Life as Hagrid's body double

On the eve of the release of the new Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which hits the shelves worldwide on July 21, Hong Kong had its own Potter-esque encounter last week.

Former British Irish Lion and England International rugby player Martin Bayfield is often described as one of the giants of British rugby's guest speaking circuit. Standing well over two metres, it's little wonder.

Bayfield was in Hong Kong this week as MC at a Rugby Gala Dinner that raised several hundred thousand dollars for local charity Operation Breakthrough.

But there are more feathers to his cap than playing rugby for his country from 1991 to 1998, public speaking and sports commentating. He is also the body double for Robbie Coltrane who plays Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films.

'I never knew that my rugby career would take me in such a diverse direction. I have worked on all five Harry Potter films so far. Each one has been incredibly interesting. I not only really enjoy the work, I have a great time with the actors and also the crew,' he said.

'Robbie Coltrane and I share a lot of jokes, but the crews are also really fascinating. They are all really diverse and have interesting tales to tell. I am especially in awe of the technical crews. Someone will say something to them like, 'We need a 60-foot fire-eating dragon. And we need it a few weeks.'

'They will just crack on with it and invent something . Sometimes it will be something that hasn't been done before. In the case of the dragon, these guys figured out that it was better to replace the hydraulics that made it move with water, rather than oil.'