Actor Verne Troyer appeared in the first Harry Potter film (Picture: Shutterstock)
A stunt double from the Harry Potter franchise has revealed how he almost killed actor Verne Troyer in an on-set accident.
Actor, stuntman, and former rugby union player Martin Bayfield appeared in all seven Harry Potter films as Rubeus Hagrid, standing in for actor Robbie Coltrane.
Martin can be seen – but not really – in far-away shots and full-body appearances where the character’s face isn’t visible, stepping into enhanced heels, a fatsuit, and animatronics to bring the towering half-giant to life.
He also played a younger version of the character for the second film in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Outside of his career in Hogwarts, the former rugby star also appeared as a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef in 2018.
Attending the Children with Cancer Gala last week, Martin spoke of his experiences on the Harry Potter set, detailing the time he ‘accidentally ‘almost killed’ one of its stars.
This came as he accidentally ‘stepped’ on actor Troyer, who played Griphook in the first film in the series, and who had cartilage-hair hypoplasia and was 81cm tall.
Martin Bayfield stood in for Robbie Coltrane’s Hagrid in all seven Harry Potter films (Picture: WireImage)
During an interview with The Mirror, Martin said: ‘The vision was very limited so of course, with the young kids, we had to make sure that I didn’t tread on them because I couldn’t see them half of the time.’
He continued: ‘Do you remember there was an actor called Verne Troyer? He was only about two foot and I nearly killed him. I stepped backwards and I heard this little yelp, and I pretty much trod on him.
‘The costume was so big and I just couldn’t see him; there was no peripheral vision at all.’
Troyer played goblin Griphook in the first Harry Potter film (Picture: Warner Brothers)
Troyer starred as Mini-Me in the Austin Powers trilogy (Picture: Shutterstock)
Troyer, who played Griphook, rose to fame as Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series.
After first appearing in the film sequel The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), Troyer went on to appear in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), the fantasy film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), and the Austin Powers sequel Goldmember.
Although he appeared as goblin Griphook in the first Harry Potter film, the character was actually voiced by Warwick Davis (who also plays Professor Flitwick) – due to the ruling that characters should only have English accents.
He also appeared as himself in several reality television series – including the sixth series of Celebrity Big Brother, in which he came fourth, and on the USA version of Celebrity Wife Swap, alongside girlfriend Brittney Powell.
Troyer was a contestant on the sixth series of Celebrity Big Brother (Picture: Shutterstock)
Sadly, Troyer suffered an incident in his home in 2018. He later died after being admitted to hospital.
His death was ruled a suspected suicide by alcohol intoxication, with his blood alcohol level found to be more than three times the legal limit.
A statement posted to the actor’s Instagram account read: ‘Verne was an extremely caring individual. He wanted to make everyone smile, be happy, and laugh. Anybody in need, he would help to any extent possible. Verne hoped he made a positive change with the platform he had and worked towards spreading that message every day.
‘He inspired people around the world with his drive, determination, and attitude. On film & television sets, commercial shoots, at comic-con & personal appearances, and in his own YouTube videos, he was there to show everyone what he was capable of doing.’
The actor died at the age of 49 (Picture: Shutterstock)
Speaking on the Jimmy Kimmel Show in 2018, Troyer’s Austin Powers co-star Mike Myers described his friend as ‘A fantastic human being.’
He said: ‘I worked with him for a long time. I always just want to make that point that, as written, Mini-Me is almost a prop. But he brought it up off the page, made it better than written and we ended up giving him more and more stuff to do.’
Before adding: ‘He died at 49; he wasn’t supposed to live past his teens.’
Got a story?
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.