The young stars of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson - met with reporters at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills just moments before they were to have their hands, feet and wands immortalized in cement in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. They were all in good spirits and eager to speak in regards to all matters Harry Potter and beyond.
It's no secret that actor Daniel Radcliffe has spent his time away from the Potter films appearing nude on stage in the London production of Peter Shaffer's Equus. When asked how appearing nude on stage compares to having his first on-screen kiss and which came first, Radcliffe responds, "I did the kiss first and I think the reason it wasn't a problem or a sort of worry in the slightest was in the back of my mind I was thinking, 'I'll be naked on stage in six months, I've got to get over this.'" Despite the tremendous amount of attention the kiss has received, Radcliffe treated it like shooting any other scene. "The kiss was no more of a big deal than perhaps...everyone assumed it to really be," explains Radcliffe. "It's very disappointing for people to hear, I know, but that's unfortunately how it was."
As for whether or not his decision to do Equus was a conscious one to separate himself from the role that made him famous and to prepare him for a life after Harry Potter, Radcliffe says, "That question was asked me in a rather more brutal way the other day...I think what [they] meant to say was 'Is there life for you after Harry Potter,' but what they said was 'Will you live after Harry Potter?' I don't know what they're planning for me after the seventh film," Radcliffe says with a laugh. "Potter's never something I would want to distance myself from, because I'm incredibly proud of it," continues Radcliffe. "It's given me the most amazing opportunities and I've met some of the most fantastic people and got to work with these brilliant actors. But I certainly, you know, always want to establish myself as an actor in my own right...rather than being just the actor who plays Harry Potter. So it was...just as much, if not more as a proof to myself that I can do it than being able to prove it to the audience. There will always be people who see us as, you know, our respective characters no matter what we do. Ultimately that's more their problem than ours, because they are not the people who are going to be stopping us from doing other different things."
Playing the roles of Harry, Ron and Rupert since the first film in 2001, the young stars have spent their teen years growing up on screen in front of the world. Despite this, they insist it's not something they tend to think much about. "I remember on the second one I was still losing teeth...Like one scene I would have like a full set and then like a couple would fall out," remembers Watson. "Not a full, false set of teeth. It was one tooth. It wasn't like the whole mouth," responds Radcliffe. "No, I had a full set of teeth and then I would like lose one," explains Watson. "Oh right, okay, I thought you said you had a false set of teeth," says a confused Radcliffe. "Oh, gosh, no...I don't wear false teeth," says Watson laughing. "Everyone always asks, 'Is it really hard growing up on screen?' I'm just like, 'Well, I don't know, I've never grown up any other way,'" explains Watson. "So, you just kind of deal with it, I guess. You know, you've been doing it since you were really young, so, um, I can't really remember what life was like before."
"It just feels like it's been one long experience really," adds Grint. "Cause it didn't really feel like that long. It's only when you look back at the first one you realize. It's been really fun though. I've enjoyed every moment of it."
"I don't think you realize when you're growing up," explains Radcliffe. "I think it's just one of those things that happens to you and then someone shows you a photograph of yourself when you were ten and you recoil in horror...We've just grown up, we don't think of ourselves as having grown up on screen. So, but yeah, it's been great. It's been really good fun and you know...we've met some people we are really, really good friends with through these films who we probably wouldn't have a chance to meet had we not done them."
