Daniel Radcliffe Talks “Deathly Hallows” with EW (SPOILER ALERT!)

July 27th, 2007 in Action, Actors, Movies, The Movie Biz

EW.com has obtained an exclusive interview from Harry Potter himself — Daniel Radcliffe — in regards to his take on the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. Daniel, who was interviewed by EW in regards to his upcoming movie December Boys, reveals his thoughts about J.K. Rowling’s final book, including what shocked him, what theories he saw confirmed, and what he did when he finished it. After the jump is an excerpt for EW’s interview with Radcliffe:

EW: When did you get to start reading [Deathly Hallows]?
DR: I actually wrote, in the front of my book, the exact time of me starting to read it. I think it was 9:30 at night on the 22nd of July, which was the day before my [18th] birthday. I read two chapters on that day, which wasn’t very much at all, of course. About page 30, I got to. Then I actually didn’t get to read [any of] it again for another couple of days. I started again on the 24th and 25th, and over those two days or so, I seemed to completely demolish it. I read 350 pages in one day at one point.

What surprised or shocked you the most?
Dobby’s death. He’s always been a comic character, in some ways. And that’s what makes it so powerful, I suppose. I’m sure Jo’s had that planned for a very long time. That was one of the bits that made me surprised. One of my other theories had been that Snape would end up being a sort of tragic hero, and so I was pleased to see that one in fact come through. That [idea] was given to me by a guy interviewing me, a while ago. He said he thought that would be the case. And I thought, Oh, that’s very good.

Were you glad to find out that Harry, Ron, and Hermione all survive?
I was, actually. Weirdly enough, I think that’s the bravest thing she could’ve done. I was convinced for about two years that Harry would die.

Why?
I just felt it was the only way she could end it. But then, within the last six months, it suddenly occurred to me that that was far too obvious. She had to find a cleverer way of doing it. And indeed she did. With Ron and Hermione, I really liked the epilogue. I think a few people might’ve been not so keen on that. But I actually really, really liked it.

Or believing he’s dying…
That time wasn’t short enough to be painless. But it wasn’t long enough for him to find complete acceptance within it either. He struggles to find acceptance. Ultimately, he finds a sort of acceptance. But he’s not necessarily reconciled with the idea of it. He knows he has to do it, but he’s still scared. I just can’t wait to be able to film it. I think Jo has given me, once again, an amazing opportunity to step up. So hopefully I’ll be able to.

What did you do when you finished reading Deathly Hallows?
I was in a car at the time. I had my iPod in, and I was listening to Sigur Rós. I don’t know if you know them. They’re a band who do sort of instrumental music, but it’s just amazing. I think they’re from Scandinavia somewhere. They’ve got an album called Takk…I was listening to, and it’s very, very appropriate [for the end of Deathly Hallows]. I was listening to it and I remember I was sort of turned away from everybody else in the car, just so I could be in my own little world when I read it. What did I do when I finished? I think I just put the book down and carried on listening to the music. Just looked out of the car window, ’cause I couldn’t think of what else to do. I’m still struggling to really take it in. It doesn’t leave you in a hurry.

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