Alastair was a spider who lived in the cupboard under the stairs at 4 Privet Drive. He was named by Harry Potter who, neglected by his aunt and uncle, would speak to him frequently and considered him a friend.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- "Alastair. It was a spider in the closet, in the cupboard in the beginning, who he had befriended and talked to. My vision of the first movie was quite different in terms of how you first perceived him. There was a spider in there and all these broken soldiers that he had filched from the rubbish bin of Dudley's [bedroom]. And he had this broken army and he would talk to Alastair. And so when Hagrid arrived in the motorcycle you wondered if maybe Harry was mad, and was imagining being rescued. Then you found out it was real. That was my original vision of the movie."
- — Steve Kloves
- This character was created for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by Steve Kloves, but was ultimately cut.
- It is known that some magical spiders, like Acromantulas, are sentient and can communicate with humans. It is therefore possible that Alastair was genuinely able to converse with Harry, unbeknownst to the Dursleys.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (Cut from final film)