‘Harry Potter’: The Trio Worked ‘Crazy Hours’ for the Final 2 Films
Though Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was split into two films, the cast and crew shot both movies at once. This decision made for a particularly long shoot which lasted a whopping 263 days. Naturally, the trio, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, had the most days on set amongst the cast. Due to the importance of their characters, they didn’t have very many days off. But just what was their schedule for the last two movies?
What kind of schedule did Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have while making the ‘Harry Potter’ films?
Because of child labor laws, Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson couldn’t work as many hours on the first few Harry Potter films. However, once they reached the age of 16, their number of consecutive hours on set increased. And while they weren’t subjected to the 12-hour days that many actors experience, their work week was still a bit longer than the average person’s 40-hour work week.
In an interview with Collider, Grint revealed the schedule that he and his fellow castmates followed for the final Harry Potter films. “It varies, it’s 9-hour days and five days a week,” the Servant actor shared. “It’s quite tiring because this has felt like we’ve been here for years and it hasn’t gone on this long. There’s lots of different scenes and it never got boring.”
The cast worked crazy hours while filming the final two movies
But the 9-hour days often didn’t follow a traditional 9 to 5 schedule. Because of the subject matter in the last two Harry Potter movies, the cast and crew did quite a few night shoots. Furthermore, instead of the comfort of Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, they were often braving the elements and shooting on location.
In an interview with Reuters, Watson recalled how physically demanding the final two Harry Potter films were. “We did a lot of stuff in Scotland,” she shared. “It was freezing cold, filming at four in the morning, working crazy hours.” Cold weather and long hours led the feelings of exhaustion for the trio. However, the actors agree that their fatigue actually served the story that they were telling.
Grint and Watson agree that exhaustion helped their performance in the last two ‘Harry Potter’ films
“I think it helps, because you’re supposed to be exhausted anyway,” Grint shared of the grueling schedule in the last two Harry Potter films. “It kind of benefits it from being tired all the time, but it does take your life over.” Watson agreed with Grint’s sentiments in her own interview with Collider. However, the actor admits that she definitely had moments where the exhaustion got the best of her.
“There were days when I was in tears to David (Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter films.),” Watson recalled. “Cause more than anything being cold and wet all the time just takes so much energy out of you, it’s so draining. And trying to give a good performance when you just are miserable and want to go to sleep.” Clearly, the trio of actors went through a battle of their own while filming the last two movies. But it seems like their exhaustion paid off in a big way.
