Updated(2): Harry Potter websites interview

Snitchseeker.com and various other Harry Potter websites took part in a group chat with Daniel back in August in which he talked about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1.
Update: 8th July 2011. More from their interview in which Daniel talks about Deathly Hallows part 2 is released and you can find that below.
Update: 13th july 2019. Read more from mugglenet.com, HPANA.com and danradcliffe.com at mugglenet.com.

What was it like playing the other characters for the Seven Potter scene?
Daniel Radcliffe: Oh, it was bizarre; some were easier than others to impersonate. The actor Andy, who played Mundungus, was the easiest because Andy has a very, kind of a idiosyncratic walk and way about him. He was easy to imitate. But you know, Rupert was very difficult, because Rupert's got a - you know, his walk - you wouldn’t expect that about Rupert. When you actually analyze it, Rupert’s got a real wiggle in the hips when he walks. That was slightly unexpected. He was one of the slightly tricky ones.

But it was great fun And I think it’s going to be a very funny, good scene as well because normally if you see split screen stuff in films it’s often the case that you can see the join, as it were. Where one actor is more apt to playing two on screen at the same time, they don’t really cross over into each other’s space very often. Whereas in this scene, the way we did it was very, very clever and rather brilliant so that we can have everything overlapping. Obviously it’s an actor’s dream – there are seven of me on screen at one time. It’s fantastic!

How was it playing Hermione?
Dan: That was fun. The girls were very, very funny. I think the crew were slightly worried that I was walking around a little too confidently in those heels of Fleur’s. But it was very good fun.

Entertainment Weekly announced the split point for Deathly Hallows this week (note this took place in August) - last week, rather, where Voldemort gains possession of the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb. How long have you known about this split point, why this was chosen, and what's your opinion of this scene being chosen as the end of part one?
Dan: Well, to be honest with you, you have been a little bit preemptive in that, because we don't actually know when the split's going to be, yet. So, that's not confirmed, I have to say. I mean, I haven't actually hear that, as one of the places that it might be.

That would be - as an option - would be kind of very appropriate, and a good suspenseful moment to have. I mean, it's, at the moment it's sort of within, in or around sort of a few scenes different of where it could be, but I won’t say where it might be, yet, in case I'm then proved very, very wrong. (laughs) I hate to disappoint you on that one.

I heard rumours that it could be right before Malfoy Manor. Is there some truth in that, without saying too much?
Dan: There is, but it could be - you know - it could be ten scenes before, it could be ten scenes later. We genuinely don't know, at the moment, I'm afraid.

Which film was your favorite hair look?
Dan: I would probably say either the third film or the last one – these ones we’ve just finished. I think those are the two in which we’ve got the hair most right. To be honest, my favorite time I ever look is when I’m covered in mud and blood and sweat. I think that’s how I look best. It’s obviously hard to achieve that look in day-to-day life, but still it’s certainly I think how I look strongest. With those kinds of scenes also it’s weirdly helpful. It does actually help you get into the character and get into the scene if you are covered in all that stuff. It’s actually very helpful in terms of helping your performance.

What would your reaction be to doing something like Harry Potter the musical for stage?
Dan: My reaction would be pretty negative. Harry Potter is a book then our films, you know? I mean, hey, a radio play could work. I don’t know how it would be done on musical. I’m ready to be proved wrong, but I think it’s a bit of a long shot. In my opinion, it’s not the kind of film that would make a good musical. I don’t think it lends itself to those things. To be perfectly honest with you, I just don’t think it would work and I don’t think I would be a big fan of that idea.

What was the most challenging thing to film physically and emotionally [in Deathly Hallows]?
Dan: Physically? Well, underwater stuff is always pretty tricky. In this case it was particularly tricky because it’s a big fight scene. I’m going under into the frozen lake to get the sword of Gryffindor and obviously the horcrux is fighting for its existence and is trying to kill me. We do what will hopefully be a pretty terrifying almost semi-homage to The Omen where I get dragged up against the ice and toyed around by the locket. So that was pretty challenging.

Emotionally? All the stuff early on in the film in the first part with Rupert. It’s very, very hard, as I’m sure you all know, to hate Rupert Grint – even in performance. So that was a challenge, but hopefully some really, really good scenes will have come out of it. Also, all the scenes in Godric’s Hollow where Harry sees his parents’ tombstone. They were obviously big emotional moments. Harry being such a battle hardened, almost desensitized person at this stage.

