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Harry Potter

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Were you glad to find out that Harry, Ron, and Hermione all survive?
I was, actually. Weirdly enough, I think that's the bravest thing she could've done. I was convinced for about two years that Harry would die.

Why?
I just felt it was the only way she could end it. But then, within the last six months, it suddenly occurred to me that that was far too obvious. She had to find a cleverer way of doing it. And indeed she did. With Ron and Hermione, I really liked the epilogue. I think a few people might've been not so keen on that. But I actually really, really liked it.

In a way, Harry actually does die, because he believes he's going to die. There's a profoundly, existentially lonely passage in the chapter when he prepares to let himself be killed.
In a way, the time between Harry learning he has to die and actually dying —

Or believing he's dying...
That time wasn't short enough to be painless. But it wasn't long enough for him to find complete acceptance within it either. He struggles to find acceptance. Ultimately, he finds a sort of acceptance. But he's not necessarily reconciled with the idea of it. He knows he has to do it, but he's still scared. I just can't wait to be able to film it. I think Jo has given me, once again, an amazing opportunity to step up. So hopefully I'll be able to.

What did you do when you finished reading Deathly Hallows?
I was in a car at the time. I had my iPod in, and I was listening to Sigur Rós. I don't know if you know them. They're a band who do sort of instrumental music, but it's just amazing. I think they're from Scandinavia somewhere. They've got an album called Takk...I was listening to, and it's very, very appropriate [for the end of Deathly Hallows]. I was listening to it and I remember I was sort of turned away from everybody else in the car, just so I could be in my own little world when I read it. What did I do when I finished? I think I just put the book down and carried on listening to the music. Just looked out of the car window, 'cause I couldn't think of what else to do. I'm still struggling to really take it in. It doesn't leave you in a hurry.


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Posted Jul 27, 2007 | Order Article Reprints
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