Rik Mayall was supposed to play Peeves in the Harry Potter franchise.

The editing room is a brutal battlefield, and sometimes, many great scenes were cut off from the final version just like what happened to Rik Mayall. Yes, he was originally in the Harry Potter movie, but his scene was cut off. The worst part here was he took his children to the premiere expecting they would watch their father on the big screen.

As children, it would have been the greatest thing in the world – to watch the first ever Harry Potter movie and see your dad portray a beloved role. Apparently, the late comedian could not bear to tell them the truth.

Rik Mayall Was Supposed To Join The Harry Potter Franchise

In an old interview via YouTube, actor Rik Mayall revealed he was part of the 2001 film Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone. He ranted about how the movie was awful because his scenes were removed.

With respect…no, with no respect at all…the film was s—t.

He could not help but blatantly call out the film for getting him on board only for his scenes to be deleted afterwards. “I played the part of Peeves in Harry Potter. I did a little bit of filming, then I went home and I got the money,” he explained.

It was a good thing they still paid him despite omitting his part. “Then, a month later they said, ‘Rik, sorry about this, you’re not in the film, we’ve cut you out of the film.’” This must have been terrible news for him, but even more upsetting for his kids who were very excited for the movie.

I was in the film for three weeks, then they cut me out, but I still got the money. That is the most exciting film I’ve ever been in because I got the oodle and I wasn’t in it.

Mayall said he was given the tickets for the premiere night. He could not tell his kids he wasn’t part of it, but they still went to the theater. “They came back and said, ‘It’s a bloody good makeup. You didn’t look like yourself at all.’ ”

Apparently, they thought he was playing Hagrid, the role portrayed by the late Robbie Coltrane. “That was the best film I’ve been in because I wasn’t in it, and it was crap. It was crap because I wasn’t in it,” he quipped.

Why Did Harry Potter Remove Peeves?

In an interview with Empire Magazine via Wizarding World, producer David Heyman responded to the question about scenes from books that were left out in the movies. He mentioned Mayall’s case in particular.

We always left things out that were painful. We shot [Rik Mayall as Hogwarts’ poltergeist] Peeves in the first film, and I loved his anarchy, but it didn’t fit.

This was the only explanation he gave after the actor worked for three weeks only to disappoint his children. It’s understandable why some scenes needed to be cut off, but for an entire character to be wiped out is massively devastating.
Fans could not blame the actor for speaking his mind about the situation; even the viewers were expecting Peeves to appear in the Harry Potter movies.