My kids love it. I thought I was the coolest dad in the world when I got to be in a Bond film, but 'Harry Potter', too? Well, I think I qualify for a medal for exceptional parenting or something, don't you?
I never wanted to do Harry Potter. I thought it should have stayed as a book. There are some books that should be made into movies and some that shouldn't. Harry Potter is 70% imagination. When the movie comes out, it's going to be such a stereotype for kids. When they think of Harry Potter, they're going to think of what is portrayed on screen.
When I found out that I'm playing Nagini, I thought it was meaningful because it's an important character in the 'Harry Potter' series. 'Harry Potter' is a franchise film with many Caucasian actors, so I thought many Korean viewers would be happy.
And of course I've got kids of my own now, and they love me being in the Harry Potter films. I'm now part of a phenomenon. You become incredibly cool to your kids, and you get a young fan base. So you became the cool dad at school. You're suddenly hip.
So Harry Potter came in and it is nice that I have kids of the right age. I took them to London and they walked around the set and met Harry Potter and that is thrilling.
When I first started acting I was about nine years old. I had never been to audition in my life and my agent sent me out. It was just a commercial for 'Harry Potter.' That was the first thing I ever went out for and I got the 'Harry Potter' commercial which was really cool, but I didn't play Harry Potter.
I think Harry Potter's very important. Every opportunity I will get for the rest of my life, I would not have got if it wasn't for Harry Potter. And it would be height of ingratitude if I was ever anything but proud to be associated with these films.
I've actually written a children's film called 'The Myth,' which you could say is like a big 'Harry Potter'-esque fantasy for kids, and that's a film I would love to see get made. That's a dream project of mine.
As a teacher, I've never seen anything like 'Harry Potter.' That's why I smart when people talk about the 'next' 'Harry Potter.' There is no 'next' 'Harry Potter.'
Films don't take as long as people think. 'Harry Potter,' people always used to say, 'Well, my God, do you ever get any time to yourself?' I think I did, in 'Harry Potter,' over a 12 year period I did five days. So it's not exactly exhausting.
I'm a huge 'Harry Potter' fan, but I still think there is a lot of anime that is crazier than 'Harry Potter,' and that was a seven-book masterpiece.
Don't get paparazzi following me everywhere. My life there is exactly the same as it would have been if I had not been in Harry Potter. So for me, Harry Potter isn't something that changed my life. It's just something I did that was a lot of fun, and I got to experience amazing things from. But my actual, personal life is the same.
I've been surprised by how little criticism I've got. Harry Potter's been taking all the flak. I'm a great fan of J.K. Rowling, but the people - mainly from America's Bible Belt - who complain that Harry Potter promotes Satanism or witchcraft obviously haven't got enough in their lives. Meanwhile, I've been flying under the radar, saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God.
I look at my kids as the Harry Potter Generation. There's a sense of justice about that, in beating Voldemort. It's a classic tale of good versus evil. To have a role model like Harry Potter that says you can defeat evil, but still be a complicated human being. That gives me a lot of hope.
I am a really big Harry Potter fan and I've seen all the sets, I've lived Harry Potter and I don't think it's destroyed the books at all, I think it's really spot on.
I was told that there are about 900 gold medal winners in American Olympic history. When I thought about the number 900, I wondered how many kids that are influenced by a gold medal ever get to see a gold medal. What I thought was really neat was that I've already had a couple hundred kids touch my gold medal.
I have to say that my kids, like every child in America, is completely absorbed with Harry Potter. And so, I have gotten sucked into it, too; I can't wait for the next one to come out. I am trying to figure out what happens with Harry and Voldemort. So we have been reading that.