Digital Journal Reports

Nov 15, 2011 - 8 hours ago by Earl Dittman - comments

By Earl Dittman.

As fans begin to realize that Harry Potter is finally coming to an end, they are desperate to hear about the last days of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' Part 2 (now on Blu-ray/DVD) -- and costar Rupert Grint is happy to oblige them.

Like his costar Emma Watson (featured last week), British actor Rupert Grint is finally bidding adieu to his longtime HP gig as character Ron Weasley and everything Harry Potter. With the final Blu-ray/DVD, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, already breaking Blu-ray and DVD sales records across the globe, HP fans are anxious for more information from their favorite Harry Potter actors. Rupert confesses what he and author and J.K. Rowling would talk about while on the set, he explains what it was like for Ron to finally kiss Hermione (costar Emma Watson) after nine years and he can name all the Harry Potter films without blinking an eye. Finally, Rupert also discusses where he sees himself in 20 years, confesses if he feels like the spokesman for red-haired people and Rupert admits he does feels sadness now that the Harry Potter films are over.

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Rupert and Emma Watson in 'Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows - Part 2'

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Did you do anything special, it terms of your emotions, when you were shooting this film to help get you in the mood?

"Not really no. This was the most depressing one, actually I have ever done. It was deathly. Everything was sad. I think it helps you get into the mood when you’re on the set and hearing Maggie Smith sobbing, it brought the mood down."

Can you please translate what you were saying in Parseltongue snake language in the film?

"Yeah, that’s a very good question. I don’t know. They give me a CD with Dan’s (Radcliffe) stuff. I just couldn’t remember what I learned so I just made it up."

Did (author) J.K. (Rowling) share something about your character’s back-story that was never revealed in the books or movies?

"Not really. Whenever J.K. Rowling came to the set and we would chat, we rarely ever spoke about the story, we just kind of chatted generally. She filled us in with the epilogue, where the characters go and what they do for a living, she had written kind of the rest of their lives really, so that was quite interesting to hear what we all became. I worked in the ministry doing something and I forgot what Emma’s character was doing."

Some fans waited a long time to see Ron and Hermione making out and when it actually happened, it went by very quickly and of course some of that was in the context of the scene where people were dying, how did you feel about the brevity of that and were you hoping that that scene might go o a little longer?

"Was I hoping we were making out longer? Er, no, not at all. Yeah, it was a tricky one to do. Obviously, I’ve known Emma so long. We were mutually both dreading the scene slightly. It was a moment that was not in the book but what the directors came up with. We just wanted to make it believable, what with the romance of it, because as you say, it’s been built up for so many years now and we wanted people to think that we actually wanted to kiss each other. In reality we didn’t! But it was fine. It was a nice moment and hopefully people will believe it."

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Rupert as Ron Weasley

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Did they make you do it over and over? Or was it just a couple of takes?

"We did about four takes. I find it hard to recall anything about that day. It’s been erased from my mind! Yeah, we had a laugh about it. It was fine."

Can you name all the movies?

"Just about."

Go on then.

"Sorcerer’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows part 1 and 2…" (Laughs)

Very good, so now do you have a favorite scene?

"There is so many really, I find it hard to pick out one, but I think the chess scene in the first one was quite good. It was a huge set and things were being blown up. It was just the coolest place to be."

What was so great about Part Two of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows?

"I loved all the goblins and being in the vault with all this gold. It was a really cool scene."

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Rupert and Emma

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What prompted you to buy an ice-cream truck?

"The ice cream truck was something I’ve always wanted. It was kind of a childhood dream. That’s what I wanted to be was to be an ice-cream man. So as soon as I passed my driving test, I got an ice-cream van."

How different is it filming Potter from the movies Wild Target and Cherry Bomb?

"It’s very different. Harry Potter is quite difficult to compare anything to. It’s quite an unique machine. It’s a very different experience from all of these smaller films, because you’re not with the familiar crew that you’ve grown up with. It always takes a while for me to kind of adjust and I learn a lot from these other films. It’s nice to play a different character."

What’s next for you?

"I don’t know! I’m keen to make other films. I did a film a few months ago. I’m just kind of moving on."

Where were you when you were first recognized? When did you know you were famous?

"It took me a while to adjust to it, because I was always quite a shy kid. The attention is quite strange and never being invisible completely. It’s something you actually take for granted. I remember the first time I was recognized was at a shopping centre l where I live which was near a school and the first film had just come out. It was really weird but I enjoyed. It was quite cool actually, as it’s something I’ve never really hid from. It’s just become a part of my life now."

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Rupert, Emma and Daniel

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Can you talk about the aging process in the film?

"The first attempt my character in particular was quite terrified. I looked like a monster really – a bit like a Donald Trump, I had no hair and I was obese. I think it was a bit too much. Then they found the balance finally. It was a very strange thing to film really, just sitting in the make up chair and watching them gradually age me. It was quite terrifying."

But the kid looked just like you!

" Yeah, he did, it was really weird. Really strange. It’s just something you don’t really think about becoming a dad and then to get in to that frame of mind is quite scary."

How close do you think your character is to yourself?

" I have always felt this close connection to Ron throughout all the films. After 10 years playing the same guy every day, I think you do naturally morph into him. We have become Ronpurt which I think will stay with me for a while. There will always be a bit of Ron in me for the rest of my life."

Do you feel like a role model for red-haired people?

"Yeah, I get a lot of support from the Ginger community. I’ve always been quite a proud ginger. Having ginger hair is not the coolest thing really. It’s nice that Ronnie is quite a respected ginger and Prince Harry as well."

Unlike most men in the world you weren’t too excited at kissing Emma, is there someone in a future film you’d like to kiss?

(Blushes) "I’ve done kissing scenes in films before…"

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How do you feel about the ending of the Potter movies?

"It has been quite emotional and seeing the film as well, I did get quite choked up at the end. There’s this one scene where it’s the three of us after the battle and we are walking on the bridge and the castle is destroyed behind us. It felt kind of parallel with our own lives really, yeah, it’s quite sad because I’m going to really miss it."

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 Combo Bonus Features: The Combo contains a hi-def edition, a standard definition copy and an UltraViolet digital copy. "Maximum Movie Mode" featurette; "A Conversation with JK Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe; "The Gringotts" and "The Women Of Harry Potter: featurettes; WB Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter and Deleted Scenes.