He’s dealing with emotions that he doesn’t know how to show because he’s buried emotions for so long. That’s how he’s managed to survive and keep his sanity. By ignoring, a lot of the time to the back of his mind, his tragic past and how he feels about it. So to mind the natural grief one would feel at that moment with the stoicism that Harry has developed over the last years – that was a challenge, but one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Part 1 is more of a road movie. Was it a really different experience playing Harry?
Dan: Absolutely. It’s a very different film. It’s bizarre, in a way. I don’t think we were aware how different it was at the time of filming. At the time we were just doing scenes like we’d do any other scenes. We weren’t really thinking about how different it was going to eventually seem. But then when I saw the trailer and saw the extra footage I’ve seen, it just struck me how very different it’s going to be because we’ve never seen these characters in this different context before.

I think it’s one of the things that makes the first film so exciting. You see these characters stripped of their comfortable safe surroundings, and suddenly just out in the wilderness together. The first one, as well as being that road movie, because they’re all overexposed and it’s such a different situation, you learn a lot more about how those characters function in that situation. It’s a real exploration of the relationships between them and the flaws – particularly Harry and Ron, because Hermione as always is the voice of reason. Harry and Ron do fall apart to some degree. It’s a very different feel to it. I think, hopefully, people will be very excited by that.

For people who haven’t read the book, do you think the fan’s reaction will turn in the first half of the movie against Dumbledore because of Rita’s book?
Dan: I hope so. That’s the intention. That, for me, is what the first film is about. It’s about faith. It’s about how far can one’s faith be tested before you give in entirely. Harry’s a Job figure in the book in the first part. He hears so much about Dumbledore that is less than esteemable. He starts to really question why he’s going on this insane, demanding mission, which is costing him his friends and potentially will cost his life - for somebody he starts to question the values of. Hopefully at the end of the first film people should be very much wondering, “Well, what was Dumbledore’s real agenda?” They should question it because that is ultimately what we want them to do.

I also think, while I’m on the topic of talking about faith is also about as Harry loses faith in Dumbledore and starts to fall apart, so Ron and Hermione lose faith in Harry. Harry becomes … I was also comparing him to a Roman Emperor in the last days of the empire just getting paranoid, isolated and puffing himself up. I always felt with Harry there is an element of a martyr complex in him. He doesn’t want to reach out for help. He wants to be the sacrifice. He wants to do it alone. There’s a pride/arrogance, which means he won’t always reach out to other people. When, if fact, he should. When, in fact, he’s actually endangering his own chances of succeeding in this mission and, therefore, the chances of saving the good of the magical world by not asking for help and not accepting help.

Now that it’s all over have you kept any mementos from the series?
Dan: I’ve got two pairs of glasses. One from the seventh film which were lensless because we use two sets of glasses on films: lensed and lensless. We use lensless for camera reflections and things like that. And also I have a lensed pair from the first film, which are just these tiny little things now that a boy I used to know used to wear. It’s very sweet and they both have pride of place in my home. And actually I’m probably going to get broken into now that I’ve told you that. That was the only thing that I wanted. I didn’t want the wand. I clearly didn’t want the broom. Those were the only thing I had my heart set on.

If you had to choose to take the journey that Harry takes in the movie in real life, would you and why?
Dan: I think I would if I had the same responsibility that Harry had, I’d like to think that I would be as selfless and as brave as he could be. I think we all would like to think that. And recognize the importance of what he had to do for the good of all of those people that he loves and the people he has to help protect. So, yes, I think I would. Although I don’t think any of us are as brave as Harry.

Deathly Hallows part 2

SnitchSeeker: It was reported that Kate Winslet was asked to play the Grey Lady but she turned it down. Who is playing the role and what was it like playing against her for such a pivotal scene?
Daniel Radcliffe: Unfortunately that hasn’t been announced yet so I can’t actually say. [Editor’s Note: Scottish-born Kelly Macdonald was confirmed to play the Grey Lady.] Rest assured it is a wonderful British actress whose very well known and held in high esteem by lots and lots of people. Somebody who, on a personal note, I was thrilled to work with. She’s wonderful in the role and brings both the loneliness and sense of isolation and also the embittered anger that that character needs to have. I hadn’t actually heard the Kate Winslet rumor. I think if that had come to fruition I don’t think I would have been able to look her in the eye. I’m far too in love with her. So, in a way I’m quite glad that didn’t happen because I think my performance would have just fallen apart.

