Daniel Radcliffe apparently used a photo of Cameron Diaz as a visual cue for those flying scenes in Harry Potter

Harry Potter star Tom Felton reveals Radcliffe's trick for looking in the right places during shooting

By Gabrielle Sanchez  |  October 18, 2022 | 6:13pm
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Daniel Radcliffe apparently used a photo of Cameron Diaz as a visual cue for those flying scenes in Harry Potter
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(L-R): Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter riding a broomstick, Cameron Diaz Screenshot: Wizarding World/Youtube

You may have seen a flickering Golden Snitch or a monstrous dragon flying across the screen when watching any of the broomstick scenes in the Harry Potter films, but star Daniel Radcliffe reportedly had his eyes on Cameron Diaz—well, at least a photo of her. In Tom Felton’s new memoir Beyond The Wand: The Magic and Mayhem Of Growing Up A Wizard, the HP star reveals that a young Radcliffe used an image of actor Cameron Diaz as a visual cue while shooting scenes atop a broomstick.

“The approach was that if a piece of magic or any kind of special effect could be achieved practically, that was the best way to do it,” Felton writes (via Insider). “This was especially true in the early days, when the visual effects teams had less-advanced technology at their disposal.”

To ensure that every actor’s eyes fell upon the right place at the right time, the crew stuck a tennis ball on a pole and covered it in orange tape, holding it up for the actors in the necessary place. From there, it was up to the actors to pretend it was a snitch or a dragon or a bludger.

“Sometimes there would be more than one tennis ball up there, and as one looked very much like another, after a while they gave us more individual objects to stare at,” Felton says. “We chose pictures of something or somebody close to our hearts. Daniel Radcliffe had a picture of a particularly beautiful Cameron Diaz.”

Come on, who would not want to gaze upon the visage of the Cameron Diaz in lieu of some boring old tennis ball?

Radcliffe’s always been open about his crush on Diaz, and earlier this year reaffirmed his distant affection on the radio show Capital Breakfast. “Cameron Diaz is still very high on the list, Drew Barrymore is there,” Radcliffe said. Fair enough.

 
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