"There's a lot of best friend kind of roles," he laughs of the scripts coming his way. "But I'm not in a real rush. At the moment I'm just enjoying a bit of freedom really. Because its been constant work since we were 11, so its nice to slow down and just chill out a bit."

"The whole structures really changed," says Grint of The Deathly Hallows. "In the previous films it's always been you're with Harry, then we get on the train and get to school.

"This time we've left school and were on the run, camping out in random places. I'ts quite moving as well, its always quite tense cos at any moment we could get attacked. And while Ron was goofy and lovesick last time around, this time he's caught the fear.

"Particularly in the first part, Ron's quite paranoid and doesn't really trust anyone and he's kinda jealous of Harry and Hermione. He has a few little tantrums," Grint chuckles, "which was quite good fun." Such a build-up meant even Grint wasn't immune when the tears started flowing after cut was called for the last time.

"It was quite a weird week actually, because we all knew it was coming," he recalls.

"I didn't really know how I was really gonna feel on the last day. It was actually really sad.

"We all cried and had a little moment. I think just cos it has been such a long time half our lives and for it to come down to just one last shot seemed like a huge deal, really.

"We had a barbecue and I brought my ice cream van down and served ice creams.

"I'm definitely gonna miss it."

"I'm supposed to be starting today in the Institute, but I had to call and explain that I needed another week for work," the 19-year-old said when the Irish Independent met her in London in September.

"I decided to repeat the Leaving Cert because I was so distracted with these films. I knew I wasn't studying hard enough. We'd be on set, having a laugh in the green room, and I'd be saying to myself: 'I should be studying.' But then I thought: 'I can re-sit the exams -- I can't re-sit Harry Potter.' Besides, there'll be no more filming this year, just a bit of press, so now it's all about the exams."

"I'm doing things now that I should have done a few years ago, like getting braces on my teeth, and learning to drive a car, and being with friends in one place for a fixed set of time."

"I'd always hoped my last scene would be one like that rather than just a shot of my hand or something. They took a huge photo of the whole cast and crew.

"It didn't really hit me until I was going into the producers to say goodbye and thank them that I felt this big rush of emotion. I couldn't contain it. But I felt like it had come full circle: my first encounter with Harry Potter was going into the producers' office to introduce myself and explain why I was suited for the role."

"My best memories from all four movies are ones that involve the young cast," she said. "It's like school, though they're probably not the people I'd sit with in school. They'd be way too cool for me, and I'd be one of the weird people.

'But those scenes are just so much fun. We played jokes all the time. Like in the Hogwarts train scenes, they have this odd food that looks nice but tastes horrible. We'd convince new actors on set to try it -- one girl drank this tomato juice thing that had been out on the set for about three weeks. She spat it all over the place. You forget you're on a job and it's just fun."

"When I first came on set, I expected to be told 'You can't talk to or approach them', but it wasn't like that. They're not precious about themselves. They are like normal people, and the people around them treat them normally too.

"Rupert has a great laugh with everyone, while Daniel (Radcliffe) is just a cool guy. There's no pretension with him, or strategising when it comes to careers and things like that. I really admire Emma for going to university in New York. She's doing that, even though she doesn't need to. She's realised that she doesn't know enough about the world or herself so wants to study more."

Although the series author JK Rowling had no say in casting, she later praised Lynch as being perfect for the role of Luna. However, the multi-millionaire writer stayed clear of the set during filming on the final movies.

"She trusts the film-makers," Lynch explained. "If they change any little thing in the script, they send it out to her for her approval, so she doesn't need to be there. I think she's busy. I write to her now and then, and she'll say, 'I've been writing' but she won't tell me what.

"It's cool for her because she can come to the premiere and see what people have made of her books. Besides, when she was on set, she couldn't stay long because she was too distracting. Everyone was looking for autographs. It was like the Queen coming to visit."