Interview by: Alysa Salzberg

AlysaSalzberg@TheCinemaSource.com

I'll be honest. I've met a few celebrities in my time here at The Cinema Source, but none have made me so giddy as Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson (not even Ben Affleck). After all, they're Harry Potter and Hermoine Granger, man ' um, I mean, these two young talents have brought some of my favorite literary characters (Harry Potter and Hermoine Granger, respectively) to life in three films.

As a result of the Harry Potter movies, Radcliffe and Watson have been watched on big screens all over the world, and their faces adorn signs and billboards, as well as ads on TV and the Internet, in countries as diverse as England and Israel, Japan and Brazil. As if the awkwardness and angst of adolescence isn't tough enough ' they've got to go through it in front of everyone!

'Um, well,' Radcliffe starts, with a polite shyness that some people might find surprising, 'It hasn't affected me. I'm kind of just going through what every other teenager goes through, but with posters. It's not as different as people would expect.'

You might think that fame and fortune would go to Radcliffe and Watson's young heads. But as Dan's answer goes to show, that's not the case. Sure, they might've flown on brooms and hippogriffs in the movies (and made millions doing it), but Radcliffe and Watson seem amazingly down to earth.

'I think Daniel and I are both lucky to have very supportive families,' Watson begins. 'I'm trying to do exactly what I did before I even started the film[s]. Between every single film I always get back to school, I see all my friends, I play sport, I go to normal teenage parties.'

Normal teenage parties' When you've got millions of dollars to blow' 'All of my money is locked away in a bank till I'm 25,' Emma laughs. 'I'm not gonna see it till then, and um, I suppose I just have good friends and family who just keep my feet on the ground and keep it real.'

Yep, she did indeed say 'keep it real.' If it's hard to picture Watson's prettily accented voice forming that phrase, it does go a long way towards confirming her normal teen-ness. And Dan's conversation topic of choice quickly makes you realize he's no different ' he loves music, and seems like he'd be happy to talk about it all day. In fact, when you ask him which, of all the celebrities he's had the chance to meet, he was most excited about, he thinks for a minute, then replies: 'There's a really cool band called Feeder who I got to meet 'cause they were shooting a video [on] the [sound-] stage next to us, and that was really amazing.' Only then does he add what you might have expected in the first place: 'And I got to meet some of my favourite actors like Gary Oldman...who I've loved since I started acting. I've always watched his films.'

Don't get me wrong, though -- Dan's enthusiasm about Oldman is absolutely sincere. The guy is his acting hero. Working with Oldman 'was amazing,' he says, 'because, ever since the Harry Potter films, I've been watching films a lot more, and I watched probably, I'd say 90% of Gary Oldman's films. I have so much respect for him as an actor. I think he's one of the greatest actors of his generation. And it was a complete inspiration to work with him, and he's actually the nicest guy, as well.' What could be better than working with your idol' How 'bout getting some music pointers to boot' 'He gave me a bass lesson,' Radcliffe says, 'and he's a really great bass player.'

'Dan almost, uh, bit my head off,' Emma pipes in laughingly. 'When he said 'Gary Oldman's been cast as [convicted wizard murderer] Sirius Black,' I went, 'Who'''

'My face just kind of dropped,' Daniel adds.

Emma nods. 'Now I know that that is the most terrible thing I could possibly say, ever.' But Emma has been converted. As Sirius Black, Oldman, she says, 'did such a good job. He's great.'

I guess it's good for me that Watson didn't know who Oldman was. After all, as Harry Potter fans know, if it'd been her character Hermoine talking, she'd have not only known the actor's name, but would be able to recite his entire filmography without batting an eye, and that would have taken me a long time to write down.

But just how different are Watson and Radcliffe from their Potter characters' Working on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (which came out in theaters June 4), the two found that they and their co-star Rupert Grint, who plays the wisecracking Ron Weasley, had more in common with their characters than they might have thought. Explains Emma, 'One of the first things [new Potter director Alfonso Cuar'n] did when we first met him was that he asked us to write an essay about our characters, not just to help us, but to help him to kind of see the character through our eyes.'

