Daniel Radcliffe Was Pitched a Karate-Kicking Cowardly Lion in Oz Remake

Daniel Radcliffe could have played a karate-kicking cowardly lion in a bizarre remake of The Wizard of Oz if he had only got on board with "one of the worst ideas" he has ever heard. The pitch was presented to the trio while they were donning their robes for the Harry Potter franchise, playing the lead characters Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, but it seems they were not in a hurry to depart the halls of Hogwarts and follow the yellow brick road to meet another wizard.

Radcliffe told Sean Evans on a recent episode of Hot Ones that he was instantly aware that it was "a bad idea," even though he was only a young teen in the early stages of his career. Painfully reliving the moment, the actor recalled: "One of the worst ideas I've ever heard, during Potter, somebody came to us and I think asked, like they wanted to cast all three of us, me, Emma and Rupert, in a remake of Wizard of Oz, where Emma was Dorothy.

I can't remember what Rupert was, and I just remember that I was gonna be the lion, but also he knew karate.

daniel radcliffe, emma watson, rupert grint, harry potter, oz remake, cowardly lion, karate kick, hot ones, sean evans, hogwarts