Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix Interview, Danielle Radcliffe, Emma Watson & Rupert Grint

MoviesOnline caught up with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint at the Los Angeles press day for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” to talk about their nEmma Watson movie. This latest installment of the Harry Potter franchise is a powerful coming of age story that turns out to be one of the best films ever in the series. It’s darker, more action-packed, and full of passion, but most importantly, it has a great sense of the emotional journal of its characters and offers audiences one of the scariest villains yet.

The fifth year of study at Hogwarts School presents a turning point, not only for Harry Potter but for his friends and classmates as well. No longer chilDanielle Radcliffeen, they are suddenly faced with the choices and challenges of young adulthood...and the consequences that come with them. Harry – dealing with the return of Lord Voldemort and the death of his friend CeDanielle Radcliffeic Diggory – has been forced to grow up perhaps more quickly than the others and is compelled to take on responsibilities he never could have expected.

Making his entrance into the world of Harry Potter, director David Yates remarks, "It was exciting to me that this story takes place at a time in the students’ lives when they are maturing and everything is becoming more complicated. It is about rebellion and about understanding the limits of adulthood; it’s about discovering how difficult the world can become and how sometimes you have to make your own way in that world. So it’s a blend of all the magic and fun that J.K. Rowling puts into her books and all the wonderful and amazing things that have been set in motion in the previous films, together with issues and ideas that are a bit more complex and touching on things that are quite grown up.”

David Heyman, the producer of all of the Harry Potter features, notes that the nature of the story was what led him to choose Yates – an award-winning British television director – to helm the fifth installment of the series. "David is a fantastic actors’ director and he has also shown that he can handle political subject matter in an entertaining way. This is not a political film, per se, but the politics of the magic world are very much at play here. We thought David would handle that brilliantly, and he has. He came in with a great passion for the material and a great sense of the emotional journey of the characters. He understood that, for all the spectacle, what we and the audience connect with are the characters.”

Returning in the role of Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe attests, "I loved working with David. He is a delightful man, very soft-spoken, and yet I have never been pushed as hard as I was on this film, partly because of the nature of the story and partly because of his directing. He never settled for less; he always wanted me to go deeper, which was exactly what I felt I needed. He is a brilliant director.”

"David is wicked; we got on really well with him,” agrees Rupert Grint, the actor behind the role of Harry’s best mate, Ron Weasley. "He was quite a bit different from the other directors because he has a more relaxed approach, but he always gave great suggestions.”

Emma Watson, who plays Harry’s loyal friend Hermione Granger, adds, "It was really lovely because David listened to what we had to say about our characters. He was respectful of the fact that we have been playing these people for five films now. He appreciated the history and the special relationship that Dan, Rupert and I share because it adds truth to the friendship between Harry, Ron and Hermione. David really looks for truth in all of the characters.”

Here’s more of what Daniel, Emma and Rupert had to tell us about their latest adventures in the magical world of Harry Potter:

MoviesOnline: Daniel, how does being naked on stage in Equus compare to the kiss in Harry Potter?

Danielle Radcliffe: Well, I did the kiss first and I think the reason that it wasn't a problem or a sort of worry in the slightest was that 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. Because if that's a worry, then the whole ‘nude blinding horses’ would be a greater worry. But really, everyone assumed that the kiss was more of a big deal than perhaps it was, a really big sort of moment, but it's just like doing any other scene really, which is very disappointing for people to hear I know, but that's unfortunately how it was.

MoviesOnline: Did you relate to the issue of revolution in this film, being a punk rock fan?

Danielle Radcliffe: Yeah, I love doing all that stuff to do with Harry in this film because David (Yates) kept referring to Dumbledore's army as being like the French resistance, which was a metaphor that really appealed to me. And also, Harry as a leader and a teacher was able to show off his wizarding skills. That showing off stuff was really, really fun to do. So I don't think I brought a tremendous amount of punk music into those scenes. It didn't seem to require it. I was mainly listening to Radiohead for Harry in this film. Somebody did ask me yesterday if there was one album that could be Harry's soundtrack during this movie. I think it would be "Okay Computer” by Radiohead which I think tells you all you need to know about his character.

MoviesOnline: How did what happened in Glasgow last week and the London bombings affect you? Is London a scarier place to walk around now or do you take it as usual?

Danielle Radcliffe: I think that's what's remarkable and sort of defines the English spirit is the fact that everyone was asked about it. You saw all these people being interviEmma Watsoned directly after the car bombings and the attack in Glasgow, and they were all just like, "Oh no, it's fine. We're just going to carry on." That's sort of it I suppose.

