Nickelodeon Magazine. October 2001.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone will come to life on movie screens this November. The film’s stars — Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson — charmed us with their behind-the-scenes stories.

A HARRYING ROLE: Meet Harry Potter, played by 12-year-old Daniel Radcliffe.

NICKELODEON MAGAZINE: Was it hard to be the star of a movie when you didn’t have much acting experience?

DANIEL RADCLIFFE: It was nerve-racking. The first day on the set, I was very nervous. I was used to rehearsing with about eight people, and then I got to the set and, including the extras, there were like 150 people there.

What’s the hardest part about acting?

Getting the right emotions. Generally, I try to think about a song or a book, and that emotion comes out with my expressions. I hope.

What was a hard scene to do?

The mirror scene. It’s the emotional center of the movie, so I had to get exactly the right thought into my head.

Did you have to do any special training to play Harry?

Yes. Because I did a lot of my own stunts, I had to do a lot of gymnastics training. One of my stunt doubles was this guy called David Holmes. He’s a great gymnast. He’s been teaching me gymnastics, and it’s so much fun.

What was your favorite stunt?

There was one shot where I was hanging one-handed from my broomstick, 22 feet in the air. I was wired up to the broom — with a huge airbag underneath me — and they moved me around up there. That was pretty cool.

Would you want to be friends with Harry in real life?

Absolutely. I like his curiosity and his loyalty. And his magic powers, too. He’s so serious, but at the same time he can be very funny.

Daniel’s favorite…
Harry Potter Book: Number two, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. “I suppose it’s the darkest, but so much goes on it it.”
Character: Hagrid
Scene to Film: The chess scene. “The set is amazing.”

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WEASLEY WORDS: Rupert Grint, age 13, plays Harry’s best friend, Ronald Weasley.

NICKELODEON MAGAZINE: What’s your favorite thing about Ron?

RUPERT GRINT: He’s really funny. And you also kind of feel sorry for him because he’s always got on hand-me-downs.

What stunt did you most enjoy doing?

I was on a wire and I was dropped from really, really high up into the Devil’s Snare. It was fun, so I liked it when we had to do more takes.

If you could play someone else in the movie, who would it be?

I like the sound of Malfoy. He’s pretty nasty at times, and that would be quite fun. It would be cool to have the audience against me.

How did you go to school during the filming?

We had a tutor on the set. Whenever we weren’t filming, we were in the classroom studying. We had to study a minimum of three hours and a maximum of five hours a day.

What school subject are you good at?

I like to draw. I drew a picture of Alan Rickman [who plays Professor Severus Snape]. It was kind of amazing, but really ugly. Then I found out that he was right behind me, watching me draw his picture. He took it really well.

Rupert’s favorite…
Harry Potter book: Number three, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. “I liked all the bits about Scabbers being an Animagus. And Ron gets an owl.”
Character: Ron. “Even before I got to play him in the film.”
Scene to film: The chess scene. “There were these great huge chess pieces, and I got to ride a really cool horse.”

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THE LONE GRANGER: Eleven-year-old Emma Watson plays Harry’s other best friend, Hermione Granger.

NICKELODEON MAGAZINE: How did you get the part?

EMMA WATSON: My drama teacher at school called out my name at assembly and asked if I’d like to do the audition. I went up with a couple of friends for a bit of a laugh. Then it got more and more serious. It was really scary, but it was great.

How are you and Hermione alike?

She loves cats, and so do I. I adore animals, but cats are my favorite. I’ve got two, Bubbles and Domino.

Is there anything that you don’t like about Hermione?

She’s a bit too concerned with rules. She overdoes it when Harry gets the Firebolt, and she seeks out Professor McGonagall. She was obviously worried, but I probably would’ve had a talk with my friend before I sought out a teacher.

Was there a scene that was particularly hard to do?

Yes. Neville comes to me with his toad, Trevor, and says, “Do you want to kiss Trevor good night?” Every time he did this I burst into laughter. I was supposed to give hime an “I hate you” look, but I couldn’t help myself. It took me about eight takes to get it.

Emma’s favorite…
Harry Potter Book: Number three, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Character: Hagrid. “He’s funny because he’s this massive giant who can be so emotional.”
Scene to Film: The troll scenes. “I got to do loads of stunts. I had to crawl under bathroom stalls and hide under basins and run around. The trolls were also fantastic.”

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SAME OLD SAME OLD

Only one of the buildings used for Hogwarts was a real school. The rest were “castles and cathedrals and churches [in Great Britain] that are all more than 500 years old,” says David Heyman, a producer.

“Because Hogwarts was built more than a thousand years ago, we wanted to use structures from that period.” Here are two locations:

ALNWICK CASTLE — The Duke of Northumberland let the flm crew use his home for the scenes of the kids’ flying lessons and shots of them walking to Hagrid’s hut. The oldest parts of the castle date back to the year 1096.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL — Although most of the Hogwarts interiors were filmed at a movie studio [Leavesden], some scenes in classrooms and corridors were shot here. This massive stone structure was built 900 years ago.

SPILLING THE BEANS

The buildings aren’t the only authentic elements in the movie. The prop Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans really came in nearly every flavor. “Rich chocolate cake, buttered toast, lemon sorbet — they tasted exactly real,” explains Emma. “but most of the flavors were really grim.”

The grossest beans the actors tasted were black pepper, grass, earwax, snot, and vomit. That didn’t stop Rupert, however. “I went through crates and crates of them,” he says.