The fifth Harry Potter film brings a darker tone to the series, mostly as a result of Harry's connection with the evil Lord Voldemort. "David kept referring to Dumbledore's Army as like the French Resistance," says Radcliffe. "I think everybody's got that [dark] side of them which they can draw upon when they have to if they are trying to act it...Obviously David Yates was just incredible throughout the film and what was remarkable about David was that he had the same enthusiasm on the last day of filming as he did on the first, which on a ten month shoot is quite an achievement...Working with David was fantastic...I can't think of specific notes that he gave me in terms of Harry's darkness, I just remember him coming up with very, very real, accurate direction...For instance, there was one scene very early on in the film when Harry is asleep and he's having nightmares and he wakes up suddenly and I was doing a lot of that sort of movie type of 'Ah!', sort of waking up and David just says, 'Dan, no one does that. Just open your eyes.' 'Yeah, you're absolutely right'...You do see that in films a lot of times when people are lying straight down in bed and someone bolts...If you try and do that, it's incredibly difficult to do, let alone when you're half asleep...Also working with Gary Oldman...he was just a fantastic person to be around...The one bizarre bit where he sort of said to me, 'Dan, in this next one, do you mind if I do something a little more physical?' And I was thinking...he'll give me a hug or something like that. And he grabbed me and shook me violently for thirty seconds while screaming at me and then he sort of backed away slowly...You suddenly regress and I just started to cry and it was this really weird thing, but he obviously knew it would work. I don't know if he's done it to people in the past, but it certainly worked then. He was amazing."
As for Hermione's newfound rebellious personality in the fifth film, Watson assures us she didn't draw upon her own life for inspiration. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm deeply uncool, really," says Watson. "I really never break the rules...I'm not scared to say what I think if I disagree...but I'm not like a born rebel. That wouldn't be a description of me...I guess it was fun to play [Hermione] like that...Really fun and I think, I mean, the films quite dark and I think that kind of element kind of added some kind of light relief...kind of like 'What is up with Hermione? What is going on?' "[That scene] got a fantastic reaction yesterday," adds Radcliffe. "Yeah, it was really nice that kind of got a big laugh," agrees Watson. "I'm quite shocked at that...I was able to do things from such a young age that I never would have been able to do - like travel and be given all this responsibility and freedom and stuff, so I never really had any...barrier to break, I guess...I don't really have anything to rebel against...I'm quite lucky really."
In the latest film, Harry acts as teacher to the other students as they use their newfound skills to battle the Death Eaters. "Harry as the leader and teacher was able to show off his wizarding skills and that was really fun to do," says Radcliffe. "Ron and Hermione got a bit of the back seat in the last one," adds Watson. "Watching Harry do all the tasks and stuff, but it felt really nice to kinda get back in the action again. Nothing major, but we had a couple of stunts to do and a couple of harnesses." "In the last one, Ron was a little of a wimp and staying back from the action," says Grint. "This time he was quite cool and got to be a bit tough."
"We actually had a dance choreographer," explains Watson. "All the different spells had different choreography to a specific music that went with them...So we had a couple classes like that which was really good fun. I think this is the first one where you really do see the craft behind the magic, if that makes sense...They look really impressive I think, especially the scene at the end between Dumbledore and Voldemort."
"I found the wand dance lesson tricky," explains Radcliffe. "I found I was getting really frustrated with myself when I couldn't get the moves right...but it was good...It was a brilliant idea that David [Yates] had was to actually make it, where is before it's just been point at something and say the word...Just to show a distinction, because when it came to the film, we didn't really do a lot of the stuff we learned in the lesson, but the adults were and it just made it so there was actually a distinction between the adults and the young kids." "To show there was a difference in their skills," explains Grint. "It was good," continues Radcliffe. "It was fun. One of my favorite lines in the film was when Gary says, 'Get away from my godson,' and then punches Jason Isaacs in the head...Me and Gary were Butch and Sundance...It was fantastic. I had a lot of fun, definitely."
