David Yates

Before he was asked to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, David Yates was best know for his work in U.K. television. He'd won praise for directing political thrillers and documentaries such as State of Play and Sex Traffic. Outside of that, he'd only done one feature film…and had no experience with the kind of special effects that would be required for a Potter movie.

Uh-oh.

But producer, David Heyman had faith in him. He said:

Actors in David's television projects give their best performance, often of their career. It's important to keep pushing the actors, particularly the young ones on each Potter film. This is a political film, not with a capital P, but it's about teen rebellion and the abuse of power. David has made films in the U.K. about politics without being heavy handed. (Source)

And hey: Heyman wasn't wrong. While fans were a bit miffed about the short running time, Order of the Phoenix was an unqualified success earning $292 million at the box office. David Yates was asked back to direct each of the next Harry Potter films.

Why go back to British political TV dramas when wizards are in the cards, right?

Yates also directed Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and is slated to direct the next movie in the series.

You might say he's got the magic touch when it comes to Potter movies.