Steven Spielberg says he has no regrets turning down offer to direct Harry Potter

‘There were several films I chose not to make,’ Oscar-winning director revealed

Steven Spielberg has said he is “very happy” to have “sacrificed” directing the first Harry Potter film to spend time with his family.

The award-winning filmmaker was initially presented with the opportunity to direct Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) – the first film adaptation of JK Rowling’s best-selling book series – but revealed he “chose to turn down” the offer “to be with family”.

“The personal meaning about [how the conflict between] art and family will tear you in half happened to me later, after I had already established myself as a filmmaker, as a working director,” Spielberg told RRR director SS Rajamouli during a recent conversation for Reliance Entertainment.

“Kate [Capshaw] and I started raising a family and we started having children. The choice I had to make was taking a job that would move me to another country for four or five months where I wouldn’t see my family every day... That was a ripping kind of experience.”

Spielberg revealed that “there were several films I chose not to make”, specifying that “I chose to turn down the first Harry Potter to basically spend that next year and a half with my family, my young kids growing up”.

“So I’d sacrificed a great franchise, which today, looking back, I’m very happy to have done, to be with my family,” he added.

Chris Columbus would go on to helm the first two instalments of the Daniel Radcliffe-starring franchise, both of which were filmed in London.

Steven Spielberg and Daniel Radcliffe in ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ (Getty Images / Warner Bros)

Meanwhile, Spielberg stayed in Los Angeles near his family to direct the 2001 futuristic sci-fi AI Artificial Intelligence.

The American director is currently in the Oscar 2023 running for Best Director for his semi-autobiographical movie The Fabelmans, which is nominated in an additional six categories, including Best Picture.

This year’s Oscar Awards will be broadcasted live on ABC on 12 March, beginning at 8pm EST. Find the full list of nominees here.