On obsessed fans:

JK Rowling: Five seconds and you’re absolutely aware. You can feel it coming off them. “This means something to you and that’s huge. I don’t know what that is. I haven’t got time to find out what your story is.” I think I have been aware so often, “There’s something massive here.”

I can remember being cornered in a public loo once and thinking, “Could we not at least get out of here to do the photo? ‘Cause, you know, this isn’t good for any of us.” Yeah, so moments like that you think, “Let’s just …” But people get very excited and just [think],“If I don’t do it now, I won’t have her. She’ll just dematerialize or something.”

On depression:

JK Rowling: There is always a danger that you think, “I am the only one who’s suffered this.” That’s a dangerous place to be. Or, “I am a freak. No one else has ever felt like this.” And that’s something that literature – or any form of art – is one of its most powerful effects is to tell everyone, “No, You are not alone.” Whenever someone tells me that that helped them or just got them through something, it’s the most gratifying thing ever, isn’t it?

On meeting someone famous:

JK Rowling: I was having lunch with my sister-in-law. I see this man walking towards me with a little entourage and I thought, “If I didn’t know better, I would think that was Morissey.” Now Morissey was a big deal to me when I was in my teens – a very big deal. He came right up to me and simultaneously we both said, “It is you?” We shook hands, and then we parted. He went up the escalator and I walked on with my sister-in-law and she said to me, “Put your hand down.” So I was still walking along like a Dalek. Like this (sticks hand out) If my 17-year-old self had known that I would meet Morissey – and Morissey would know WHO I AM …

On Tom’s obsessed fan Tina:

Tom Felton: When I was 18 I went on a press tour in Paris and there was this middle aged woman who was taking pictures of me from a slight distance.

JK Rowling: Did she know that you were going to be there?

Tom Felton: Yes.

JK Rowling: So she’d followed you?

Tom Felton: She followed me.

JK Rowling: To Paris?

Tom Felton: To Paris, yeah. My family knew about her, my mum knows her, Jade knows her very well, Jade’s family know her.

JK Rowling: Okay, I’m feeling much more comfortable know. I was getting quite concerned.

Tom Felton: But a year ago she waited outside an event for four hours just to give me a card to say sorry about the loss of your dog. Recently, our dog had to be put down. And I started to re-evaluate what she wanted out of this relationship – if you want to call it that.

JK Rowling: In my case, as the writer of the work, it’s not really about me. It’s about the work. You’re dealing with something that’s much more direct because you’re being seen through several filters by this person, and she’s wanting things from you.

You can travel very deeply into why, as a society, you need famous people. You had a job to do and you did it brilliantly and then someone’s come along and said, “I need you to fulfill that.”

On Potter fans:

JK Rowling: I totally get the Potter thing – because your childhood and your teens are such formative experience of your life that the things that matter to you then I think they do stay with you.

On obsessed fans:

Dan Radcliffe: It’s definitely a weird thing when you become aware that you account for a large part of somebody else’s life who you don’t know. And who doesn’t know you, but who thinks they do. It’s kind of hard to know what to do with that.

I think having an obsession with a character in a book and things, that’s fine. But when you’re obsessed with somebody you don’t know anything about … that’s the thing. That’s one thing’s that an important distinction. I’m very comfortable with people being obsessed with Harry Potter and being obsessed with those films. I’m less comfortable with people being obsessed with me.

If you’re going to be obsessed with something, being obsessed with a series of books or films is pretty good. Some people are obsessed with heroin. It’s something in your life that other people think is weird and wrong and don’t get, but it gives you meaning.

On obsessed fan Brian:

Dan Radcliffe: Brian’s one of those people that you can’t underestimate. When you first meet Brian, you’re meeting him outside a stage door and it’s very rushed and he’s asking for pictures. Brian is somebody who has turned what is essentially his hobby into his profession.

On Rupert Grint:

Tom Felton: Rupert seemed to get a real kick out of [getting recognized] when I asked him. He said, “I absolutely love it.”

Dan Radlcliffe: Oh, does he?

Tom Felton: I was really surprised by that.

Dan Radcliffe: That is surprising.

Tom Felton: He said, “No I get a real kick out of it,” and he reeled off many scenarios where he’s ended up in someone’s house because they’ve asked for an autograph and they said, “You want to come for a cup of tea?” And he can’t say no so he ends up there.

Dan Radcliffe: Don’t put that in the film, Tom.

Tom Felton: Well, that’s Rupert.

Dan Radcliffe: Don’t joke say to people, “If you ask Rupert he’ll come ‘round your ****in’ house.”

Tom Felton: There’s actually a much more explicit story. I watered that down quite a lot.

On Cosplay:

Tom Felton: At San Diego Comic Con you went as Spider-Man.

Dan Radcliffe: Yeah, I’ve done it a few times, actually. It was nice to just interact with people. A lot of people were asking me to stop and take photos, but not because it was me. It was my costume. That was weirdly cool.

It is odd that, in our lives, it’s much easier to be normal when you’re dressed up as a Marvel character, but it’s fun – and it’s true.

Tom Felton: In hindsight, the Spider-Man outfit is probably better (than a Joker costume) because I was just painting my face. People were looking.

Dan Radcliffe: They knew who you were then.

Tom Felton: Well, no I don’t think they did but because people are staring – you know, just ‘cause you’re in costume – my natural instinct was, “Oh my God, they know it’s Draco.” When actually they were probably just looking at my awesome costume.

It was thoroughly awkward (to dress like a Stormtrooper) to be honest with you. I felt like a bit of a ***.

Dan Radcliffe: If you were like a mad Star Wars fan, who was getting a chance to do that with them, you’d probably have got bang into it.

On obsessed fan Brian:

Tom Felton: He was beside himself with excitement.

Rupert Grint: Well, the first time I met him was really early on. It was kind of my first day. I was rehearsing.

Tom Felton: He was waiting for you.

Rupert Grint: He was outside the rehearsal studio. He’s such a likable person. I just completely fell in love with him [and] his stories.

On another obsessed fan:

Tom Felton: You had any other strange fan experiences out here or does Brian kind of top the list?

Rupert Grint: There’s this girl that sends me photos of herself wearing one of my jackets. There’s literally a wad like that (indicates 3 inch stack) of her in different positions - nothing like weird. I think she just wants me to see that she’s enjoying the jacket. It’s a manageable level. I’m not Justin Bieber.

On interacting with fans:

Tom Felton: Do you say no much to people?

Rupert Grint: I can’t . It’s one thing I cannot do. That word – no.

Tom Felton: I have the same problem.

Rupert Grint: I would do anything. That’s the danger. I would do anything if someone were to tell me to do it. It’s gotten me into a few tricky situations.

Tom Felton: Like what?

Rupert Grint: I met this drag queen, and I ended up going back to her little flat with all her drag queen friends.

Tom Felton: Purely because you felt the compulsion …

Rupert Grint: I couldn’t say no. They dressed me up. We went to get bagels at like 4 a.m. I was in full heels and a feather boa. It was really weird.

On Potter fans:

Tom Felton: Most of the people that are fanatical, especially about Potter, they’ve found like their best mates.

Rupert Grint: Yeah. It’s a whole community, isn’t it?