Harry Potter: Memories From the Stars

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Co. look back lovingly at 10 years and eight movies

1

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Daniel Radcliffe
Peter Mountain

''I was thrilled that I was going to get time out of school and more time on a film set, because I enjoyed [the 1999 BBC miniseries] David Copperfield. But I wasn't at the time as swept away by the Harry Potter phenomenon as other kids were. The full implications didn't mean as much to me at the time, though over the 10 years that followed I had great fun playing the part.'' —Daniel Radcliffe on his reaction to being cast as Harry Potter

2

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Ralph Fiennes | ''I was pretty intimidated by Ralph [Fiennes]. I still am to a certain extent. In real life he is quite sweet. But in terms of…

''I was pretty intimidated by Ralph [Fiennes]. I still am to a certain extent. In real life he is quite sweet. But in terms of his acting, it can make you quake in your boots a little bit.'' —Radcliffe

3

Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, ... | ''When it came time to shoot the big kiss between Ron and Hermione, Rupert [Grint] and I cracked under the pressure. We were just dying…

''When it came time to shoot the big kiss between Ron and Hermione, Rupert [Grint] and I cracked under the pressure. We were just dying from laughter. It was quite hard to take it all so seriously, but we also knew we had to do it right, because we had only been building up to this moment for 10 years and seven films. I think we got there at the end. I was nervous and giggly, but it was good.'' —Emma Watson (Hermione Granger)

4

Emma Watson, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | ''My only regrets are that I didn't have more scenes with Ralph Fiennes, and that I didn't eat more candy and chocolates when I was…
Murray Close

''My only regrets are that I didn't have more scenes with Ralph Fiennes, and that I didn't eat more candy and chocolates when I was on the set.'' —Watson

5

Rupert Grint, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | ''The first thing I shot was the very last scene of the first film, when we're all on the train and leaving Hogwarts and going…
Peter Mountain

''The first thing I shot was the very last scene of the first film, when we're all on the train and leaving Hogwarts and going home. It was my first time anywhere near a film set. There were so many people and so much going on. It was very confusing, and very overwhelming, and yet also really, really exciting. From the very first time Chris Columbus said, 'Action!' I was just on this amazing high." —Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley)

6

Rupert Grint, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ''[ Prisoner of Azkaban director] Alfonso Cuarón asked us to write essays about our characters. I didn't do mine, because I didn't think Ron would.…
Murray Close

''[Prisoner of Azkaban director] Alfonso Cuarón asked us to write essays about our characters. I didn't do mine, because I didn't think Ron would. Or that was my excuse. At the time, I was actually quite busy with the real schoolwork involved with my exams, and I just didn't do it. But in the end, it felt right because that's what Ron would have done.'' —Grint

7

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | ''Chris wisely kept me away from [Daniel, Emma, and Rupert] before our first scene together. So in that sense, the first person they met was…
Peter Mountain

''Chris wisely kept me away from [Daniel, Emma, and Rupert] before our first scene together. So in that sense, the first person they met was Gilderoy Lockhart. They seemed to enjoy and be fairly flabbergasted at his extraordinary personality, hair, and teeth. But I got to know them after that.'' —Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart)

8

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ''I wore a fat suit in [films] 3, 4, 5, and 6. And I had false teeth in 3 and 4. I didn't mind it…
Murray Close

''I wore a fat suit in [films] 3, 4, 5, and 6. And I had false teeth in 3 and 4. I didn't mind it — until I was 14 or 15 and there were girls on set. I was a bit like, 'Why me?''' —Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom)

9

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 | ''My [filming] was always contained to seven weeks of the year. The rest of the time I was making other movies or directing. But as…
Jaap Buitendijk

''My [filming] was always contained to seven weeks of the year. The rest of the time I was making other movies or directing. But as soon as I put that Snape costume back on, I sort of go, 'Oh, yeah...I know you.'' —Alan Rickman (Severus Snape)

10

Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, ... | ''To be a schoolboy up in the gallery watching Michael Gambon and Maggie Smith at the National Theatre, and then [decades later] to find yourself…

''To be a schoolboy up in the gallery watching Michael Gambon and Maggie Smith at the National Theatre, and then [decades later] to find yourself sitting in a canvas chair, laughing with them on set... It's very special.'' —Rickman

