It’s pretty darn amazing sitting in Professor Dumbledore’s chair in the Great Hall, let me tell you.
I know, because that’s exactly what I got to do on the set of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third Harry Potter installment in which 13-year-old boy wizard Harry and his friends contend with werewolves, sinister Dementors and teenage angst. The movie opens June 4, but we at Hollywood.com couldn’t wait–so I jumped at the chance to visit London’s Leavesdon studios during filming last October to bring you an inside look at Harry Potter’s world.
In between glimpses of awe-inspiring scenery, I spoke with the three leads–Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, as well as Robbie Coltrane, who plays Hagrid–about making the more contemporary second sequel as well as working with director Alfonso Cuaron.
A Place Called Potterville
Some 30 miles north of London, Leavesdon, which used to be an old aircraft factory, isn’t what you would consider a typical movie studio. Rusted buildings and overgrown airstrips belie the magic that goes on inside this thriving film mecca, which since the 1990s has produced GoldenEye and Sleepy Hollow, among others.
Now Leavesdon is dedicated entirely to Harry Potter, so key sets such as the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’s Great Hall need never be torn down–and driving onto the lot, I did spot an odd prop or two, such as the Knight Bus (several, actually) and the snake heads from the Chamber of Secrets. Too cool.
Walking around these glorious sets, I immediately notice how painstakingly detailed they are as well as built to last, with real wooden doors, working fireplaces, stain glass windows, stone pillars, giant paintings, marble staircases–you name it. Even Watson, Radcliffe and Grint can’t hide their excitement, especially seeing new Azkaban sets for the first time, including the Shrieking Shack, Hogsmeade, Honeydukes Sweet Shoppe (with real candy in every container) and the Clock Tower.
“I still walk around with my mouth open,” Watson admits. A first-time observer myself, that’s putting it mildly.
My, How They’ve Grown
The trio of young actors have definitely become more confident since their tenuous first days as Harry Potter icons. Sitting around a big wooden table next to a makeshift Hogwarts’ courtyard, complete with a real pear tree, it’s easy to see how the three friends have established a nice, easy and genuine rapport between them.
Grint still isn’t much of a talker, (and oftentimes inspires great laughter from his co-stars with his short, nondescript answers) and Emma is still a little shy–but Daniel has by far emerged as the group’s eloquent spokesman. He’s a much different boy now from when he first started out.
When explaining how Harry has to tap into some serious emotions, particularly anger, in Azkaban, Radcliffe says, “I can’t say I’ve actually ever wanted to kill someone, per se, but I think everyone has moments where they’ve gotten very angry. And you just have to channel that, I guess. I listened to a lot of music, which helped…”
“Scary music!” Grint interjects.
Radcliffe laughs. “I just like loads of guitar music. But not only does Harry have to deal with anger in this one but other truly, truly horrific things. I mean, he actually hears his mother screaming as she is murdered. So that was a bit hard to prepare for. My dad
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grew up in Northern Ireland, when all the real trouble was going on. And there was a man across the street from him who was murdered, when my dad was eight years old. He heard the man’s wife screaming from across the street. So I had a really long discussion with him about that.”
More than a little complex for a 14-year-old.
When asked what has been the most challenging part of making Azkaban, Radcliffe launches right in. “The Shrieking Shack [where Harry learns about his parents’ past, especially his father’s, and discovers a new ally], with Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Alan Rickman (Prof. Snape), Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew), David Thewlis (Prof. Lupin) all at the same time…..Oh my god! Fantastic! I was surrounded by some of the most amazing actors, so that’s probably the most interesting to me, as well as the most challenging. Obviously, you’re putting in effort all the time but when you’re with that caliber of acting, you’ve got to really, really go for it.”
“Same for me.” Watson adds. “The Shrieking Shack [scene] was the most challenging. It took quite a long time to shoot. It’s such a complex scene and a lot is happening in it. It was also quite emotional, really. It was draining.”
Grint offers up a different scenerio. “Probably when I was dragged by a dog across the grass into a tree. It was quite difficult, I suppose. I swallowed a lot of grass. I think I kicked the camera lens off.”
The kids giggle.
New Guy on the Block
Unfortunately, director Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien), who found himself with some big shoes to fill after taking over the reins from departing director Chris Columbus, unfortunately is too busy to speak with us. He manages only a quick hello before he has to rush off to wrangle a posse of animals, or something of that nature, for a pivotal scene at Hagrid’s hut.