'I think it's quite important to mention that when we did the essay,' Dan goes on, 'we basically did exactly what our characters would have done in the same situation. So, like, I wrote a page, and it was fine, it was okay, it wasn't great, which is what Harry does. Rupert...forgot to do it, and ' I always get the figure wrong ' Emma, how many pages did you write''

Emma gives another laugh. 'Well, it actually gets a little bit more every single time [we tell this story], but I...um...'

Dan tells it flatly: 'About eleven.'

Now it's Emma's turn to seem shy. She gives a bashful giggle. 'I have big handwriting, I leave big spaces.'

But just as any Hermoine homework assignment worth its salt would be, Emma's essay, says Dan, 'was a really quite amazing asset, so Alfonso read it to us.'

Don't let the laughter and modesty fool you, though ' they may be regular kids at heart, but Radcliffe and Watson are also immensely talented actors. In Azkaban, they show even more range. Which is good, since the third installment in the Potter series takes both their characters in more extreme directions, with Hermoine's newfound sense of defiance, and Harry's ever-increasing sorrow, loneliness, and anger at his parents' cruel fate. How do Dan and Emma see their growth as actors'

Dan looks thoughtful. 'I think we probably have changed as actors [since the first film]...but I'm not conscious of myself changing. I mean, you kind of don't pick up on it, 'cause...I [haven't] watched the first film for about three years now, so I can't really compare it to the third.'

I find it at once cool and sad that Dan isn't sweating over his incredible performance in this film. It really does deserve high praise. Was it easier for him to reach to the depths of his emotions because new director Alfonso Cuar'n (Y Tu Mam' Tambi'n) was at the helm'

'Basically, I think everything that we learnt with Chris [Columbus, who directed the first two films and is an exec producer on this one], we were now able to put into practice with a different director, and I think the reason Alfonso...was able to do longer takes and was able to do more complicated shots was 'cause, with Chris we just didn't have the experience or the focus to do that kind of stuff and so with Alfonso we're kind of just [now] getting a chance. And it is harder, it is more challenging...which is good, because if we're getting older and we're not being challenged, then there's no point in doing it, really. I think it's just that we learn more with each director, and now with the fourth [Potter movie] with Mike Newell directing, I think we're gonna learn even more there as well.'

Emma nods in agreement. And what about her role in this film' The normally goody two shoes Hermoine shows some rebelliousness in Azkaban, even altering the laws of time itself when the situation calls for it.

'Oh, I loved it! It's my favourite book, my favourite script, and it's such a fantastic part for Hermoine. She really comes into her own, and I think you see a really different side to her than you have in the other two [films]. I think it's much more personal, and this film has really tested and challenged me, and I've definitely enjoyed it the best out of the three because of that....I hope that I did her justice,' Watson goes on, 'and that she's what [fans] thought she'd be.'

When asked about the punch her character delivers to the bratty Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), Watson grins broadly. 'I loved every single second of it. Girl power. It was great. I would have done [the scene] for a whole week, but we got it in a couple of takes. I'm like, 'Well, I want to do it again.''

'It's a great moment,' Dan chimes in. 'It's one of those moments...it's like, in the premiere everybody cheered.'

Dan's role as Potter's titular hero is always sure to bring him some triumphant moments on screen, as well, but as the series goes on, other things in Harry's life get bleaker and more dangerous. In Azkaban, this means, not only the usual suspenseful action scenes, but also some very strong emotional ones, as well.

'Basically,' Dan explains, 'Harry, being a teenager, has the same feelings as any other teenager...but because of his past, I think he feels...the feelings of anger or loneliness more strongly, so I think that was kind of hard for me, but because I obviously am feeling the same things as him, I guess I just kind of took what I was feeling, basically just exaggerated them and, like, listened to music or anything to get me in the right state of mind for the filming and then just kind of hoped for the best.'

