Mark Williams on Harry Potter, Father Brown and favourite on-set moments

Mark Williams says the hardest part of making the Harry Potter films was being away from home and the long hours; the best was the work itself and the conversations with fellow actors. He remembers telling Alan Rickman that the collective noun for actors is an anecdote, and praises Michael Gambon as a master storyteller whose jokes were finely honed.

Richard Griffiths, he adds, was a brilliant and thoroughly unpublishable raconteur, while Maggie Smith enjoyed being Maggie and once teased him about a blazer at a premiere. With Robbie Coltrane he would browse Plant Trader, a magazine for cranes, tractors and earthmoving equipment.

On the huge Ministry of Magic set he once mistook an extra for his accountant and learned many supporting artists were accomplished professionals, including a high court judge. He says the Weasley cast don’t hold formal reunions but remain in touch; he worked with the twins on a documentary and keeps contact with members of the franchise’s darker side such as Nick Moran and Jason Isaacs.

mark williams, harry potter, alan rickman, michael gambon, richard griffiths, maggie smith, robbie coltrane, weasley cast, ministry set, jason isaacs