DUE to his Broadway commitments, Daniel Radcliffe was unable to participate in any UK press interviews for Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2. But he spoke to journalists in London via a satellite link from New York ahead of the film’s world premiere.

Here is what he had to say about the final film and the emotions it involved, as well as why he believes the friendship between himself, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson will remain unbreakable.

Q. What is your overriding emotion right now with the end of Harry Potter?
Daniel Radcliffe: It’s hard to say. But I’m so proud of this [final] film. I think of it as being light years ahead of any of the other films in the series and I find it amazing that we shot Part 1 and Part 2 at the same time because I think Part 2 is such a different film from Part 1. Part 1 was great but I think this one’s the best film we’ve ever made, so I’m just so thrilled that we’re going out on this positive note.

Q. What are you going to miss the most?
Daniel Radcliffe: I suppose the thing I’ll miss most is the crew, really, and the cast as well. But the crew rate among some of my best friends in the world. We worked together for so long. I’m sure some of us will continue to work together throughout our careers but we won’t ever be together as that unit we were then. So, I’ll miss that a lot. I’ll also miss getting to do some of the stuff that I get to do as Harry. I mean, I’m not naturally… I don’t think I have the frame and stature of an action hero, so it’s kind of a gift for a young actor to be able to do all that stuff… you know, I got to do a 40ft freefall down a roof when I was 15 and all the water stuff – bursting out of the water surrounded by a ring of fire. I will never get to do that again. So, I’ll miss some of the opportunities that playing Harry brought me.

Q. You’ve grown up physically and as an actor on-screen, so when you look back and watch yourself, especially to the first couple of movies and see little you, what do you think?
Daniel Radcliffe: It’s very strange… we did a screening of the film over here [in New York] and I invited a lot of people from the [Broadway] show to come and see it and it was kind of merciless, the fact that when all these images of me as a little kid came up, they all went: “Aaahhh…” This was 60 of my quite good friends [laughs]. So, it’s very, very strange and it kind of is sad because I’m not that little person, or that lovely little thing anymore, but it’s sort of just nostalgic and weird.

But I’m very proud to have grown up with it and also, when I look at those first films, we had no idea what we were doing. And that applies to all of us to a certain extent. I mean, if you look at the visual effects, just the jump between 1 and 2 involving the visual effects is huge! We were kind of all finding our feet – the cast and the director, Chris Columbus, was landed with what was potentially the biggest film franchise in the world and he had to start it all off. It wasn’t an easy job but he did a fantastic job of it. So, it’s just very peculiar when you see photos of yourself and look at yourself at that age. I’m sure I’ll be learning to live with it for a long time. I’m sure I’ll see those for some time.

Q. The final film is fantastic…
Daniel Radcliffe: It is, isn’t it! I’m just so happy with it. When Hogwarts starts coming to life… I was there and I saw it. But those shots are the least interesting to film, when you just have this empty space, and then suddenly you have those suits of armour, those knights, clattering to the ground and coming to life, I was just: “Yes!” I was so excited by it.

Q. Was it an emotional experience watching it?
Daniel Radcliffe: Yeah, it was… and not just because it’s the last film in the series but also because it is so emotional. The performance I found the most moving was Alan Rickman. I’ve said this in interviews a lot and I’ll keep saying it but I do think it’s the film performance of his career. I think he should get nominations for best supporting actor because it’s so touching and heart-wrenching and beautiful what he does. I’m really thrilled to have shared the screen with him.

Q. To me, one of the most powerful scenes is when you, Ron and Hermione are standing on that bridge and the camera pulls out. Are you going to miss your co-stars and being part of that Potter holy trinity?
Daniel Radcliffe: Yes, absolutely, very, very much! I mean, we’ve spent 10 years of our lives with each other and it’s been an amazing privilege to watch them both grow up and change and develop so much as actors. We all have. But not just Rupert [Grint] and Emma [Watson] but people like Tom Felton and Matthew Rhys, who comes into his own in this film, and shows us all what he’s always been capable of. We’ve all grown up so much and we’ve all learnt by doing and being around each other, so we fed off each other all the time – our enthusiasm and our shared knowledge that we were learning as we were going along. So, I mean it’s been incredibly special. And I do think the bond between me, Rupert and Emma is pretty unbreakable because I don’t think anyone knows what it’s like to go through this craziness. I’ll miss them very, very much but hopefully we’ll find other projects to work together on.

Q. We have a room full of press behind this camera who have followed you all through these films, so do you have a message for them?
Daniel Radcliffe: Yes, I do. Thank you very, very much for interviewing me for the last 10 years. I hope that I managed to say something at least halfway interesting to most of you across that time. And I hope to continue to do other films, so come and interview me for them as well… that would be great!

Read our review of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2

Read our interview with David Yates

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