Coltrane and the kids are also on set this day for their big scene at the hut, where Harry and the gang are trying to save Hagrid’s beloved Hippogriff–an animatronic half eagle, half horse–named Buckbeak from the executioner’s block. It’s an elaborate setup, complete with the myriad of real animals Hagrid keeps around.
Coltrane puts things into perspective. “Many people reacted strangely when they heard a Mexican director was taking on the veddy British Harry Potter, as you can imagine,” Coltrane says. “But I said, no, no, go see A Little Princess, a wonderful piece of work [that Cuaron directed]. He’s just the right guy for the job.”
“Chris would have a fantastically energetic approach,” Radcliffe explains. “Alfonso has a much more laid-back style. More emotional and intense–”
“Especially for me,” Watson chimes in, “who really hasn’t acted before, it was great working with a new director. Doing things differently, different techniques, ideas–”
“–but ultimately, this is an adaptation of a book,” he finishes. “So it can’t be the director who says what kind of film it’s going to be, can it? The book does that.”
One thing is for certain: Cuaron seems tuned into the teenage experience. Coltrane quips, “Well, yeah. I mean, I’ve seen Y Tu Mama Tambien.”
The director let the young actors explore their character’s personalities in ways they haven’t before, giving them more contemporary issues to deal with, while keeping the same tone and feel of the Potter books and movies we’ve come to love.
“The kids are at a very odd age, 12-13 years old,” Coltrane continues. “They don’t know whether to play with their train set or look at nudie mags. Alfonso knows exactly how
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protected they need to be but at the same time, knows that they are up for a little bit of semi-adult material.”
“[Cuaron] made us write an essay about our characters, how they’ve changed since the first book,” Radcliffe says. “Emma here put me and Rupert to shame with her sixteen page opus.”
Watson reddens. “I have very big handwriting!”
As we view the scene being shot–a rather tedious process actually but a wonderful chance to finally sit down and just watch–I do notice that it is also a particularly touchy scene for Hermione and Ron, who, up to this point in the story, have been fighting nonstop. In an effort to smooth things between them, Hagrid makes them hug–which they do, reluctantly but sweetly.
When it is suggested that perhaps Hermione and Ron are destined to be together in future Potter installments, the two young actors react with the appropriate “No way!” and “Ew, gross!” responses–all while Radcliffe looks on, nodding knowingly.
Furry Friends
Animals also play a big part in Azkaban, more so than the previous two films, especially in the ongoing feud between Hermione’s cat Crookshanks and Ron’s rat Scabbers and now that Hagrid has been hired as Hogwarts’ new Care of Magical Creatures professor. This time there’s bats, lizards, owls, a giant mastiff, and even Buckbeak to contend with.
We are introduced to the multitude of animal handlers, who each explained how all the animals on set were treated with special care. Yes, even the rats.
“It’s all about the rat and cat in this film,” Watson offers. “It’s like Tom and Jerry all over again. But I loved [Crookshanks]” Then looking at the boys, she whines, “They were all so rude to my cat!”
“He was ugly! He looks like he’s been thrown up against the wall,” Radcliffe teases.
“He’s beautiful in his own ugly way,” Watson declares.
Crookshanks, aka Crackerjack, a red Persian, does have a face only his mother could love but certainly seems mild-tempered, even if after only a few moments out of its cage, the diva feline wanted right back in. Come to find out the cat actually liked the rats during shooting. Who would have thought?
“Scabbers is a massive rat, more like a small Labrador,” Grint interjects, but it wasn’t the massive rat that bothered him. “It was bats. Of course, you know by now spiders make me squeamish, but when I was in there with the bats, apparently, I’m scared of bats as well. Horrible!”
“I quite like animals but they can be unpredictable,” Coltrane adds. “And I think the most shocking thing to discover is that owls are about the most stupid birds there are. Very hard to train. They are like sharks, very efficient killing machines. So they don’t need any other skills, do they? ‘I can eat anything I want. Nothing is going to attack me. Do I need to be charming? I don’t think so.'”
At day’s end as this exhilarating experience came to a close, after bidding good-bye to the cast and crew, I realized on the drive through the countryside back to London that despite this brief glimpse into the reality of how Harry Potter‘s magic is created, the real magic still happens on the big screen.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban opens in theaters June 4.