11

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Jason Isaacs | ''My wigs started off far more Pamela Anderson and ended up much more Lady Gaga. But I didn't get to keep any of them! I…

''My wigs started off far more Pamela Anderson and ended up much more Lady Gaga. But I didn't get to keep any of them! I think, in fact, the wigs have a better agent than me. They are probably sunning themselves in the Bahamas as we speak.'' —Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy)

12

Gary Oldman, Jason Isaacs, ... | ''Had I ever thought that I would be doing a scene with Gary Oldman that lasted a month, as my fight scene did, I would…

''Had I ever thought that I would be doing a scene with Gary Oldman that lasted a month, as my fight scene did, I would have always imagined it to have been Shakespeare, not a wand battle on a papier-mâché hillside. But still! It was more fun than people should get paid for.'' —Isaacs

13

Emma Watson, Bonnie Wright, ... | ''We all read the books when Jo [Rowling] released them, along with everyone else. It let us experience the books as readers and as fans,…

''We all read the books when Jo [Rowling] released them, along with everyone else. It let us experience the books as readers and as fans, not just as people who work on the movie.'' —Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley)

14

Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ''I was so scared of Alan that it took me about five years to muster up a conversation with him. But he has an incredible…

''I was so scared of Alan that it took me about five years to muster up a conversation with him. But he has an incredible sense of dry wit. While Snape is a very daunting character, Alan is actually a very friendly guy.'' —Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)

15

Tom Felton, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | ''Daniel is very inspiring to have on set because he's a real workaholic. When you're there for a long day, he's the first one to…
Peter Mountain

''Daniel is very inspiring to have on set because he's a real workaholic. When you're there for a long day, he's the first one to boost morale and remind us all how lucky we are to be there.'' —Felton

16

Warwick Davis, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | ''All these props and sets started to feel real, the more you used them over the course of the films. The wands weren't just a…
Peter Mountain

''All these props and sets started to feel real, the more you used them over the course of the films. The wands weren't just a prop or a piece of wood. They were very personal to you. There was something very, dare I say 'magical,' about it.'' —Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick)

17

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | ''Oh, I loved my [onscreen] children! I loved them! The fourth film, I wasn't in it, and I got postcard from them saying, 'Come back,…

''Oh, I loved my [onscreen] children! I loved them! The fourth film, I wasn't in it, and I got postcard from them saying, 'Come back, Mom! Dad can't control us!' The whole feel of the job was very homey and very family. I've never known a film [series] like it. I suppose it's because we were there for 10 years and we saw the children grow up and the rest of us grow old. It didn't ever feel like work.'' —Julie Walters (Mrs. Weasley)

18

Brendan Gleeson, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | ''When you use a wand, it's like [playing Nintendo] Wii. You use a lot of strength, but you're not actually hitting anything, so the next…

''When you use a wand, it's like [playing Nintendo] Wii. You use a lot of strength, but you're not actually hitting anything, so the next day your arm will be killing you from all that wand action.'' —Natalia Tena (Tonks)

19

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ''The werewolf transformation scene [in Prisoner of Azkaban ] was a standout for me, because as a child, I'd always pretend to turn into a…

''The werewolf transformation scene [in Prisoner of Azkaban] was a standout for me, because as a child, I'd always pretend to turn into a werewolf. It was a little uncomfortable and annoying with all of that makeup, but it was well worth it to have a werewolf scene under my belt.'' —David Thewlis (Professor Lupin)

20

Helen McCrory, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | ''I had no idea what amount of expectation there was in playing the role until I went to a premiere for the first time and…

''I had no idea what amount of expectation there was in playing the role until I went to a premiere for the first time and saw Dan get out of a car behind me. It was like a Beatle arriving. Your eardrums were bleeding. And when I got out, people were saying, 'We can't wait to see what you've done with Narcissa.' And I thought, 'Really? S---!''' —Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy)

21

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 | ''Helena [Bonham Carter] and Jason and I were all sitting in the same row at the premiere of [ Deathly Hallows — Part 1 ].…
Jaap Buitendijk

