Height is not something often thought about when reading a book or watching a movie. But, when you have a book series as popular as Harry Potter, fans want to know how tall their favorite characters are. So, how tall are the Harry Potter characters?
The character of Harry Potter in the book is 5 feet 11 inches (180.3 cm) tall. Other characters’ heights are described throughout the books. However, many of the actors who play the characters in the movies have different heights than their book counterparts.
This article explains how tall the characters from Harry Potter are, both in the books and the movies. I will also explain why the heights of some movie actors are different from the book characters.
Harry Potter Characters’ Heights
All the heights of Harry Potter characters in are based on evidence throughout the books where their physical appearances are described. Their movie heights are the actual heights of the actors who played the characters.
If you want to read the books yourself and find the clues and descriptions that tell us how tall each character is, you should check out the Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-7) from Amazon.com. This Harry Potter book set shows illustrations, which adults and kids alike will love!
Harry Potter
Harry Potter in the latter parts of the book series is a tall and lanky boy, standing at an estimated 5’11 (180.3 cm). But, he has one of the largest height differences in the books and movies.
Daniel Radcliffe is only 5’5 (165.1 cm), around 6 inches (15.2 cm) shorter than Potter was described to be in the book.
Hermione Granger
In the books, Hermoine is described to have an average height, which readers take to mean as 5’5 or 5’6 (165.1 – 167.6 cm). Emma Watson is also around 5’5 (165.1 cm) tall, so there is no difference in height here.
Ron Weasley
Ron is taller than Harry in the books, so he’s most likely around 6 feet (182.9 cm) tall. Other clues throughout the books suggest he is more like 6’1 – 6’2 (185.4 – 188 cm) tall.
Rupert Grint, who plays Ron, is 5’8 (172.7 cm) tall, making for another actor relatively shorter than the character they are playing.
Draco Malfoy
Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin, is described as being slightly taller than Harry in the books, which makes him around 6’1 (185.4 cm). Tom Felton, who plays Draco, is 5’9 (175.3 cm), a few inches shorter than the book’s character.
Neville Longbottom
In the books, Neville is described as being short, which leads many fans to assume he is around 5’7 (170.2 cm) tall.
Matthew Lewis plays Neville in the Harry Potter movies. Although many of the actors are shorter than their characters, Matthew is actually taller than Neville in the book, standing at 5’11.5 (181.6 cm)..
Ginny Weasley
Ginny, Ron’s younger sister, is one of the shortest characters in the book. She is only five feet (152.4 cm) tall. She is much shorter than her brothers but the same height as her mom.
Bonnie Wright is another actress taller than the character they are playing. She is 5’6 (167.6 cm) tall, six inches (15.24 cm) taller than her character in the book.
The height difference is similar to the difference between Daniel Radcliffe and Harry’s height, which is also 6 inches (15.24 cm)–but in reverse, making Ginny taller than Harry in the movie. In the book, Harry is significantly taller than Ginny.
Fred and George Weasley
Fred and George Weasley, Ron’s twin brothers, are the same height as Ron in the books, making them roughly 6’1 (185.4 cm) tall.
Jamie and Oliver Phelps, who play the twins, are close to their characters’ heights in the book since they stand at 6’3 (190.5 cm).
Luna Lovegood
Luna Lovegood does not have many clues or descriptions in the books that help us know her height. But, she is described as being taller than Ginny, who is only five feet tall. So, readers can assume Luna is of average height, which means 5’4 or 5’5 (162.6 or 165.1 cm).
Evanna Lynch, who plays Luna, is 5’2.25 (158.1 cm) tall, which is quite close in height to the character in the books.
Rubeus Hagrid
Rubeus Hagrid is one of the tallest characters in the books and movies. As with the other characters, his height is not stated, but he is described as “twice as tall as the average man and three times as wide.” This description makes most people assume he is eleven to twelve feet (335.3 – 365.8 cm) tall.
Robin Coltrane, who plays Hagrid, is 6’1 (185.4 cm). But, in the movies, they make him look 8’6 ((259.1 cm). They used certain camera angles, digital tricks like green screens, and large props like a hat to make him look taller.
Why Do the Character Heights Vary Between Book and Movie?
As you have noticed, many characters have different heights in the movies and books, but why? There are two main reasons for this.
Character heights vary between the book and the movie because many of the main actors were kids when they first started playing their characters. They had not yet hit puberty and therefore were going to grow more.
The casting team could not know or predict how tall each actor would end up being, so they just had to cast them and see if they would end up being close to their character’s height or not.
So what about the adults? Why do some of them not have the same heights as their characters?
In addition to finding someone who portrayed each character well and looked the part, it would be difficult to add a height requirement to each role.
You can check out the actors and the characters they play in the Harry Potter: The Complete 8-Film Collection from Amazon.com. This set has all eight movies plus bonuses for each film. The total run time is just under 20 hours, and you can get the set for Prime Video, DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K.
Final Thoughts
While there is no list of character heights in the Harry Potter books, there are a lot of clues and descriptions that give readers a good idea of their heights. However, in the movies, many of the actors have different heights than the characters they are playing.
In most cases, the actors are shorter than the book characters, except for a few taller actors, like Matthew Lewis, who plays Neville.
It is challenging to strictly find an actor that perfectly resembles the book character, especially in a long film series where puberty is at play.
