Feature Interview by Jean Lynch
The question that everyone wants answered is ‘what was it like to kiss Harry Potter’?
Katie Leung, who first played Harry’s love interest Cho Chang in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, giggles coyly. The fact that she is sitting next to the man himself doubles the embarrassment. After a moment to recollect herself and says: “He was great. I’m sure everone wants to know if he was a good kisser; he was. I had so much fun filming it. I was so nervous because everyone had been discussing it before and we didn’t have an exact date when we were going to [shoot] it on. I only saw it yesterday and I thought I’d be cringeing – I’m very, very pleased with it, it’s a very endearing and sweet scene. I’m not sure how my mum and dad are going to react but hopefully they’ll find it really sweet as well”. Daniel Radcliffe, who is a lot more animated and charismatic in real life, adds: “We were nervous but after the first few takes it was fine and started thoroughly enjoying ourselves!” He is, however, playfully at pains to dispel the rumour that he asked for 30 takes. “What I meant was that 30 takes were spanned over about six different camera set ups but has been misconstrued that I requested 30 takes of the kissing scene, which is a lie!”
Afterwards, there is a gentle scene between the three leads that sees Hermione despairing about male understanding of women. “I love that scene!” Exclaims Emma Watson, who plays her. “That’s probably my favourite scene in the whole thing. I think it reflects a kind of genuine relationship that Dan and I have in real life. I have got a lot of brothers and I’m friends with a lot of guys, and you think how can you not get this? How can you not understand what she must be feeling? It really, really made me laugh that scene. It plays brilliantly on the differences between boys and girls really”.
Daniel is quick to butt in. “It’s not true at all! I don’t know what she’s talking about [laughs]. In very general terms, I think both sexes have terrible trouble understanding each other and will probably until the end of time remain a mystery to one another. I’d actually say I don’t think it’s all on one side but I know I’m confused a lot of the time.”
The fact that we are even discussing such a scene is proof that Harry Potter is coming of age. Indeed, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has divided fans in their loyalty to the character. Says Daniel: “The thing about the fifth book is that a lot people said they didn’t like Harry because they disliked how angry he was. I talked to Jo Rowling about that and she just said, well, frankly, if people say they don’t understand Harry’s anguish in the the book then they don’t understand what he’s been through in the past five years because he has a right to be angry.” Harry Potter is maturing and becoming a much more complex character, a challenge which allows Daniel to display a wider range of his acting abilities. Earlier this year he confounded the critics by turning in a highly-acclaimed performance in Peter Shaffer’s ‘Equus’, a role which also required the 17-year-old actor to appear nude. He says: “It was a great experience and once you’ve been on stage, naked in front of thousands of people, you really do feel as if you can do most anything. It was an amazing experience for me and it will be something I’m very, very proud of doing for the rest of my life.”
The three main Harry Potter leads – Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint – have been in the unique position of, ultimately, having spent approximately ten years – half their lives - being in and actually growing up in the public eye, playing the same characters who are doing the same. With this inevitable blurring of boundaries, a high level of public interest in their personal lives and approaching adulthood is a given. “I don’t know what to expect, really” says Daniel when quizzed about what his forthcoming birthday means to him. “I don’t know what adulthood is like. I’m ln that sort of inbetween being a kid, a teenager and being an adult. I’m looking forward to being eighteen but I don’t know what will particularly change.”
As if determined to illustrate those men/women differences, Emma jumps in. “I can’t wait” she says. “I’m learning to drive at the moment and I can’t wait for the feeling when you can just get into a car and go anywhere you want, and the freedome of that – go travel – live on my own – kitchen disasters, I’m sure – do my own washing – everything – I can’t wait.”
Rupert Grint [Ron Weasley] is the oldest of the trio, hitting nineteen this year. He says: “It’s going to be weird when all this [Harry Potter] is over because I’ll be 21, so it’s going to be kind of strange.”
What’s also strange is the thought of how wealthy the Potter franchise has made these three young people. Emma Watson has been reported this week as saying she’s worth £10m and needn’t work again, but that she wouldn’t want that. She has, she explains, been at great pains to make sure she remains grounded. “In a way it’s quite extreme how hard I’ve tried to live exactly the same life I did before I got the role. It’s really kept me sane. It’d be so easy, given how busy I am doing this, to lose touch with the friends I had before I took the role because then you make sure you have an identity outside of it.”
In five fims, the cast have worked with four very different directors. Says Daniel: “I think what David has managed to do – which is fantastic – is take the charm of the films that Chris [Columbus] made; the visual flair of everything Alfonso [Cuaron] did, the thoroughly British bombastic nature of the fourth film, directed by Mike Newell, and he’s added a sense of grit and realism to it that perhaps wasn’t there so much before. I think it’s certainly the film I’m most proud of and I had a fantastic time working with David.”
“I feel that this is the most genuine of all the films” adds Emma. “The thing I connect most to David Yates is truth; he always wants to find truth in all the characters, in each single performance. He had high standdards but I think Daniel, Rupert and I really relished that because it stopped us from getting complacent. I think we all really learned something from him.”
While the producers comment on the generosity of the each of the directors, of how each spent time with the one filling their shoes, showing them early cuts of their film, talking through what it meant to be a director on the Potter films, and any general tips, they concede that there is a competitive spirit amongst the four, each wanting to create a greater film than the one before.
“I don’t think you can be a director without that sense of competitiveness”, says David Yates.“It’s quite a competitive business. In truth, I loved those earlier films but when you come to a series like this you are desperate to put your stamp on it, you’re desperate to move it forward and do your best. I’m very proud of the film we’ve made.”
The release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix arrives just ahead of the eagerly anticiapted seventh and final chapter in the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’.
Daniel says that his copy is already on pre-order from Amazon – “and I’m hoping to get some free vouchers for mentioning that” whereas newcomer to the series, Evanna Lynch, who plays the ethereal Luna Lovegood, says “I’m queueing up as usual, and I’m wearing an outfit, but I can’t tell you where as I want to enjoy being a fan again.” Evanna, picked from thousands at an open casting call, apparently told the producers that she felt very strongly that she was the right person to play Luna and if they didn’t think so it would be unfortunate but it would really be their problem and not hers is they got it wrong. “She said it in the nicest possible fashion”.
And will the stars be tempted to turn to the back page to find out what happens?
Emily says she’ll try really hard but “it’s hard to say – it’s late at night – you’ve got your copy – I don’t know – I’ll definitely do my best.” Only Rupert admits that he’d be very tempted to have a flick to the back to “see if I’m still there”.
“None of us know how the stories are going to end” says Daniel. “I don’t have any specific theories because whatever we hear or talk about, Jo’s going to come up with something far more interesting and exciting than anything we could ever predict or imagine.”
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