MoviesOnline: Are you excited for Beckham's debut in LA?

Danielle Radcliffe: Oh right, is he starting? Oh, great, then yes. [laughs]

Emma Watson: I've been watching David Beckham for years and the L.A. Galaxy, yeah, definitely I think. Poor guy. He's got quite a lot of pressure on him, doesn’t he?

Danielle Radcliffe: To save football.

Emma Watson: Yeah, now he’s with the Galaxy. He’s a bit of a hero so I’m sure he’ll pull it off for you guys.

MoviesOnline: Could all three of you talk about growing up over the course of these five films?

Emma Watson: It’s kind of a bit of a nEmma Watson context when you're doing it on screen. Like I remember, especially with the earlier films, Dan and Rupert had grown like a couple of inches by the end of shooting because it was so long, or by the time the film was released. That was kind of crazy. I remember on the second one I was still losing teeth, so that was interesting. One scene I had kind of like a full set and then I had to cover all of that up.

Danielle Radcliffe: Not a full false set of teeth. It was one tooth. It wasn't like the whole mouth.

Emma Watson: No, I was saying I had a full set of teeth and then I'd lose one.

Danielle Radcliffe: [teasing her] Oh, right, okay, I thought you said, "I had a false set of teeth." [laughs]

Emma Watson: False?! No! [laughs] Oh my God, no! No, I don’t wear false teeth.

[Loud laughter]

Danielle Radcliffe: Sorry!

Emma Watson: So it was kind of a weird experience, to make the whole growing up process run smoothly. We kind of had to do it without anyone realizing. But I don't know, I think we don't really think about it. Everyone always asks this question. "Is it really hard growing up on screen?" I've never grown up any other way so I don't know. That's the way it's always been and you just kind of deal with that, I guess. And we've been doing it since we were so young so I can't really remember what life was like before these films [laughs], so I don't know. It’s just the way it is.

Rupert Grint: Yeah, for me it's just been one long experience really because it doesn't really feel like that long ago. It's only when you look back on the first ones you sort of realize how much we've grown up I guess. It's been really fun. I've enjoyed sort of every moment of it so it's been really cool.

Danielle Radcliffe: I don't think you realize when you're growing up. I think it's just one of those things that sort of just happens to you and somebody shows you a photograph of yourself when you were 10 and you recoil in horror. To us, as Emma was saying, we've just grown up. We don't think of ourselves as having grown up on screen. But yeah, it's been great. It's been really good fun. We've met some of the people who we're really, really good friends with through these films who we probably wouldn't have had the chance to meet had we not done them, so it's been fantastic.

MoviesOnline: How will it feel to have your handprints and footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater?

Emma Watson: I was amazed they asked us. I was like, "Wow." I couldn't believe it. That's such a big deal. I was really, really, really flattered. It's just amazing to be doing it.

Danielle Radcliffe: Yeah, but when you see those other names, I think we all were like- -

Emma Watson: Really? Us? You sure?

Danielle Radcliffe: Yeah, I don't know. It's amazing. It's absolutely just fantastic. I think we're all just a little bit in shock that we've been asked. It's amazing.

Emma Watson: Yeah, it’s really cool.

MoviesOnline: Did you do "Equus” to prove to yourself as well as audiences that you're more than Harry Potter? Do you look ahead to life after Potter in terms of your career?

Danielle Radcliffe: I do give it a lot of thought. That question was asked to 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?" on the red carpet which was slightly… I don't know what they're planning for me after the seventh film. [laughs] But yeah, Potter's never something I would want to distance myself from because I'm incredibly proud of it. 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 also want to establish myself as an actor in my own right rather than being just the actor who plays Harry Potter. And as you say, it's just as much if not more to prove to myself that I can do it than to be able to prove it to the audience. Because there will always be people who see us as our respective characters no matter what we do. But 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.

MoviesOnline: Over the years all three of you have talked about fan encounters, but I’m not sure how many opportunities you’ve had to work with a fan. Evanna Lynch was such a lover of the books and she came out on the open call and then got the part. Did you get sense of her reaction to being on the Hogwarts set and being a part of it?

Emma Watson: It's really funny. I guess like the fifth time around, Dan, Rupert and I were just kind of- - It's quite a surreal experience working at Leavesden Studios. You'll be going along on your- - the studio's so big we have little golf buggies. Anyway, we're going along on our golf buggies and they'll just be like- - I mean , we've had like a giraffe, we've had- - no – what was that?.

