Stranger Things actor Jamie Campbell Bower was close to being cast as Harry Potter but ruined the audition with dirty joke

Jamie Campbell Bower, 33, is known for his iconic roles in Stranger Things and Twilight, but the actor was close to being cast as Harry Potter.

Speaking to host Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor revealed he auditioned for the lead role in the Harry Potter franchise.

However, he explained that his opportunity to become the young wizard was scuppered due to a dirty joke he told.

The British actor, who was born in London, made his film debut aged 18 in the Tim Burton-directed film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007).

He recalled the moment he was selected to audition for the Harry Potter film after producers visited his school looking for potential cast members.

Bower described his first meeting with Chris Columbus, who directed the first two instalments of the franchise and said he was asked to prepare a joke before the audition - which turned out to be very rude.

“I went to go and meet Chris Columbus in London for the first Harry Potter, and they’d asked us to prepare a joke,” Jamie said.

“I had just heard this joke about a fairy, like the reason why the fairy sits on top of the Christmas tree, and it’s a really, like, dirty joke because it’s about the Christmas tree up somebody’s bottom.”

He added: “I told this joke in the audition, and there was again, this sort of air of just like silence after I said it. And I was like, Well... f**kd that up.”

Daniel Radcliffe eventually received the role, but it wasn’t all bad news for Bower as he was later cast as young Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part One.

The Stranger Things star recently celebrated after seven and a half years of being “clean and sober”.

Bower has spoken about his journey with addiction and issues with his mental health in the past.

In 2019, when speaking to i-D, Bower revealed that he was “in recovery” after quitting drugs.

In a new post uploaded to social media, he said: “12 and a half years ago, I was in active addiction, hurting myself and those around me who I loved the most. It got so bad that eventually, I ended up in hospital for mental health.

“I am now seven and a half years clean and sober. I have made many mistakes in my life, but each day is a chance to start again. Atone for mistakes and grow.”