Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe talks to Metro’s Emma Forrest about what it’s like being a global icon, and keeping his feet on the ground. 

Has it been difficult keeping a sense of perspective when you’re
surrounded by screaming fans?
Whoever had been cast as Harry would have received that attention, so you have to realize that it’s not
because it’s you.

I talked to the director of Twilight, I asked how Rob (Pattinson)
was doing. She was saying that before Rob had even been cast, she went
to a reading by Stephenie Meyer, and when Stephenie said the name Edward
Cullen, the audience went nuts. So whoever was going to be cast in that
role was going to have a pretty crazy life for the next few years, it’s
the same with Harry.

I think we’ve all done quite well in terms of not
believing the hype about ourselves, getting on with our jobs, and
appreciating that we’re very lucky to be there.

At what point did you realize you wanted to be an actor?
It was in the
third film, a combination of working with Gary Oldman and the direction
that Alfonso Cuaron gave me. It gave me a great insight into what it is
to be an actor, and it was the confidence that Gary gave me because he
was really supportive and great to work with. I thought "I want to work
with people with you, I don’t want to walk away from it and not be in
this industry." I also absolutely love being on film sets, it’s where
I’ve grown up.

How does Part One compare to Part Two?
This is the sedate younger
brother to the last part, in the last part you’ll be slung head first
at 200 m/ph into a firestorm, the level of action is insanity, it’s
non-stop, it’s a road movie that turns into a heist movie that turns
into a war movie. The battle in Hogwarts is incredible, people are
going to be left slightly breathless by it.

Is there souvenir you’ve taken from Harry Potter?
I did take, and I
would have stolen had they not given them to me, the glasses, one pair
from the first film, which are tiny now, then a pair from the last.
They’re both the lens-less ones, which I used the most, so they’re the
ones I associate most with Harry.

Everyone says that the atmosphere on Harry Potter sets is great.
If
you’re playing the lead, you have to view yourself as the head of
department of the cast — all the other head of departments are
accountable, I don’t think actors should be any different. If I walked
on set every day with a dull, unhappy attitude, it’s amazing how
quickly that would filter through to everyone else on the crew.

When
you’re filming for nine months you can’t afford to let morale slip, so
I think you have to be a bit of a cheerleader as a lead actor, when
there’s a large crowd scene, it helps everyone raise the standard of
what they’re doing if they think the actors are as involved with them
as they are with the team. It’s important in the creation of a happy
set, which is what Rupert (Grint), Emma (Watson) and I have done for 10 years.

Would you like to work in the U.S. or in the U.K.?
I would go wherever the
scripts take me, I love working in England because I get to go home
most nights. But if there was a script that meant I was filming in
America for six months, then that’s what I would do if the script was
good enough.

It would be a bit of an adjustment to work in America
because in England there’s a huge amount of involvement between cast
and crew, and by all accounts I’ve heard, that that’s not the case in
America. I find it ridiculous, the idea that actors are the most
important people on a film set. Actors are the most replaceable people
there, there are literally millions of us, but there are very few
people who can operate a steadycam.