'Harry Potter' TV series cinematographer says filming with child actors was 'brutal'

The 'Harry Potter' reboot's cinematographer revealed why filming with its young cast was especially challenging

The upcoming Harry Potter television series faced unique production challenges due to its young cast, according to cinematographer Adriano Goldman.

Speaking in a recent interview, Goldman described filming with child actors as "brutal" because of strict regulations limiting how long they could remain on set each day. He revealed that the show's young stars, including Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout, were often able to film for only about 90 minutes at a time.

"You have to shoot really fast, and the faster you go, the more you compromise quality," Goldman said, explaining that the crew had to carefully plan scenes and frequently film them out of sequence to maximize the children's limited time on set.

Adding to the challenge, the young actors also had to continue their education during production. To accommodate this, the production built a temporary school near the set, allowing hundreds of child performers and extras to attend classes while filming.

The HBO adaptation, which revisits Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts, is expected to premiere later this year, with Dominic McLaughlin starring as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley.