Exclusive:
A Harry Potter star has revealed that he almost accidentally killed the late Verne Troyer on set. The star also shared how he landed the movie role by chance, joking that he thought he was being pranked when he got the call from Warner Bros.
A Harry Potter star has revealed that he almost accidentally killed the late Verne Troyer on set. Martin Bayfield, who attended the Children with Cancer Gala last night, joked about the humorous moment on the Harry Potter set. Martin appeared in all of the Harry Potter films playing the half-giant Hagrid, as Robbie Coltrane’s body and stunt double.
Through enhanced heels, layers of a fatsuit, and the help of animatronics, Bayfield stood in as Hagrid for far-away shots and full-body appearances where viewers could only see the character’s back.
In an exclusive interview with The Mirror, Martin revealed: “The vision was very limited so of course, with the young kids, we had to make sure that I didn’t tread on them because I couldn’t see them half of the time. Do you remember there was an actor called Verne Troyer, he was only about two foot and I nearly killed him. I stepped backwards and I heard this little yelp and I pretty much trod on him.”
The stuntman, in bouts of laughter, added: “The costume was so big and I just couldn’t see him, there was no peripheral vision at all.”
Talking about wearing the famous Hagrid suit, Martin said: “The biggest challenge initially was trying to not overheat because it was really hot and we had this cooling system built into it, but actually one of the people I worked with who designed it said look, ‘we’ll use this as a last resort, get hot, stay hot and you’ll be fine.’”
The star also played a young Rubeus Hagrid in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and spent a total of a decade on the Potter set. During the interview: Martin shared how he stumbled into the role of Hagrid’s stunt double by chance, joking that he thought he was being pranked when he got the call from Warner Bros. He said: “I got involved quite by chance in the Harry Potter films.”
When asked to elaborate, Martin revealed: “Well, I was giving a speech at an event in London and someone connected to Warner Brothers was in the audience, and I got a phone call the next day saying, would I like to do a screen test to be the body double for Hagrid. I thought it was a wind-up because it’s all the ingredients for a wind-up. The guy convinced me it was genuine, so I went to Leavesden Studios to do a screen test and got offered the part and took part.”
“I wasn’t looking for the part, I didn’t apply for it, I didn’t have an agent, it was just purely by chance.”
Before pursuing acting, Martin was a professional rugby player, playing lock forward for Northampton Saints, Bedford Blues, and England. He was forced into early retirement in 1998 due to a neck injury.
Martin explained that landing the Hagrid role came at the perfect time, helping him giving him a new perspective after his rugby retirement. “It meant I could get away from rugby for a while, rest, find out what it was I wanted to do, then come back to rugby with a smile back on my face, whereas before I was a bit angry and a bit bitter that I had to retire because of an injury.”
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