BBC Radio Devon: You must be so proud of the Harry Potter films, not least with the award from BAFTA.
Matthew: It’s such a nice surprise. I started when I was 11 years old. Just working on the films has been incredible. I’ve actually loved it, but you don’t get a sense of how big it’s become over the years when you’re in the studio. So to have finished last year and this year to receive the award – it’s pretty special. It means a lot.
BBC: Can you tell us what it is like being within the production itself?
Matthew:It’s fun. That’s one of the key words. We’ve been there for such a long time. We all went through our schooling together and did our exams at the same time. When we all started it was the first major production of that scale that we’d all done, so we were all very much in the same boat. And we’ve all dealt with it ourselves. We’ve all had such a good time. All the adult actors, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, all those guys are great to be around. They’re having such a good laugh. They treat us like their equals and they always have done, which is really nice. It’s been amazing. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet. I don’t think it will for quite some time.
BBC: About Hogwarts – going up the moving staircases and all of that – presumably that doesn’t actually happen while you’re filming it. How do you as an individual actor, imagine what happens?
Matthew: It’s tough sometimes. With the moving staircase, we actually built a staircase that was on wheels and a load of big burly blokes pushed it ‘round the room as we moved on it.
BBC: That’s magic for you, isn’t it?
Matthew: Exactly, so you’re trying to ignore that kind of thing and focus on what you’re doing. For example, in No. 4 when there was supposed to be a dragon, we were actually following a guy around with a big stick and a tennis ball on the end. And you had to just focus on that and pretend it was a scary dragon. It’s hard work and that’s where the action really comes into it. The director really plays his part there because the director’s got to get the most of it and get it into whatever scene we’re trying to convey. It’s hard. They’re the most mentally draining scenes when you’re acting to nothing.
BBC: It’s the final film we’ll see this year. How do you feel about that, because ultimately this is the end of an era for you, isn’t it?
Matthew: It was a strange feeling on the last day. It was very, very surreal, actually. I don’t really remember much of it. But it was a big scene that we shot. There were loads of cast members in it, lots of extras and hundreds of people on the set. And then when it finished it was just a couple of us that looked around and all Hogwarts was destroyed and reduced to rubble. It was really odd. So empty. But I wasn’t that sad. I knew that I’d be seeing everyone again for premieres . I wasn’t sad because I was just so proud of what we’d done. I never thought when I was 11 years old that I’d be talking to BBC Radio Devon about the eight film that we’ve made. I’m 21 years old. It’s just been a pleasure and I’ve just felt so proud of everyone. We got through them all. We made them all and did the best that we could.
BBC: What a way to spend a decade, really, Matthew.
Matthew: Yes, I’ve been pretty lucky in that respect. I can think of worse things I could’ve been doing for the last ten years.
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