Anecdotes for
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2008)

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• Director Guillermo del Toro turned down the chance to direct this film so he could work on Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008).
  
  
• Anand Tucker and Michael Hoffman were both rumored as possible directors for this film.
  
  
• J.K. Rowling read through the script for this film, and found a line where Dumbledore mentions a girl he had a crush on when he was younger. After reading it, she informed the filmmakers that Dumbledore is in fact gay, and that his only romantic infatuation was with the wizard Grindelwald, whom he later had to defeat in a wizard duel. She later made this information public while promoting the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
  
  

• Helen McCrory had been cast to play Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), but had to back out because she was pregnant. She will play Bellatrix's sister, Narcissa Malfoy in this film.
  
  
• Jessie Cave beat over 7000 girls to win the role of Lavender Brown, Ron's "love-interest" from the book.
  
  
• Hero Fiennes-Tiffin has been cast as Tom Riddle, Age 11, while his uncle, Ralph Fiennes plays Lord Voldemort (formerly Tom Riddle). His parents are Martha Fiennes (Ralph's sister) and George Tiffin.
  
  
• Quidditch at Hogwarts makes a grand (and much publicized) return, after being completely absent since the fourth installment.
  
  
• Robert Knox, who plays Marcus Belby, was stabbed to death on May 24, 2008, just days after filming wrapped.
  
  

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