A new addition to the cast is "Luna Lovegood" played by 15-year old Evanna Lynch who got the role after attending an open casting call. The cast explains what it was like working with the young actress on her first film. "It's really funny, I guess the fifth time around Daniel, Rupert and I would just kinda...be going [through the studio] in our golf buggies and there'd be like...a giraffe," explains Watson. "A giraffe," questions Grint. "When did we have a giraffe," asks Radcliffe. "No, no, maybe not a giraffe, but we've had like toads. We've had bats," says Watson. "Armadillos," adds Grint. "Armadillos, that's right," continues Watson. "We're just kind of past the stage...that it really doesn't affect us...A giraffe could go by and I wouldn't care." "We've obviously been so adjusted to it we haven't even noticed [a giraffe]," jokes Radcliffe. "Anyway, anyway, the point is," Watson continues, "we kind of take it for granted at this point and when you see Evanna Lynch's face every time she steps on set it kind of makes you, it kind of comes over you again and it like makes you realize how amazing the whole experience has been and it stops you from getting like..." "Blase," Grint replies. "And taking it for granted and like, it was really nice to have someone who is so like generally, generally just completely excited and just in sort of ecstasy every time she saw something new," Watson recalls. "It was really nice."
"It was very, very hard to present an idea to David Yates if Evanna was standing next to you," adds Radcliffe. "Because if you said something and it was even slightly wrong...you would be in deep trouble. So you had to be quite careful...Whenever I would talk about the wording of the prophecy and she was there I'd be like 'Where's the book?' But no, it was fantastic having Evanna around, because she is such a massive fan of the books and the films. It was lovely having that enthusiasm."
"After watching the film, the person I was most nervous about finding out their opinion was Evanna," recalls Watson. "I went up to her and was like, 'What did you think?' I was really, really scared. And she loved it so I was like, 'Okay. As long as she loves it, we're good. We're all good. It's good.'
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix marks the first time the franchise will be shown in IMAX 3-D. What do the actors think of it? "I have heard about it," explains Radcliffe. "It's going to be fantastic. It's going to be terrifying!" "It's scary enough as it is," adds Watson. "There's one moment where Ralph, as Voldemort sort of evaporates and he comes through the side of the screen and pushes forward and suddenly appears," explains Radcliffe. "That's going to scar people...It's going to be great. I have not seen it though." "Honestly, people are absolutely going to be jumping out of their seats," Watson says. "Do you have to wear glasses," asks Radcliffe. "Yeah, it's in 3-D," explains Watson. "I don't know, maybe they give you a visor or something. Or like the guy in Star Trek who had the thing," Radcliffe says as he makes a gesture over his eyes to reference the character of "Geordi La Forge" from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
With the upcoming release of the seventh and final Harry Potter book, the questions soon turned to whether or not any of the actors have received any inside news on what may happen to their characters and how the release of the book affects them personally. "It's quite exciting," says Grint of the release of the seventh book. "Particularly this one cause it's got so much hype behind it and everyone has their theory of who's going to die...That's the big question...I'm really looking forward to it." "Who do you think is going to die," asks Radcliffe. "I think it could be you, actually," responds Grint with a laugh.
"There's always going to be that hype around it, but the thing is, you know, with the books and the films, it's not just hype, it is deserved, because they do get better and better and more exciting," explains Radcliffe. "I mean, my favorite book is the fifth and, you know, my favorite film is the fifth as well and to be able to say that five movies into a franchise is, I suppose, quite rare. But also, I think, I don't know how the book releases affect us...we're very very anxious about what's going to happen. I don't think we get totally distressed by it, do we," he asks the others. "I get a bit distressed," responds Watson. "I really do...I've just always been convinced that Hermione is going to make it. Apparently this hacker is claiming that she's going to die...I'm just like 'No, no, no, no, no.' You don't understand, you know, she's meant to be with Ron and she's meant to like...I've just had all these ideas in my head of what was going to happen and it was all just ruined. It was horrible. I guess from an acting point of view it would be good to have a death scene...challenge I guess...We obviously have like hugely invested interest, but we're also really big fans ourselves."
"We are looking forward to finding out with the rest of the world as well," says Radcliffe. "We certainly don't get any insider information...At the premiere the other day, I said, 'How many people worldwide have read the [seventh] book?' And, you know, considering at this point it's under two weeks before its release, and under ten people have read it still. Which is pretty incredible. Can you imagine being one of those people? How fantastic would that be? My god."