What was the most challenging thing to film physically [in Deathly Hallows - Part 2]?
Dan:The stuff actually in Gringott’s bank in the Lestrange vault where all the treasure is multiplying and multiplying, that was very hard. The way we did it was we had moving platforms on the set so that as the treasure multiplied, these platforms would move up and I would have to struggle onto the next one and then onto the next one and then on to the next one. I don’t think my calf muscles have ever worked quite so hard. So that was, physically, a pretty challenging thing.

What as it like to film the scene with Helena Bonham Carter playing Hermione as Bellatrix?
Dan: It was very, very funny. It was actually one of my favorite scenes on the film to do was all fo us, Warwick Davis, Helena and Rupert all on the cart going into Gringott’s bank. Of course Helena and Warwick are hysterically funny, both of them. I basically became Helena Bonham Carter’s PA on this film. The first day I was going, “Helena, you gonna hold that coffee? Do you want that coffee in this shot or do you want me to move it somewhere else for you? Are you gonna use that character thing you’re doing now?” She’s mad and brilliant and wonderful and everything I love about the English people. So that was great fun. The scene then when she whips the dragon’s back was also hilarious. On that part me and Rupert were all soaking wet. It was great fun. It was very, very funny. Helena as Hermione is very, very funny. Or rather Hermione as Helena … it felt very confusing.

Did she have to be a little bit more conservative?
Dan: Yes, yes. Yes, she certainly did than she would normally be as Bellatrix.

Part 1 is more of a road movie. Was it a really different experience playing Harry?
Dan: Absolutely. It’s a very different film. It’s bizarre, in a way. I don’t think we were aware how different it was at the time of filming. At the time we were just doing scenes like we’d do any other scenes. We weren’t really thinking about how different it was going to eventually seem. But then when I saw the trailer and saw the extra footage I’ve seen, it just struck me how very different it’s going to be because we’ve never seen these characters in this different context before. I think it’s one of the things that makes the first film so exciting. You see these characters stripped of their comfortable safe surroundings, and suddenly just out in the wilderness together. The first one, as well as being that road movie, because they’re all overexposed and it’s such a different situation, you learn a lot more about how those characters function in that situation. It’s a real exploration of the relationships between them and the flaws – particularly Harry and Ron, because Hermione as always is the voice of reason. But Harry and Ron do fall apart to some degree. It’s a very different feel to it.

Can you talk a bit about the final battle and the emotion [since] Harry’s gone away and comes back to find everyone fighting and Hogwarts on fire?
Dan: It’s a bizarre thing. It wasn’t so much the courtyard scene in the battle that was emotional, it was actually seeing the Great Hall destroyed and turned into a field hospital, which was the slightly more emotionally shocking moments. The Great Hall is such an iconic set. Seeing it destroyed is bizarre. The emotions for us all were that really brought home the fact things were coming to a close. Sad as that was, it gave us an awareness of how much it mattered that we get this right. How much we owe it to all the people who have supported us for so long to get it right, as well as for ourselves. It’s a huge motivation because we’ve been there for ten years and don’t want to go out in any other way than spectacularly. Also to the people who have watched for so long, we know we owe it to them, as well, to make this film the best we can.

What was your favorite thing in the movie and why?
Dan: There’s so many to choose from. And the truth is, this year, we filmed this film over a period of 17 months, so I’ve forgotten a lot of it from the beginning. Here’s actually one of the two favorite scenes. One of them is when I’m going into the forest. I see the ghosts of my parents and of Sirius and Lupin. They’ve come back to give me guidance and comfort in what are, in theory, the last moments of Harry’s life. I’ve always found that scene right from when I read it in the book to be one of the most moving moments in all the films. And also, on a personal note, I had missed having Michael Gambon on set very, very much. And so to do the Kings Cross scene where we meet in this half life, limbo world was also one of my favorites because it’s an amazing set. It’s slightly odd, disturbing, more surreal than Harry Potter’s ever been before. So that would’ve been my favorite scene probably.

source: snitchseeker.com