Harry Potter's Warwick Davis on Wand Choreography, George Lucas and What He Won't Miss About Potter

You mentioned green screen and I'm curious, since you've acted in so many horror and sci-fi films, what you've noticed about the evolution of special effects from an actor's standpoint?

Well, it's an interesting observation to make because you take a Harry Potter movie, where you walk into the Great Hall and can look around 360 degrees and see the Great Hall as it appears in the movie. It is a complete set. It is a building. Only looking up gives it away. Unfortunately, there's no enchanted ceiling -- just a load of lights and a few technicians. Apart from that, the experience is very real. If that was a Star Wars movie though, there would be very little of that set there. It would be a few sections of wall perhaps and then the rest would be green screen. That's the real difference. George Lucas makes films a very different way. I'm not saying that one way is the right way or the wrong way but certainly as an actor, it's a lot easier to be in an environment that is tactile and that you can see than rely on your imagination to paint the picture before the piece is finished. Because you don't realize until you go to the movie theater, "Oh, that's how big that was."

What kind of imagining did you have to do on Harry Potter?

When you have a wand and you have to do a spell, they'll describe to you the force that this spell is and the impact you feel when someone casts it on you and the way you shield yourself and all of that. It's not until you watch the film though that you realize the power of those spells and the "crack!" that goes along with them.

So who choreographed the spells?

Well, there's the director, and the stunt coordinator came up with a lot of information about the dance of the wand.

Whoa, the dance of the wand. Where do stunt coordinators get this inspiration?

It's stuff that they kind of developed over the years. At one point, they even got a ballroom dancer in to choreograph the wand moves, which they use. Then it's up to you to bring a bit of your own character style to that, too, so that was nice. Different characters will obviously fight in different ways. Some are elegant. Some are not so elegant. When I go and see the movie, I'm always fascinated to see, "Oh, that's how they ended up doing that [effect]." Casting the shield over Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 as well, David described it as this lovely sort of dome and it glows. Just seeing that -- it's like a substance almost -- it's really cool to watch. Stuff like that can't really be described or imagined -- you only know once you see it.

Harry Potter fans are so incredibly loyal. Do you feel inclined to stay in touch with them now that the films are over?

Well, I like to think that I'm accessible. I'll take pictures with people if they want them or sign autographs wherever I can. It's good because at the end of the day these people have supported us throughout the films and we acknowledge that they've allowed us to enjoy what we've done for the last 10 years.

I was really interested to learn that you have your own acting agency.

Yes, the acting agency is something that runs alongside my acting. It's really great, especially on Deathly Hallows because we had a lot of our actors cast as goblins in the film, which was terrific. So I was sort of overseeing that at the same time. There is a great feature on the DVD that explains the creation of Gringotts, the casting of the goblins and the makeup. And you just realize how much went into putting that on the screen. I don't think people realize the amount of work -- over a year of work that went into creating just those few minutes.

Your television series Life's Too Short with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant just aired in the U.K. What was that experience like working with Ricky?

It was crazy. He's a lunatic. Also, Stephen and he are the most brilliant comic minds, and we had so much fun. It was such a great opportunity for me to play comedy which I've always loved. It's just out-and-out a funny show, and it will air in the U.S. next February on HBO.

I also read that you just published an autobiography.

Yes, my autobiography comes out in the U.S. on the 21st of November. That's called Size Matters Not. That talks about my life from the day I was born all the way through to earlier this year.

How long did that take to write?

It took about a year and a half. It was surprisingly difficult actually. You'd think it would be easy to write about your life, but it's not. I talked to a lot of people that knew me -- my parents, obviously -- about me growing up. And I played music that I used to listen to and it kind of helped. You have to plot out the main points that you can remember and then you have to fill in the other parts. But I'm so proud of it, and the people who have read it love it. It's exciting. And there is a good Harry Potter section in there where I talk about my experiences on the films.

What kind of music?

Well, I grew up in the '80s so music from that time -- Michael Jackson, a lot of movie soundtracks had a great influence on me, especially horror soundtracks. For me, growing up, my movies were Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween and Top Gun. Star Wars had a massive influence me as well. I saw that when I was 7 for the first time. I recommend that everyone keep a diary because you don't always appreciate what happens to you. We all live life 100 miles per hour, but if you stop and take stock of the moment, it means so much more. That's what I've been doing since writing the book. Here I am at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and it's lovely. It enriches you as a person if you can do that.

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