Interview with Chris

Grant from HarryPotterForums.co.uk sent in this interview he did with Chris in February 2003.

What was the first thought that went through your mind when you heard you'd landed the part of the Percy Weasley?

I don't honestly remember... I think i'd been expecting to get it for a couple of days, because after my second audition (infront of Chris Columbus, David Heyman and the other producers) the casting director had rung me up and told me how excited she was by my audition and that Chris and David had really liked me... so i think I was relieved more than anything else... still shocked though - obviously it's not every day you land a role in one of the biggest films in history!!

How do you get on with the other cast members?

On the whole pretty good... when you're working on a film for 5 or 6 months (on and off) you all become quite close... Obviously I won't admit that I'm best buddies with everyone, but certainly we all like each other, and are very pleasant to each other.

How much of Percy is really just you being yourself? What traits are really challenging for you to realize?

I hope that apart from personal appearance that very little of Percy is actually myself... I didn't really find him a tricky character to play at all, as once you've spent a day or so in his skin, being the bossy boring older brother, it just comes as second nature... I LOVED shooting the corridor scene with Tom, Josh and Jamie, because myself and Tom just hated each other (character-wise) so much that it was easy, and really good fun!

How do you feel about all of the publicity - both favourable and not - so that has been attached to the films?

I do think it's a little unfair at times. Personally, I don't read reviews because i find that critics take the job description to heart and take joy in being as mean as they possibly can be to big money movies. I'm proud of the work we've done on the films, and love working on them. I also think that on something like HP that has a certain amount of expectations from the fans who've read the books, that there will always be disappointment that certain sub-plots or little scenes from the books haven't made it to the screen... On the whole though - the films seem to be marketed very well indeed.

What would you do - were you allowed a hand in the part writing - to make your character more "Percyish." Would you change anything at all?

I don't think I would... I think I'd probably add more Percy bits to the screen play because I feel from the book point of view, that Percy has some genuinely funny moments, and I try to add as much of that to the character as I can. He's only a minor character in the books however, and I think that Steve Kloves has done a fair translation of the part.

Is having a role in a big movie such as Harry Potter everything you thought it would be? What were some things you did/didn't expect?

It's somehow more amazing than I thought it would be... everyone seems to think that working on a Warner Brothers film is like living the Hollywood Dream... Well I've never been to Hollywood - but on HP we all get treated as equals. My character is only minor, but I get treated with courtesy, politeness and allowed to feel like I am a professional. It's wonderful. They don't treat us like we're some kind of gods... None of us get treated like that, adults and kids alike. We don't treat HP as something HUGE, we treat it as a job which we want to do well.

What is it that you really love about playing Percy?

I always liked Percy in the books - he was a very funny character in the fact that he's just SO over-the-top and pompous, you have to laugh at him. It's been fun to get my teeth into him and have a laugh with him, while taking him totally seriously at the same time. He's not a funny character like Ron or the Twins, but in a way he's funnier because he's so dull!

Has having the role of Percy made any lasting effects on you?

Everyone expects me to be boring and slightly old-fashioned... which is sad, because I REALLY hope I'm not! I leave Percy behind in a dressing room when I leave work on an evening. I feel it's important to be totally different from the characters I play, otherwise the audience gets very confused between reality and fantasy.

Assuming you have read the books, which would you say is your favourite?

It'd be a toss-up between book 3 and 4... I'm a HUGE fan of the books, that's why I wanted to audition for the film in the first place!!

What is your opinion of the books from which the movie was created?

I think that the HP novels are a work of pure genius, and I'm privelidged (sp?) to say that I've had the honour of meeting and talking to Jo on three occasions now. She's an amazing woman, with an amazing imagination, and I think that she may have single-handedly got children to read books again.

If you woke up one day and realized you were at Hogwarts, and were, in reality, Percy, what would your reaction be?

I don't know... I don't think I'd be too happy about being Percy for the rest of my life... but we'll see where the rest of the books take him... I'd love to go to Hogwarts though - it sounds like a perfect school to me!

If Hogwarts were real, what do you think would be your favourite subject?

ooh that's a tricky one... I think it'd probably have to be Defense Against the Dark Arts, but only if Lupin teaches it.

Percy Weasley is a stickler for rules and a model prefect. Were you anything like him when you were at school?

I was a prefect and school, and did delight in making the younger kids tuck their shirts in, walk not run, not shout, not eat in the building not sit in the toilets and gossip (that's the girls suprisingly) and such things... But I was never as stuck up as Percy, I just liked being mean sometimes!!

Besides acting what are your other main interests?

I love singing, going to the cinema, walking and driving. I love travelling, relaxing, partying, going to the Theatre, working at the UCI cinema in Norwich.... lots of stuff...

What do you think about when you are happy, sad or scared?

It depends....And to be honest I really don't know... I don't really have a set thing to think about, like a patronus or whatever... i suppose it'd depend entirely on the situation...

Finally, What are your hopes/plans/dreams for the future?

To be a successful actor and live a long and happy life.

Interview courtesy harrypotterforums.co.uk