'Phoenix' Rising

[BOLD {ACTING THEIR AGE}] Radcliffe brands any notions that he, Grint, and Watson will be too long in the tooth to play their parts much longer as ''lunacy.''

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7. No, the kids are not too old for their parts, thank you
We have to say that, or Dan Radcliffe might yell at us. As with the wow-you're-so-short remarks, the actor has had it up to here (d'oh!) with people carping that he, Watson, and Grint are growing up faster than Warner Bros. can crank out movies. Radcliffe will likely be 20 by the time he finishes promoting the final film, in which he'll play Harry at age 17. And Grint will be more like 21. Big deal. ''What was the thing Luke Perry was in?'' asks Radcliffe, his voice rising in a good-humored way. Beverly Hills, 90210. ''Wasn't he in his late 20s playing a 19-year-old? And people come up to me and say, 'Do you not think you're getting too old for the part?' It's lunacy.'' But even Radcliffe admits that he and his castmates certainly look dramatically different. ''I saw a bunch of continuity photos from the first film the other day,'' he says. ''It was quite incredible. We've changed so much, it's unreal.'' For audiences who've grown attached to the young stars, that evolution may be the coolest magic trick of all.

Want more Harry Potter? Get an exclusive look at six key spell-casters in Phoenix's cast in our photo gallery!