The Saddle Club. Issue #22, February/March.

Rupert Grint reveals all about the next Harry Potter movie - and those rumours about Emma Watson!

So you've just finished the fifth Harry Potter? That's right, yeah. Are you going to make all the movies through to number seven?
Yep, I want to do all of the movies if I can because I do really enjoy them.

Have they announced plans to start filming number six?
Yes, we start that one later this year. So we've got quite a big gap.

Is this to let Daniel and Emma go to school?
Yeah, I think so. I know that last year we didn't start quite as late and so I suppose that's got something to do with it, but I think that it's quite a long process to get them set up.

And you're done with school?
Yeah, I finished school when I was 16. I'm 18 now.

I heard that Emma Watson might leave the series before it's over. Do you know the story there?
I'm not actually sure. I don't really know the details, but I have heard that. I don't know. It would be weird without her, and it would be a sort of shame if she doesn't stick it out. It's not up to me because they do take up so much of your life. I don't know what she thinks, but I do hope that she doesn't leave.

Did she say anything while you've been filming like, "I can't take this anymore!"
No, not really. She hasn't really talked about it. I know me and Dan [Radcliffe] are going to stick it out. So we'll just have to see really. I hope she doesn't leave.

Do you have plans for life after Harry?
Yeah. I mean, I want to finish the Harry Potter films and start doing more low budget stuff because they're good fun and it's a good atmosphere and it's much more simple and relaxed.

Have you always wanted to be an actor?
I've always been involved in school plays and that was really my only kind of experience. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone was my first ever film. But I've had a really good time doing them and it's been a really good experience. I definitely want to do more stuff because it's good fun and I have a good time doing films.

What's your favourite Harry Potter movie?
I don't know. It's quite hard to separate them because they start to feel like one long film. The first one was good because it was a whole new experience. I mean, they're always good fun to make and there's such a good atmosphere on the set; it gets hard to choose. The fourth one was really good fun.

And you've met J.K. Rowling?
Yeah, we've met a couple of times because she comes down to the set occasionally, which is quite exciting.

Do you ever watch the films after they come out?
Yeah, well, I see them every once in a while. I don't make a conscious effort to go and see them, but they're on TV sometimes and it is quite weird looking back at them because you are so young. So, to me, it gets kind of strange. It's all right though.

Do you feel like you've had a normal childhood?
Not really, no, but I think that I've had a really good childhood. I haven't really missed that much except for school, which I'm not that worried about!

Do people come up to you and ask about Harry Potter all the time?
The films are quite big now, and I do get recognised but it's something that you don't ever really get used to. It's quite strange, but people are always really nice and usually like the films.

How has your life changed?
I suppose the biggest thing is getting recognised. But it's changed for the best really, I've gotten to go to places like New York, so I'm pretty grateful for that sort of thing. It's been pretty good. Look at Orlando Bloom who's done Rings and then Pirates.

Do you think you'll ever do another movie series or is this a once-in-a-lifetime thing?
[Laughs] I don't know. I've no idea really. I'm just going to have to wait and see, I guess.

Do you get a lot of letters from kids who want to be actors?
Yeah. I get letters and that's quite a strange thing as well. A lot of it comes from Japan and you get sent little presents. It's quite fun.

You have a romance going in the Harry Potter series, right?
That's in the sixth one, I think. There has always been a thing between Ron and Hermione, which has been played with subtlety. So we'll have to wait until the seventh one to see if that comes into anything.

Did you ever ask J.K. Rowling for hints about what's going to happen?
She doesn't give away anything!

And do you keep souvenirs from each movie?
I don't actually. From the first film, I've got a chess piece that gets blown up. I've got a little piece of that. But that's it really.

- Thanks to Kylie for this article!

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