They were all cute, polite 9-, 10- and 11-year olds with little to no acting experience. Today, these poised, charming young adults are among the most recognized faces on the planet.
Q: I'm sure it was emotional when the actual filming ended. What's it like now as the film is about to come out?
A: Yeah, it was a year ago since we finished and I had kind of started to move on with it. I did another film and was kind of enjoying kind of a freedom really. Suddenly, these last few weeks kind of brought it all back because it was a sad day when the last day came. It was quite a big deal. Ten years had come down.
Q: When you say that you had "freedom from it," freedom from what?
A: It's just been this kind of bubble that we've lived in for 10 years playing the same character. It's quite liberating now to live.
Q: Could there possibly be any downside to all of this?
A: No, not really. I've never kind of resented it or regretted anything really. I'm just ready for a new creative challenge. It had to end sometime. It's been amazing and I've learned a lot.
Q: What do you think the impact of the Harry Potter film series has been?
A: It does kind of amaze me. I was a huge fan of the books and they really have kind of really connected so many people in such a wide variety of different ages and different cultures all over the world. People started reading and that was very special, I think. I can't really think of anything that's had that kind of wide appeal. I mean, I would never have imagined kind of 10 years ago I'd be here and how many people would be camped out for us. It's unreal.
Q: I've always admired how you've been able to handle your success and still live a pretty normal life. Is that still the case now that you're older?
A: That's always been quite important to me. When I'm not doing things like this I love cars and drawing … golf occasionally, just having fun, hanging out with my mates. I mean the only time that it's overwhelming is when I'm doing these red carpet events because it's so not a part of my normal life. It's fun but it's very strange.
Travel expenses paid for by WGN-TV and Warner Bros. Pictures. Watch my interviews 5 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday on WGN-Ch. 9 Morning News. My radio show airs 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on News 720 WGN-AM and wgnradio.com. You can also go to wgntv.com/deanslist.