TF Meets Dumbledore's Army: Ginny Weasley

Having grown up on set and being with the same group of people and knowing that that is going to be breaking up, are you looking forward to going your own way?

Yeah, we’re quite near to the end. I think that it is quite sad to know that in a few years I won’t be looking forward to the next one. But we’ll have been doing it for about ten years when we finish and that’s quite a large chunk out of all of our lives.

Do you worry about not fitting your character because you’ve grown up so much?

Well, I think they’ve timed it quite well, doing one a year pretty much as quick as they can and to get each year to be our year at school. But inevitably it does take a long time to produce. But I think luckily we started so young so we’re able to stay looking the same age as our characters. Ginny’s 15 and I’m 16 so it’s ok.

You’re all friends and have gone on a long adventure together…

Yes, definitely. We’ve all become friends and the new people who have started have all completely joined into the family too, as if they’ve always been there. So I think we’ll all still be friends, even after it’s finished.

Who are your main friends?

Katie, who plays Cho and Emma who plays Hermione and Evanna, who has just joined as Luna. We’ve all got along really well.

So all girls then. Is there a boy versus girl thing going on?

No! Especially towards the end of this film when it was just the six of us and we did all the filming together, it made us firmer friends.

What action did you get up to in this film?

Well we’re in the ministry of magic and it’s quite intense and we’re legging it down the hallway with the others, the death eaters, running behind us. It was fun to be able to run around for a while.

Are you in awe of the adult actors or do they put you at ease?

I think definitely for us, it’s amazing to have them there because we’re learning from them all the time. Sometimes you feel they might be patronising but they’re completely open to all our endeavours in the scenes. The dynamics between us is really good and I think they enjoy working with us and having younger actors around. Sometimes we have to tell them off for being too rowdy!

Has Rupert become like an older brother to you?

Yeah definitely; and James and Oliver who play the Weasley twins. We’ve all become quite close through doing all the burrow scenes. So it’s definitely become quite a brotherly relationship.

Does Julie behave like your mum?

Yeah, she likes to have a cuddly family around. She definitely brings so much energy to the Weasley family, you know, no matter what happens we still smile!

Have you ever been a victim of one of Rupert’s wind-ups?

No! He’s done quite a lot of jokes on us all, but luckily I’ve never had anything that’s been too embarrassing!

What kind of things has he done?

He laughs when we’re on set and makes everyone else laugh in the middle of a scene! I can always see him out of the corner of my eye, sniggering and it sets me off too! He can’t control himself!

Does it make the family feeling extra special, the fact that you are essentially in the same place every year?

Yeah, it’s almost a second home and we have our dressing rooms set up nicely for each film. From film to film, we usually haven’t seen each other for a while and it’s like coming back for a school term.

Is it weird to go off and do a couple of different television programmes and then coming back to Harry Potter ?

Yeah, because I’m so relaxed around all the actors involved in Harry Potter, it’s quite strange to be around different people. But it’s good to have a challenge; I think sometimes you can get too relaxed. I do really love acting and I want to keep doing it, but not as my total career. There are lots of other things I’d like to try like art school. But I’m very interested in the film industry, maybe more so than when I started, so I’d like to stay with it, maybe behind the camera instead of in front of it. I spent lots of time watching Stuart, the production designer, even designing the next film. They are working on it the whole time, the costumes, everything. Each film has a new character and they have to come up with a whole wardrobe for that new person.

You’ve been there from the beginning, how has David differed from the other directors?

I think he’s definitely come in with a really strong idea; every one wants to make the film their own and to give it a new look and I think he had a really clear insight into how this one was going to look. I think that for him the character relationships were really a big thing, he wants to be there with you saying well what do you think? What would your character be feeling? He wants your opinions and wants you to be involved in how it ends up. We’re only thinking about our character and he’s thinking about all of them and how they will interact with each other. He really lets us see what’s in his mind, which is good for us because sometimes you can be a bit unaware of what the director are asking of you.

Have you become good over the course of the films envisioning some of the magical creatures and special effects that are added in later?

Yeah, seeing some of the basic models you have to really try hard to imagine them in front of you and think about how they would be acting and moving around in front of your face.

What sort of reaction do you get from fans?

People often stop me in the street and are unsure if I am me or not. It’s always been really positive and it’s really made me aware of the amount of people that are into the films and Harry Potter in general. I think it’s made me aware of how big the audience is and that it’s not just kids. That’s really made me appreciate what I’m doing.

Does it make you feel pressure; you know that you’ve got to get this right?

I think there’s a slight pressure in that people want to see how you’ve developed as a character; if you stayed the same they would probably just get bored. So I concentrate on that, but I don’t ever feel a negative pressure. Most of the time people are pretty positive with it.

Do you think you are similar to Ginny?

I am in this film, I quite liked her being shy and timid but I think I can relate to her more when she’s being a bit more involved and feisty.

Do you ever go back and watch the first film?

I haven’t for a long time. When it’s all finished I might go back in five years and watch them all the way through, that might be quite interesting. They’re always on TV around Christmas time and you’ll be flicking around the channels and it will come on and you’ll be like ‘oh my God’! Everyone looks so young when they did it and we all look completely different.

What is your favourite of the films so far?

I think each one has it’s own spark. The first two were really family orientated and then it gets darker, but to be honest I like them all - I know that sounds boring to say! I think each one is special in it’s own way and I’m really interested to see how the fifth one will look.