At 16, Radcliffe is two-year-older than the character he played, and so is his buddy, Rupert Grint, 17, who plays Ron Weasley. There have been speculations as to whether Radcliffe will do all segments of Harry potter. At this point, he is committed to the fifth film, which is now in pre-production and will be released in summer of 2007.

Harry Potter as a Screen Hero

What I really like about Harry is that he's not a hero in the classic sense, a brave all-conquering Superman. Harry is vulnerable.

Mike Newell as Director

Mike is British, very very British. He wore a waistcoat every day, which I quite like because you don't see enough waistcoats anymore, really. He has an incredible presence and commands great respect, but he totally understands the British sense of humor, and he can relate to what it's like being a teenager at a public school because he went to one.

Preparation for the Role

Director Mike Newell asked me to watch Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" and other adventures, because he wanted to do the Goblet of Fire as thriller full of adventures.

The New Potter

In this film, Harry is more scared. Even though he's helped so many people, I think he's always yearned to leave his past behind him and let the "hero" thing end. But when his name comes out of the Goblet, he's instantly back in the limelight again. Not only does he have to cope with criticism from everyone, he also knows he didn't put his name in the Goblet, so someone else must have.

Getting Guidance from Elders

When Harry turns to his trusted mentor, Dumbledore (played by the estimable Michael Gambon), he is surprised to discover that Dumbledore himself is struggling to uncover the meaning of these mysterious events.

New Maturity

Harry's world is completely shaken. For the first time, Harry sees Dumbledore as an old man who is no longer at the height of his abilities, and it's very unsettling. Something or someone has infiltrated Hogwarts and is trying to get to Harry, but Dumbledore doesn't know what it is, where it's coming from or how to stop it.

Confronting Evil

Enraged that the legend of Harry Potter (the boy who lived) has eclipsed his own, Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has spent the last 13 years regaining the powers he lost on the fateful night that Harry's parents died. With help from his sniveling servant Wormtail, the Dark Lord triumphantly returns to human form to destroy Harry once and for all.

Confronting Ralph Fiennes

Ralph is really frightening. You can see he's mad, gone somewhere else, in his eyes. It was a very intense experience. I learned a lot from watching Ralph, the way he used his body and his hands, especially when Voldemort first regains his human form. It's fantastic.

Tension with Ron

Ron thinks Harry put his name into the Goblet, and he's very angry and won't speak to him. Harry is already trying to cope with the criticism from everyone who believes he engineered his own entry into the competition, but he also fears he knows the real reason he was chosen, and it all proves too much. My fight with Ron exemplifies this.

Harry's Falling in Love

Harry experiences a terror unlike any he's accustomed to when he falls for the gentle charms of fellow Hogwarts student Cho Chang. One of the things Ive always liked about Harry is that he is absolutely pathetic when it comes to the whole romance thing. Her has no clue how to behave around girls. He's a character for anyone who has ever felt awkward around girls, which is probably every male in the world.

The Dancing Experience

It was terrifying. My parents are both very good dancers, but it seems to have skipped a generation. Everyone else had about three weeks to learn the steps, but because I was so busy filming other scenes, I only had four days. So I would get halfway through the steps and just lose it completely. Luckily, Harry's not supposed to be a fantastic dancer.