In addition to Bonnie Wright and Evanna Lynch, Tom Felton, Matt Lewis and Rupert Grint, James and Oliver Phelps were in Total Film Indonesia’s November 2010 issue. Their interview is now online and some of the translation can be read below, the rest may be read here. They talk about their characters fates in the book as well as their lives on and off the set.
And James, you lose your life in Part 2. What was your experience filming this? JP It was cold. I actually fell asleep. They said, “Lie there.” So I did. And then I opened my eyes and everyone had gone offstage, and gone to lunch, and I’d fallen asleep and they left me there. I said to Rupert, “Why didn’t anyone wake me up?” He went, “Well, you were so in character, we didn’t want to disturb you…” OP The truth was, we saw him and thought, “We’ll leave him.” We like to wind each other up…
You have lots of interesting stories. Tell us of a prank you did on set. JP We had a bit of a prank war going on with a few of the hair and makeup department. There was one girl, Grace, a trainee at the time – this is on the fifth movie – and she’d done something minute. She’d like, called us the wrong name in a joking way. We left it a few weeks. We knew that she, when we’d had a bit of a hiatus, went on holiday to Newquay, in Cornwall. So we got her car registration number, rang her up, doing a completely different voice… OP More to the point we found out from her friends where they’d gone… JP …and where they’d stayed and we really went into detail. So, we said to her, “We’re from NCP car parks and you owe us just over £1000 now. We’ve sent you letters in the post and, by law, now we have to contact you.” She was like, “I’ve never heard of this.” And we said, “No, your car is this car, with this registration. You parked at this location. We sent you letters, in the post, and everything. And you are at this address now?” She said, “Yes, that’s me.” Then we said, “Well, would you like to e-mail our superior? He can get back to you about it.” She said, “Yeah, please…” So we said, “OK, this is the e-mail: o-l-i-v-e-r-@got-you.com.” She went, “You bastards!” (laughs) So she was got big time. We decided it was too good so we Bluetooth it to everyone in the studio as well! OP Where we did it… we were actually sitting in the courtyard. There were no lights or anything. It was three of us – James, myself and one of the guys, Andy – and we were huddled around my laptop, and we were calling her up and recording it. At the time, Liam Gallagher was having a tour of the studios, and he walked by and was, “How’s it going?” And we were, “You’re all right, mate?” And then we just got on with it. That was quite surreal! (laughs)
James and Oliver Phelps recently participated in the Santa Run through Swinley Forest in Bracknell to raise funds for Thames Hospicecare. View an images of them at the event below:
Hospice community and events organiser Michelle Bowdidge said the pair, who play Fred and George Weasley, had pulled in the crowds and takings had doubled from £30,000 last year to an expected £60,000. She said: “The twins were a big draw as we had quite a lot of spectators as well as runners. We had a really mixed bag of entrants this year – from our loyal supporters to those who thought it would be fun to have a go.”
Each runner was supplied with a Father Christmas costume by the hospice in return for a £15 registration fee. However the organisers also had to come up with a cold weather plan because of the freezing temperatures on Sunday.
The Phelps’ twins are no strangers to Swinley Forest – scenes from the Harry Potter films have been shot there. Oliver said: “It’s great to be supporting such a worthwhile cause.”
The Willow Foundation has emailed to let us know that the canvases that James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, John Hurt and Matthew Lewis did for their charity are now up for auction! Use the links below to bid on them and good luck!
Premiere.fr have posted a new interview with Clemence Poesy, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps and Mark Williams where they all discuss what it has been like being a part of the series and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. Mark Williams talks about what it was like seeing the younger actors grow up. Unfortunately, Clemence speaks in French so I have no idea what she says, if anyone can translate please send it in! They also talk about the Twilight vs. Harry Potter “battle”.
Harry Potter stars Matthew Lewis, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps and John Hurt have done drawings for the Willow Foundation that will go up for auction on November 26th. The Willow Foundation raises money to provide special days for seriously ill 16 to 40 year olds throughout the UK. Their drawings may be found below.
‘Special days aim to give seriously ill 16 to 40 year olds a break from the stress and difficult realities of diagnosis and treatment. They offer the chance to spend quality time with family and friends doing something they will all enjoy and creating precious memories.
The charity defines seriously ill as any condition that is life-threatening. This includes cancer, motor neuronedisease, cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s, organ failure and many others. All applications must meet the charity’s medical criteria and be endorsed by a medical professional involved in the individual’s care.
Willow strives to create a unique and unforgettable day that is tailored to the needs and dreams of every beneficiary. He or she chooses exactly what they would like to do on their special day and Willow aims to meet and, wherever possible, exceed their expectations, making the day truly special and memorable.’
Neville really steps up to the plate in Part 2 – have you been looking forward to that?
“Definitely. I spoke to Jo Rowling at the premiere of Harry Potter 5 and she said she’d written some great stuff for Neville in the new book and I was like, ‘I don’t want to hear anything – don’t tell me!’ And I read the book and I was like, ‘Bloody hell’. You don’t know what they’re going to keep in the film but you just think it could be incredible. There was so much in there for me. There was still the typical Neville bumbling around but he’s a bit more adrenalised and reckless and trying to be a hero – there’s a lot of action in here as well. There’s also some really heavy emotional stuff. A few moments when he’s on his own and can stop being this heroic leader for a moment and he just looks very tired and people are dying around him. There’s a scene when he’s carrying a dead child and I hope it’s still in the film because that’s when it hits home that it’s pretty horrible stuff they’re dealing with.”
It must have been good to have that transformation from a bumbler to hero…
“That’s why I think he’s such a great character. As an actor every year I’ve had to come back and add a little bit more depth and there’s something different in it. For me that’s great because it’s kept it fresh over the years rather than playing the same guy.” Was there a moment when you realised how big Harry Potter had become? Oliver: “Because we’re so close to it we don’t see the size. We always knew it was a big production, but at the first premiere there were a lot of people there and it’s just got bigger and bigger and bigger. When we first went in there was a big press in the Odeon in Leicester Square. The last premiere it took over three cinemas and there were about six or seven thousand people.” James: “We were outside for three hours meeting people. It was absolutely hammering it down with rain as well and people had stayed out for all that time. I think they said there were about seven or eight thousand people in Leicester Square at the last premiere. That’s like, ‘Wow, this is big’, but I remember we were out on holiday in Mexico and I was in the sea and this middle-aged lady swam out and asked, ‘Are you in Harry Potter?’ I said ‘Yes’ and she said ‘OK’ and just swam away. That was a bit surreal.”
— 