'The best' is definitely what he achieved, as anyone who sees Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban can attest. 'Dan focused so hard on a lot of the scenes in this [film],' Emma says, 'and one of the scenes that he did, he was so into it that he almost fainted.'

'It was one of the Dementor scenes,' Radcliffe shyly admits, 'where it's me and Sirius by the lake, um, and I have my soul sucked out, and I kind of, I did this ' I do this stupid thing where I forget to breathe properly and I'll hyperventilate.' Emma laughs, and he trains his big blue eyes groundward, 'So yeah, um...'

As great acting in the Potter films goes, of course, these two weren't alone. Like the other two movies, Azkaban is packed with some of the greatest stars of modern British cinema. As Emma says, 'What a cast, really.' Besides Emma's favorite, Emma Thompson as Professor Trelawney, and returning actors like Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) and Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall), 'it was so amazing,' Dan marvels, 'for us to be working in the same room as [Gary] Oldman, David Thewlis, Timothy Spall, and Alan Rickman all in one go. It was unbelievable.' The two also got to work with Michael Gambon, who took on the role of Albus Dumbledor, a character originally interpreted by Richard Harris (whose death Dan describes as 'awful'). As Dan describes it, Gambon plays the Hogwarts headmaster as 'kind of a little more of a mischievous Dumbledor.'

Being able to challenge themselves as actors, and having the chance to work with tons of great people on- and off 'set sound like a thespian's paradise. And the passion Watson and Radcliffe bring to their Potter roles makes it seem like a sure thing they'll go on playing Harry and Hermoine till the last of the films (of which there will be a total of seven). But when they're asked about this, their answers aren't so simple.

'Well,' Daniel says, 'I mean, we're already started on the fourth one, so we're definitely doing the fourth, I mean, but after that, each film takes a year to do, so, I mean, it's not something....'

Emma cuts in: 'One film at a time.' She laughs, 'Whoa.'

I try to hold back an un-reporterly gasp of horror. It's hard enough having a new Dumbledor, but a new Harry and Hermoine' But it's not all about me ' how would Emma and Dan themselves feel at seeing new faces in their roles'

'I don't know the point in lying,' Dan confesses, 'I mean, it would be very hard to watch someone else playing the parts, I think. But I mean, I don't know. We are getting older than the characters. I mean, because there was a longer gap between the third and fourth [films] I'm now fourteen, and...turn fifteen in a couple of months so I am getting older than Harry. But...we're kind of taking it one film at a time. And if...they do want me to do it after five [films] well, we'll just have to see then, I suppose.'

Well...so, the future of the Harry Potter films may not be quite as assured as fans would like to think. What about its two stars' future plans'

'I really love acting,' Radcliffe attests, 'I would like to go on to do it in later life, but...there's loads of other stuff I'm interested in as well, mainly music and writing and things like that....I'd love to go on to do other films, I'd love to maybe form a band [and] make a record.' Still, whatever his aspirations to musical greatness, Dan always comes back to his first love. With a voice full of as much conviction as any rock star singing a power ballad, he finishes his musing: 'Films are definitely something I'd love to carry on doing.'

As for Watson: 'I love performing, I love being creative. There's so many different aspects of the film world that, even if I don't pursue acting...I'm just going to go with the flow and see what happens.'

'Emma is actually a really quite fantastic singer,' Dan looks at her. 'I know you won't mention it yourself.'

Emma laughs. 'I'd like to maybe [do] some stage work....I love to sing and dance and I love the adrenaline you get when you're right there on stage with an audience responding to you.'

I guess that's some consolation: even if they don't stay for the duration of their studies at Hogwarts, at least these two talented actors aren't planning to leave the magic of the world of showbiz. But, who knows if they won't stay on after all' It seems like all we fans can do is take a cue from the down-to-earth Dan and Emma: go with the flow and see what happens.

Click Here for our review of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban