Hallows and goodbyes as Harry Potter begins to end

Words by Des Sampson

The end is nigh for Harry Potter, with The Deathly Hallows - the final act of the most lucrative book-to-film franchise in history - set to descend upon us.

Daniel Radcliffe had campaigned from the start to break the story into two movies. Unlike the earlier books, which had secondary plot lines that could be omitted, Deathly Hallows had few details to drop, Radcliffe says.

"It's just the three of them on the road, and that's what you're focusing on, that's where everything happens. So there's very little you can actually cut without changing the story," he says.


"Not only was it a really long shoot, it was also really tricky because we didn't film them back to back," he reveals. "We shot them simultaneously, like Lord of the Rings, so it got really confusing. If we didn't have such a good crew and David directing us, it could have got completely out of control because the schedule for the last year was crazy. I literally don't know what film each scene was in, or how they fit together. But we all just buckled down because it's the last one and we wanted to make it as memorable and epic as possible."

Befitting the finale of the biggest film series ever, the special effects, battles and storyline have all been amplified, with a growing focus on Lord Voldemort, his henchmen and the nefarious Death Eaters. It's a shift that bad boy Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy, relished.

"It was great to have an opportunity to really sink our teeth into something and into each other," he asserts, laughing. "It adds a whole different twist to my character which I thoroughly enjoyed."

"It's always very appealing playing a villain," admits Helena Bonham-Carter, reprising her role as Bellatrix Lestrange. "It's so much fun being a tyrant, with no empathy for anyone. I revelled in that, in being a girl with arrested development who orders people around."

"She really enjoys getting into her part," smirks Lewis, recalling a scene he shared with her in Order of the Phoenix.

"She was holding me hostage and I remember she turned to the director and said; 'Wouldn't it be quite fitting - and sinister - if she started to really enjoy torturing him?' Then she started playing with her wand, before sticking the tip in my ear, teasingly. There were lots of explosions going off around us and somehow it suddenly went straight into my ear, about an inch! It actually ruptured my eardrum and hurt like hell - I couldn't hear a thing for a week - but it looked great on camera!"

There are equally sinister and squeamish moments in The Deathly Hallows with Alan Rickman, as Severus Snape, at his sneering best and Jason Isaacs as horrid as ever as Draco's dad, Lucius Malfoy.

"Jason plays an evil sod so beautifully well," sniggers Felton. "He's perfect as a villain. But it's scary how he has the ability to be telling you a showbiz story one minute and as soon as they say 'camera rolling' he snaps into this horrible bastard, who grabs my ear and does all sorts of twisted things.

Although he's enjoyed his role, playing the bullying, demonic Draco, Felton admits there have been a few downsides: namely people misjudging, or mistaking his character for him.

"Yeah, most people struggle to see that I'm not my character. They're usually surprised when they meet me and realise I'm quite a nice guy, not an arse," he laughs. "As for kids, I can't get a handshake, for love nor money, out of them because they're generally terrified and don't want to come anywhere near me! It's as if I'm trying to lure them into the dark side!"