Guardian.co.uk has a new article about Harry Potter that includes a new photo from the Half-Blood Prince filming.  The article shows us a behind the scenes view of Harry Potter filming.  The article has interviews with Dan Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Bonnie Wright, Jim Broadbent, David Yates, David Heyman, and David Barron.  See the photo here in the gallery.

It is indeed fascinating to watch the young cast grow up on screen – have a look at early interviews on YouTube and you’ll notice their feet dangling above the ground – and Yates has also got around the potential problem of being lumbered with an existing cast by giving cameos to older actors with whom he’s previously worked. One of the best things about the Potter films has always been the appearance of national acting treasures such as Timothy Spall, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis and, in The Half-Blood Prince, Jim Broadbent.

I ask Broadbent about his experience of playing Horace Slughorn, Potions Master and head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts, and it seems that he, too, has been bitten by the Harry bug. “It was an extraordinary thing to be part of. The main sets feel so permanent, having been there since the start, which means it’s very easy to get drawn into the world of Hogwarts. It was rather daunting turning up on set with all these young actors; it could so easily have been a nightmare, given that the five films have had such huge success. But the kids turned out to be terrific. There was no brattish behaviour or starry, Fame Academy behaviour; they just get on with it.”

And perhaps this is the key to the success of the films: producers David Heyman and David Barron have created what the latter describes as “our reality”. The young cast have never been allowed to develop attitude. Each new director has had to stay within the perimeters of the world so carefully set up at Leavesden; accordingly, there’s no room for an individual director to take off on a flight of fancy. And the continuity of cast and crew is impressive, too; although Radcliffe initially signed on for the first two films and seriously debated doing three and four, he did finally sign up till the end.