As their characters discover themselves becoming increasingly interested in the opposite sex, Grint explained how he is preparing to handle his on-screen kiss in the sixth film. "Ron does get a girlfriend in the next one and I think it gets a little bit intense," says Grint. "I did [the film] Driving Lessons and there's a little kiss in that and it's quite an uncomfortable experience on a tiny set with all the crew watching. I didn't really enjoy it too much, but...it will be interesting."
And if their characters were to place personal ads to find that special someone? "Hermione's quite serious," explains Watson. "I think she takes everything a little bit too seriously sometimes...That's why I think that if Hermione and Ron do end up together, then that would be really good, because they are really different and they are really mismatched, but they kind of balance each other out and kind of compliment each other like that. So, I guess, Hermione's ad would say, someone to make her laugh, um, I don't know...a good kind of caring guy, I guess." "I'm actually just thinking of the personal ad that you would write to Rupert," Radcliffe says to Watson. "No, not Rupert, to Ron. That's not a story," he assures the room full of reporters. "I don't know what Harry's [ad] would be at all...Cursed male...seeks...I don't know...uncursed female I suppose. Um, yeah...Bookish sixteen-year old seeks quirky red-head. There we go, that's the advert [for Hermione]."
The cast had a chance to spend a few days in Los Angeles. What did they think of their trip to the City of Angels? "L.A's really cool," says Grint. "It's been really fun. I mean, it's really different to everywhere. I really enjoy it. It's been really good, yeah."
"Apparently my dad went to like the [La Brea] Tar Pits yesterday," says Watson. "What's the Tar Pits," asks Radcliffe. "It's like this massive tar pit where basically animals got stuck in," explains Watson. "Oh, god, that's horrendous," exclaims Radcliffe. "No, no, no, it's amazing," Watson assures. "It's nice that he actually had a day yesterday to see some of L.A., which is really cool." "That's deeply disturbing," Radcliffe says with a laugh. "No, it's really cool. It's like history," Watson insists. "I was about to say L.A. is very clean," Radcliffe adds. "Let me finish my answer," Watson says, laughing. "Sorry," responds Radcliffe. "Everyone's been really nice and the reception we had yesterday was amazing and I've just had a really good time here and everyone's been really friendly and it's been really fun," continues Watson. "Yeah, it's been really, really good."
"It is a strange town, I think," Radcliffe adds. "It's totally different from I think anything we've really experienced before and...I don't know...I's very spread out and I don't know, it's hard to...get my head around fully, really. It's just like nothing I've ever, sort of, nowhere I've ever been really." "It's very distinctive," add Watson. "Yes," agrees Radcliffe. "You know you're in L.A.," continues Watson. "The weather's nice...We're all enjoying that." "Yes, it's the first thing you notice," continues Radcliffe. "It's warm, coming from England."
As the young actors prepare to make their way to the Grauman's Chinese Theater for the handprint ceremony, they are asked how they felt when they heard of the honor. "I'm amazed they asked us," responds Watson. "I was like, 'Wow!' I couldn't believe it...cause that's such a big deal...It's amazing to be doing that. Really amazing...We we're like 'Really? Us? Are you sure? Really really?'" "It's amazing," adds Radcliffe. "It's absolutely fantastic. I think we're all just a little shocked we've been asked, because it's amazing."
And what actors do they hope to have the honor of being placed next to? "John Wayne's there, so that's pretty cool," says Radcliffe. "My favorite John Wayne line is a really early John Wayne movie and it was obviously improvised, because nobody could have scripted this. As he walks out, he walks out of a saloon, I suppose, because they were saloons then, not bars. And he walks out toward the square and he's quite young, and there's all these birds in this square and he walks and they all flutter away and he goes, 'Get out of my way, pigeon.' So if I can have my handprints next to that man, then that would be cool."
