In a new interview with the Belfast Times, Ciarán Hinds (Aberforth Dumbledore) talks about his time filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Ciarán will be in attendance at the Belfast Film Festival for the premiere of his movie The Eclipse on April 23rd, you can get tickets to it here.

One wonders what other dark characters Hinds might have been well-suited for in his career, but his next big role as the brother of Professor Dumbledore in the final two Harry Potter films offers up the possibility that he could have played quite a wonderful Severus Snape. “Oh yeah!” he laughs, adding quickly, “But Alan Rickman’s great as him.”

He will be joining a veritable who’s-who of British and Irish acting talent in the cast list of the movies, which are due for release this year and next year. And he jokingly wishes he had been approached sooner in the hugely successful series. “It would have been nice to be asked earlier — I would have been a few bob richer!” he laughs.

As it is he will be buried under layers of prosthetic make-up to play the eminent Hogwarts headmaster’s younger brother Aberforth. “I disappeared, as I was unrecognisable,” he says. “I won’t have any trouble in the street doing my shopping as usual because no-one knows who was in there because of the amazing make-up job that they did. I went up to introduce myself to the actress Miriam Margolyes on-set and she looked at me in this costume and make-up and said: “Well, anybody could have played your part!”

In a new interview with The Independent, Rupert Grint discusses a TON of different topics including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Cherrybomb, and how fame has affected his life.  The Potter segments may be read below:

After all, the red-haired one from Harry Potter must be feeling it right now. He’s been filming the final instalment of the hit franchise based on the J K Rowling novels for just over a year now. “We haven’t got long left,” he says. “Just the final parts of the second part of the film.” Not that exhaustion has set in yet. Rather, a feeling of uncertainty has enveloped him. “It’ll be strange saying goodbye,” he says.

With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows split into two films (the first due out in November, the second in July 2011), it will be some time yet before we bid farewell to Grint’s character, Ron Weasley, and all the other Hogwarts pupils. But for the 21-year-old, a life-changing experience that began half his life ago is due to end this June when filming finishes. “It’s a weird feeling actually,” he admits. “I never really thought it would end. I never really saw this day coming.”

But with Ron on the run with Harry and Hermione in the final Harry Potter instalment, at least we’ll get to see Grint in a more action-oriented role in Deathly Hallows. “I have hair extensions for the latter part of the film,” he explains. “Ron gets a bushier hairstyle because they’re living rough and camping out. Me and Dan have got stubble as well!” Ron Weasley with facial hair? Perhaps it shows Rupert Grint is ready to leave Harry Potter after all.

The eldest of five, Grint’s equilibrium evidently stems from his upbringing in a strong family unit. “We’re quite close,” he says, before acknowledging that it’s “been a weird few years” for his family. “It’s been quite life-changing for everyone really. It’s been quite an adjustment.” While his father runs his own business dealing in Formula 1 memorabilia, even turning tyres into coffee tables, Grint tells me the whole clan have “been all over the world” with him for the premieres and promotional duties. “There are some good perks,” he grins.

SnitchSeeker was able to interview Chris Rankin and Matthew Lewis at the recent Leeds Film Festival about Harry Potter and more! View the videos below and transcripts at the link above.

In a new interview Daniel Radcliffe discussed the Seven Potters scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and more! If anyone can translate this better please send it in!

For Radcliffe, it was more difficult than he expected. “First, we filmed the scene with them all. I watched and did my best to imitate them,” he said. The target of jokes behind the scenes of “Deathly Hallows”, he defends the “accusations” that he wore girls’ costumes on camera – more specifically, Fleur’s (Clemence Poesy) clothes. “It was a dress, a jacket and a bra,” jokes the actor, smiling during an interview in the studios Leavesden, about an hour from London.

Even if it is used in dark moments, the potion turns out to be a comic relief at times. In the studios, UOL Cinema followed a scene of the first “Deathly Hallows”, with Harry, Hermione and Ron after sips of potion. In the place of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are on screen actors Sophie Thompson, David O’Hara and Steffan Rhodri. The transformation of three friends into officials from the Ministry of Magic is a tense moment of espionage. In the corridors of the Ministry, the characters are greeted by colleagues and Ron finds out, between the lines, he has a wife in danger and has to pretend to be her husband.

Thanks to SS for the tip!

In a new interview with the Globe and Mail James and Oliver Phelps discuss the end of filming Harry Potter and what it has been like.

What’s it been like being wrapped up in the frenzy around Harry Potter?
Oliver: It’s been something totally different to what we thought it would be when we first started. I don’t think anyone involved assumed that it would get to the size it’s gotten to.

Have you had strange or frightening fan encounters?
James: There was one when we were on holiday in Mexico and I was having a swim in the sea, and this Mexican lady swam over and said, “Are you in Harry Potter?” Like, “Yeah.” “Oh, okay.” And then she just swam back. It was so random and surreal. But Potter fans in general, they’re really cool. We went to a Raptors game last night and the Leafs game on Tuesday, and people there saw us and said, “Hello, how’s it going?” but let us get on with our evening.

Is there ever a point when you think, enough with Harry Potter?
Oliver: I think we’ve been fortunate to play the characters where you can have a laugh, you know? It’s never too serious. It’s always really fun to play, you don’t get too down on it, and everyone treats us well at the studio. I think it’s coming to an end at the right time for everybody.

Were you readers of the series when you were cast?
Oliver: I’d read the first three when we went for our first audition, I think the fourth book had just come out. But I was kind of in a bubble on the whole thing, I didn’t realize the magnitude of it. I just picked the first book up when I was in the school library once. So we turn up for the audition and we suddenly realized that there was about 6,000 people going for all different parts and we thought, oh, are we doing the right thing here?

Do you spend a lot of time promoting the films?
Oliver: When the last film came out, we were fortunate to travel quite a lot around Europe and Scandinavia with our friends. And it’s great to go to new places because we’ve never been to Toronto, so it’s always a great excuse to check out the nightlife and everything.

Are you good friends with the cast?
Oliver: Yeah, definitely. We play quite a lot of golf with a few of the guys, go to music concerts and everything, so there’s always something to do with each other.

Thanks SS!

In a new interview Alan Rickman reveals that he has finished filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. “The day before, for example, Mr. Rickman, 64, had just finished filming the final “Harry Potter” movie. His portrayal of the slithery and surprising Severus Snape has brought him fame as never before making him into one of the worlds most celebrated movie villains, a thrilling antihero to the Potter-mad masses”

Thanks SS!