Award-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg has revealed he turned down the opportunity to direct the first Harry Potter film – and has zero regrets about it.
In a candid interview on Wednesday (Australian time), Spielberg spoke about his struggle between his career and family life in the early 2000s, after he had already established himself as one of Hollywood’s best directors.
Speaking to director S.S Rajamouli, Spielberg said he turned down quite a few films at the time, including the opportunity to direct the first cinematic adaptation of JK Rowling’s best-selling book series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
“There were several films I chose not to make,” the 76-year-old famed director said.
“I chose to turn down the first Harry Potter to basically spend that next year and a half with my family, my young kids growing up. So I’d sacrificed a great franchise, which today looking back I’m very happy to have done, to be with my family.”
Spielberg said when he was initially presented with the opportunity to direct Harry Potter, he was battling an inner conflict between his art and his time at home with his young family.
“The personal meaning about [how the conflict between] art and family will tear you in half happened to me later, after I had already established myself as a filmmaker, as a working director,” Spielberg said.
“[Wife] Kate [Capshaw] and I started raising a family and we started having children,” Spielberg said.
“The choice I had to make was taking a job that would move me to another country for four or five months where I wouldn’t see my family every day … That was a ripping kind of experience.”
Spielberg and Capshaw married in 1991. They have five children, the youngest of whom was born in 1996. He is also a stepfather to her daughter from an earlier marriage, and has two more children with ex-wife Amy Irving.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone — which launched Warner Bros’ eight-film franchise — was shot in London and directed by Chris Columbus, while Spielberg stayed in the US and close to his family.
The Jaws director shot A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Tom Cruise’s Minority Report during the same period.
Spielberg has seven nominations in this year’s Oscars for the semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans, a coming-of-age drama film he directed and co-wrote and co-produced.