''Helena [Bonham Carter] and Jason and I were all sitting in the same row at the premiere of [Deathly Hallows — Part 1]. When the end credits came up, there was silence in our row because they'd cut most of our parts. Helena was like, 'Do you want a drink?' I was like, 'Yeah, I want a double!' [Laughs] But it's not frustrating because all you care about is if it's a good story.'' —McCrory

22

Helena Bonham Carter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 | ''I loved my [fake] teeth! I kept them because they're not going to fit anybody else. I keep them in a blue plastic thing in…
Jaap Buitendijk

''I loved my [fake] teeth! I kept them because they're not going to fit anybody else. I keep them in a blue plastic thing in the bathroom and bring them out when I miss [Bellatrix].'' —Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange)

23

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 | ''You tend to shoot for months and get cut out of most of the movie. But this last time I learned to stick my head…

''You tend to shoot for months and get cut out of most of the movie. But this last time I learned to stick my head very close to one of the three — you know, Emma or Daniel or Rupert. I was always saying, 'I'm not going to be cut out this time!' It's self-preservation in the Potter films.'' —Bonham Carter

24

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | ''I was an obsessive fan of the books and movies. I remember the day [director] David Yates phoned the house and said I'd be doing…

''I was an obsessive fan of the books and movies. I remember the day [director] David Yates phoned the house and said I'd be doing a screen test with Daniel Radcliffe. I was pretending to be like, 'Yup, that's fine.' And I was freaking out inside.'' —Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood)

25

Ian Hart, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | ''I met Jo at the read-through on the first day. She seemed like somebody who had been elected pope but didn't want to be. She's…
Peter Mountain

''I met Jo at the read-through on the first day. She seemed like somebody who had been elected pope but didn't want to be. She's a shy lady. She had written these books, but she wasn't [yet] a household name and didn't want to be. And all of a sudden all these actors she had seen in movies and TV for years were all looking at her.'' —Ian Hart (Professor Quirrell)

26

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 | ''[My twin brother Oliver and I] actually didn't find out who was going to play Fred Weasley and who was going to play George Weasley…

''[My twin brother Oliver and I] actually didn't find out who was going to play Fred Weasley and who was going to play George Weasley until the read-through. We had the scripts and everything. I honestly did prefer Fred, and that's how it turned out.'' —James Phelps (Fred Weasley)

27

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | ''[At Leavesden Studios], Rupert Grint and my brother [James] and I would hang out at the driving range downstairs quite a bit. I mean, I…
Murray Close

''[At Leavesden Studios], Rupert Grint and my brother [James] and I would hang out at the driving range downstairs quite a bit. I mean, I say driving range, but it was a mat and a 150-yard cone at the other end. Golf was one of the only sports we were allowed to do in our contract because it was relatively quite safe. We couldn't do any contact sports.'' —Oliver Phelps (George Weasley)

28

Robbie Coltrane, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | ''I've always played bad people or funny people. I've never really played such a nice person in my life, certainly not for 10 years. So…
Peter Mountain

''I've always played bad people or funny people. I've never really played such a nice person in my life, certainly not for 10 years. So that was a really nice departure for me, and I still get sort of goggle-eyed 10-year-olds staring at me in supermarkets. It's quite odd, really.'' —Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid)

29

Jason Isaacs, Daniel Radcliffe, ... | ''I remember the very first take of the very first scene that I did; as I minced out of Dumbledore's office, Chris Columbus shouted, 'Shut…
David Berg

''I remember the very first take of the very first scene that I did; as I minced out of Dumbledore's office, Chris Columbus shouted, 'Shut the door behind you!' And I asked, 'Could I just wave my arm and the door shuts by magic?' And he said, 'Sure!' And I thought, 'This is going to be a ride.' And it was.'' —Isaacs

30

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, Helena Bonham Carter | ''My first memory was that I looked at the script and I had about three lines. And I thought, 'How am I going to make…

''My first memory was that I looked at the script and I had about three lines. And I thought, 'How am I going to make this interesting?' And then I got this carrot of luring interest from J.K. Rowling, saying Bellatrix was going to be 'very significant' in the last movie. So I just worked on trying to be as conspicuous as possible. You know, big hair, big teeth, everything.'' —Bonham Carter

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