Iconic Hollywood director Steven Spielberg turned down the opportunity to direct the first Harry Potter movie, and he has no regrets about passing on what would become a massively popular blockbuster that kicked off a juggernaut film series.
Speaking to Variety, Spielberg said didn’t take the job to move to London to direct Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone because he didn’t want to leave Los Angeles, spend months in London, and be away from his children when they were young.
“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 said.