In your poster, you are holding Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita. That’s an extremely interesting book choice, with demons, succubi, a talking cat, the interplay of good and evil, truth and lies. How did you discover it?
I’ve been obsessed with the novel ever since I read it about a year ago. I’ve always been a huge fan of Magical Realism. It’s an inspiring genre in which writers can just let their imaginations go wild and wonderful. I discovered the book through an Amazon.com recommendation. I’d just ordered Louis de Biernières’s The War of Don Emmanuel’s Nether Parts, and The Master and Margarita came up as an Amazon “other readers like this book” choice. I’ve read it twice now, and I just received an English first edition (Collins and Harvill, 1967) with a beautiful cover as a birthday present. That’s the one that appears on the READ poster.

Do you think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is one of the best books in the series?
My personal favorite is the fifth, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, because it’s involved with Harry’s relationship with Sirius Black, the most interesting character in the series. But Deathly Hallows is also one of the best novels. J. K. Rowling was under intense pressure to complete the series, but she is a woman of much conviction and she wrote a final novel that was both up to her exacting standards and one that she knew would give fans the ending that they wanted.

Will these two Deathly Hallows films be the best of the Harry Potter series?
They’d better be. We need to have the series go out with a bang, in recognition of all the fans who have supported the films and books over the years.

How much of the Harry Potter character is due to J. K. Rowling’s text, and how much do you attribute to your own insights and ideas?
Most of what you need to know about Harry Potter is in the books. It would have been presumptuous of me to add things that were not already there. J. K. Rowling is not one of those authors who is constantly on the set, but she was always available to answer questions.

Librarians love Harry Potter because Rowling has created such vivid characters and a fun fictional world that encourages kids to read. I understand that many cast members were intense fans of the book. Do people tell you that the books and the films have inspired a love of reading?
Absolutely, and I am a case in point. Before I was cast in the first Harry Potter film, I didn’t read much at all. But I have grown to love reading because of the film and now I am an absolutely voracious reader, although kind of a slow one. Anything that gets kids into reading is fantastic.

Do you run into other people who say that the books and films are instruction manuals for paganism and witchcraft? How do you answer them?
I have encountered that occasionally. “Paganism” is one of those words that’s thrown around and can have some terrible connotations, and I detest the word “witchcraft.” I tell them that witchcraft is not real and that I don’t understand what they are complaining about. Harry Potter is about loyalty and friendship and duty and fighting for what’s right. I believe in people and the human spirit.

The Harry Potter role has offered you a wide range of acting challenges—drama, comedy, action, maybe even a little bit of romance. What type of role do you see as your best fit at this time?
I don’t really like to think in terms of genre. If a film has a good script, with a good director and a good part, then I’d consider it. There are very few good films that fall into just one genre.