by a 2006 report from Newsround, which reported that McCrory was being replaced in the role by Helena Bonham Carter. Here is a quote from that article:
‘Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange was to be played by Helen McCrory.
But she’s now had to be replaced as she’s expecting a baby and would be heavily pregnant when her scenes in the Ministry of Magic were filmed.’
So we have some reports from different outlets but how true is it? From a 2011 interview with Parade.com, McCrory confirmed that she was originally going to play Bellatrix in the fifth movie and revealed more insight into what happened:
“That’s correct. But then I got pregnant with my first child, and insurance wouldn’t cover pregnant witches!
It was lovely that they invited me back and wanted me to be a part of it somehow.”
There you have it. Helen was going to play the role but she was unable to get insurance after becoming pregnant. Weird to think of her as any other role than Narcissa Malfoy, as she did a great job.
How do you think that Helen would have done in the role? Let me know in the comments.