My Diary

The first of the final two Harry Potter movies — Deathly Hallows — Part 1 — is scheduled to be released on November 19, but the stars finished shooting both films earlier this summer. Daniel Radcliffe, 21,  Emma Watson, 20, and Rupert Grint, 21, have been playing Harry, Hermione, and Ron for more than decade, literally for half of their lives. When EW sat down with each of them last year at Leavesden Studios outside London as they entered the final stretch of filming, it was clear that they each were struggling with mixed emotions: happy that they had made the journey and ambitious to make these final films they best they could be, but eager, also, to start the rest of their lives.

“I’m ready to kind of move on now, I think,” Grint said between takes. “This film is a great way to finish the whole era, and it’s going to be sad, because obviously all my friends are here, but 10 years is enough.” The three of them were shooting a scene in the Room of Requirement in which Harry, Ron, and Hermione are searching for a horcrux — in this case, the tiara-like Ravenclaw diadem. Watson and Grint were both sopping wet. (In the film, Ron and Hermione have recently destroyed another horcrux in water and were pursued by a Voldemort-shaped tsunami.) Grint and Watson were kept soaked by crew members, who sprayed the pair down every few minutes. It was not making Watson happy. “It’s been this way for weeks,” she said, shivering next to a space heater. “I hate to sound whiny, but it’s horrible. It’s miserable being wet all the time.” She shrugged and added flatly: “But, you know, I was told it will look very dramatic when you see the films, so it will be worth it.”

Radcliffe, meanwhile, seemed to be in a tug-of-war with himself about finishing his run as Harry Potter. “This film has been hard to make, and I’ve had some of the most trying moments, both physically and mentally, than ever before,” he said. “I wasn’t entirely thrilled with my performance in Half-Blood [Prince] — I found it quite same-y, and didn’t think there was enough variation in it — so I’ve worked hard to make sure that if the seventh film comes out and I’m still unhappy with it, I’ll know it won’t be from lack of trying.”

For more on Harry Potter, plus all the scoop on 98 new movies, pick up the new issue ofEntertainment Weekly, on stands August 13.

source-EW