Danielle Radcliffe: A giraffe? We did? [laughs]

Emma Watson: No, not a giraffe. I’m really crazy. No, no, no. Maybe not giraffes but we've had like goats, we've had bats.

Danielle Radcliffe: We have had goats and bats.

Rupert Grint: Armadillos.

Emma Watson: Armadillos, that's why you'll be going past and it's like, "Oh, yeah, yeah." And we're sort of past the stage of really- - I don't know. It doesn't really affect us. Like a giraffe could go by and I wouldn't care.

Danielle Radcliffe: That almost happened. We've obviously been so adjusted to it we've not even noticed.

Emma Watson: So anyway, the point is that when you step onto these amazing sets, 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 humbles you again and it makes you realize just how amazing the whole experience is. It stops you from getting- -

Danielle Radcliffe: Blasé.

Emma Watson: And taking it for granted. It was really nice to have someone who's so genuinely, genuinely just completely excited and just in ecstasy every time she saw something nEmma Watson. It was really nice.

Danielle Radcliffe: We did have one moment though where it was very, very hard to present an idea to David Yates if Evanna was standing next to you because if you said something and it was even slightly wrong from the technicality of the book, she would not…

Emma Watson: She would be looking at you like [scowling].

Danielle Radcliffe: And you would be in deep trouble. So you'd sort of have to be quite careful. Whenever I talked about the wording of the prophecy and she was there, I'd just be like, "Where's the book?" [laughs] But no, it was fantastic to have Evanna around because she is such a massive fan of the books and the films so it was lovely to have that enthusiasm.

Emma Watson: I remember actually after watching the film, the person I was most nervous about finding out their opinion was Evanna. I’d go up to Evanna just like, "What did you think?" I was really, really scared. But she loved it so I was like, "Okay, as long as she likes it, we're good. We're all good. That's good."

MoviesOnline: Daniel, you play such a dark role in this. What place did you go to develop such a dark characterization? Did David Yates share his ideas with you about this role?

Danielle Radcliffe: I mean, I don't know, I think everybody's got that side of them which they can Danielle Radcliffeaw upon when they have to if they're trying to act it. So yeah, David was fantastic. I think the two people in this film that were most brilliant were obviously David Yates. He 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 10 month shoot is quite an achievement. So working with David was fantastic and I can't think of some specific notes that he gave me in terms of Harry’s darkness. I just remember him coming up with very, very real, accurate direction the whole time. For instance, there was one scene very early on in the film when Harry's asleep and he's having nightmares and then he wakes up suddenly. I was doing a lot of that sort of movie type of Ah! waking up. And David just says, "Dan, no one does that. Just open your eyes." [laughs] Yeah, you're absolutely right. You do see it in films a lot of the time when people are lying straight down in bed and they suddenly sit bolt upright. If you try and do that, it's incredibly difficult to do, let alone when you're half asleep. But yeah, so working with David and also working with Gary Oldman in terms of the scenes concerning his death in the film, sorry if I spoiled that for anybody. You've all read it. But in terms of those scenes, he was just a fantastic person to be around. There was the one bizarre bit when we were filming literally the moment of his death and my immediate reaction to it where he said, "Dan, in this next one, do you mind if I do something a little more physical?" And I was thinking, "Maybe he's going to give me a hug" or something like that. And he grabbed me and shook me violently for 30 seconds while screaming at me. And then he sort of backed away slowly and you suddenly regress and I just started to cry. It was this really weird thing but he obviously knEmma Watson it would work. [laughs] I don't know if he's done it to people in the past but certainly it worked then. He was amazing. That was a very, very long answer. I'm sorry.

MoviesOnline: Do you have an inside track to reading the nEmma Watson Harry Potter book that’s coming out shortly, and how do the book releases affect you guys personally?

Rupert Grint: Yeah, it's quite exciting, particularly this one because there's so much hype about it and everyone's got their own little theory of who's going to die. That's the big question. I don't know really. I'm really looking forward to it.

Danielle Radcliffe: Who do you think's going to die?

Rupert Grint: I think it could be you actually. [laughter]

Danielle Radcliffe: Oh, man. I mean, I do think absolutely there's always going to be that hype around it but the thing is, with the books and the films, it's not just hype. It's deserved because they do get better and better and more exciting. My favorite book is the fifth and my favorite film is the fifth as well. To be able to say that five movies into a franchise is I suppose quite rare. But also, I don't know how the book releases affect us. I think you're very, very anxious about what's going to happen. I don't think we get totally distressed by it, do we really?

Rupert Grint: No.

Danielle Radcliffe: No.

Emma Watson: I get a bit distressed.

Danielle Radcliffe: Do you?

Emma Watson: I get really stressed. I remember us doing this interviEmma Watson and I've always just been convinced that Hermione's going to make it. Apparently this hacker has been claiming that she's going to die. This interviEmma Watsoner sat down and she was like, "Well, this hacker is claiming what's going to happen and she's not going to make it and she's the one." I was just like, "No, no, no. You don't understand. She's meant to be with Ron and she's meant to just…" I just have all these ideas in my head about what was going to happen. It was all just ruined. It was horrible. But I guess from an acting point of viEmma Watson it would be good to have a death scene or to die. It would be a nEmma Watson challenge, I guess. I mean, we obviously have hugely invested interests but I think mostly we're like really big fans ourselves.

Danielle Radcliffe: Yeah, exactly, so we are looking forward to finding out with the rest of the world as well, but we certainly don't get any inside information.

Emma Watson: Yeah, no sort.

Danielle Radcliffe: No, we don't. When I saw Jo at the premiere the other day, I just said, "How many people worldwide have read the book?" And considering that at this point it's under two weeks before its release and under 10 people have read it still which is pretty incredible. But could you imagine being one of those people? How fantastic would that be? My God!

MoviesOnline: Was it fun getting to kick butt for a change and do some magic?

Emma Watson: Yeah, definitely. Ron and Hermione kind of took a bit of a backseat on the last one, watching Harry do all the tasks and stuff so it felt really nice to kind of be back in the action again. I mean, nothing major. We had a couple of stunts to do, a couple of harnesses and that sort of thing which was really fun. We actually had a dance choreographer in. All the different spells had different choreographed specific movements that went with them. So we had a couple of classes like that which was really good fun. I think this is the first one that you really see the craft behind magic and you get to see the craftsmanship. It looked really impressive I think, especially that scene at the end between Dumbledore and Voldemort.

MoviesOnline: Was it fun for you guys too?

Guys: Yeah.

MoviesOnline: Was there anything hard about it?

Danielle Radcliffe: I found the dance lessons quite tricky actually. I found I was getting really frustrated with myself when I couldn't get the moves right. But yeah, no, it was. It was good. I think that was a brilliant idea that David had to actually make it so that whereas before, it's just been point at something, say the word. Now he was starting to build the sort of art just to show a distinction because when it came to the film, we didn't really do a lot of the stuff that we learned in the [class] but all the adults were. And it just made it so that there was actually a distinction between the adults and the young kids in terms of the skill. But no, it was good. It was fun. One of my favorite lines in the film is when Gary says, "Get away from my godson" and then punches Jason Isaacs in the head. Me and Gary, we were Butch and Sundance on that day. It was just fantastic. So no, I had a lot of fun, definitely.

Rupert Grint: Similar to everyone really. In the last one, Ron's been a bit of a wimp and sort of stayed away from the action side. This time it was quite cool that he got to be a bit tougher and got to fight so it was good fun really.

MoviesOnline: Of all the actors who have left their handprints and footprints in cement at Grauman’s Chinese theater, is there one in particular you really admire? Also, do you like Los Angeles? What do you like best about L.A.? Did you enjoy the premiere yesterday?

Danielle Radcliffe: You asked four questions in one breath! It's incredible! I think John Wayne's there so that's pretty cool. My favorite John Wayne line is from 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 and he's walking through the square and he's quite young, and there's all these birds in the square and he walks in and they all flutter away and he goes, "Get outta my way, pigeon." Which is just fantastic. So if I can have my handprints next to that man then that would be awesome.

Rupert Grint: LA is really cool, yeah. It's been really fun. It's just really different to everywhere else. I really enjoy it. It's been really, really good, hasn't it?

Emma Watson: Yeah, it's really funny. There's lots of things, like when I came the second time to LA, there were so many things I didn't know about it. Apparently my dad went to like the tar pits yesterday which I was just like that was so weird.

Danielle Radcliffe: What's he doing at a tar pit?

Emma Watson: It's this massive tar pit which basically loads of animals basically fell into.

Danielle Radcliffe: Oh God, that's horrendous!

[loud laughter]

Emma Watson: Yeah, it's nice that he actually had a day yesterday when I was able to actually see LA which is really cool.

Danielle Radcliffe: That's deeply disturbing.

Emma Watson: It's not. It's really cool. It's like history. You can see it.

Danielle Radcliffe: I was about to say that LA's very clean.

Emma Watson: Let me finish my answer.

Danielle Radcliffe: [laughs] I’m sorry.

Emma Watson: So it's been really nice and the reception we had yesterday was amazing. I've had a really good time here and everyone's been really friendly. It's been really fun. It's been really, really good.

Danielle Radcliffe: It is a strange town I think. It's totally different from I think anything we've really experienced before and I don't know, it's very spread out and I don't know, it's just hard to get my head around fully really. It's just like nothing I've ever- - nowhere I've ever been really.

Emma Watson: It's very distinctive.

Danielle Radcliffe: Yes.

Rupert Grint: Yeah.

Emma Watson: You know you're in LA.

Danielle Radcliffe: Yes, certainly.

Emma Watson: The weather's nice.

Danielle Radcliffe: That is.

Emma Watson: We're all enjoying that.

Danielle Radcliffe: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. That's the first thing you notice because it's warm especially coming from England where they’ve had storms and things recently.

MoviesOnline: Have you gotten to see it in 3D Imax yet? How do you think it will be?

Danielle Radcliffe: I haven't seen it that way. I have heard about it. It's going to be fantastic. It's going to be terrifying.

Emma Watson: I was about to say, it's scary enough as it is. In 3D, people will be like- -

Danielle Radcliffe: Also, there's one moment where Ralph as Voldemort sort of apparates and he comes from the side of the screen, sort of pushes forward and suddenly appears. That's gonna scar people. That's going to be hysterical. No, it's great. I've not seen it though, no.

Emma Watson: People will jump. Honestly, people will be absolutely jumping out of their seats. There's enough moments as it is where…

Danielle Radcliffe: Would they have the glasses?

Emma Watson: Yeah. That's what 3D is.

Danielle Radcliffe: I know, but I don't know, maybe they give you a visor or something. [laughs] Or like the guy in Star Trek who had the thing.

MoviesOnline: If the three of you were going to write a personal ad, what would your characters' do?

Emma Watson: Hermione's quite serious. 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, they'll be really good because they're really different and they're really mismatched but they kind of balance each other out and kind of complement each other like that. So I guess Hermione's ad would say "someone to make her laugh.” I don't know, just like "a good kind of caring guy” I guess.

Danielle Radcliffe: I'm actually just thinking of the personal ad that you would write to Rupert. Not Rupert, to Ron. [laughter] That's not a story. [more loud laughter] I don't know what Harry's would be at all. "Cursed male seeks uncursed female” I suppose. Yeah. "Bookish 16-year-old seeks quirky redhead.” [laughs] There we go, that's the advert [for Hermione].

MoviesOnline: In book six, Ron gets a girlfriend. Did you learn anything from Daniel's scene?

Rupert Grint: Yeah, Ron does get a girlfriend in the next one. I think it's a little bit intense so I don't know. I did a little kiss, I did another film called "Danielle Radcliffeiving Lessons” and there's a little kiss in that. It was quite an uncomfortable experience, on this tiny set with all the crEmma Watson watching. I didn't really enjoy it too much but we have to wait and see. It's going to be interesting.

MoviesOnline: Emma, your character says it's exciting to break the rules. How does that apply to your life?

Emma Watson: Yeah, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I'm deeply uncool really. I really never break the rules. I'm kind of me as myself, just not- - I don't know, I just never really have a problem with- - I don't know. I mean, I'm not scared to say what I think or if I really disagree with something then I'll say it, but I'm not kind of like a born rebel. That wouldn't be a description of me. I guess it was fun to play her like that, definitely. Really fun. And I think the film's quite dark and that kind of element added some kind of light relief. It's just kind of like what is up with Hermione? What is going on?

Danielle Radcliffe: It got a fantastic reaction yesterday.

Emma Watson: Yeah, it was really nice. In the film, that kind of got a big laugh so I'm quite jazzed at that. No, it was fun playing her. I guess just I was able to do things from such a young age that I never would have been able to do, always traveling and being given all this responsibility and freedom, so I've never really had any barriers to break I guess. I don't really have anything to rebel against. I’m kind of free to do what I want to do. I'm quite lucky really.

MoviesOnline: Daniel, you did "The Storm” too, right?

Danielle Radcliffe: I did. That's not come out yet. That will be out later this year.

MoviesOnline: Who do you play?

Danielle Radcliffe: A character called Maps and it's called "December Boys.”

MoviesOnline: Thank you.

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