What has new director David Yates brought to the film?

David's taken the charm of the films Chris Columbus made, the visual flair of what Alfonso Cuaron did and the thoroughly British nature of the film Mike Newell directed, and added his own sense of grit and realism that perhaps wasn't there before. I think it's the one I'm most proud of.

Did you feel he pushed you harder than his predecessors?

I wouldn't say any of the directors we've worked with have patronised us. But David came into the franchise at a time when we'd all grown up and were ready to be pushed. David was quite happy to come up to us and say, 'That's not real enough - you can do it better than that.' When your director backs you like that, it gives you a huge confidence boost. You think, 'Well, if he thinks I can do this I obviously can.'

How did making the film compare with doing Equus?

You can't really compare the two experiences, they are so different. I think being on stage is technically more demanding than film in terms of the vocal side of things. I think a lot of actors think you can happily saunter on stage after doing film or television and just be able to do it. But I knew that wasn't the case, so I did a lot of training. I'd say being on stage is a much tougher discipline.

How did you handle your big kissing scene with Katie Leung?

We were a bit nervous, but I think after the first few takes we started thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Once you've been on stage naked in front of a thousand people you really feel you can do most anything without inhibition. I think Katie will be relieved to know I preferred kissing her to being naked on stage and blinding horses!

How comfortable do you feel with your celebrity status?

Our culture is very much centred around celebrity, but it's really to do with your own mind-set about what a celebrity is. I define 'a celebrity' as somebody who is famous, but the things they enjoy about their fame are the parties. They're fine and fun, but the thing I love doing is the work and acting rather than the other stuff that goes with it. It depends on how you see yourself. Though others might see me that way I don't think of myself as a celebrity; I'm not famous to me because I've known me all my life.

How hard have you found it dealing with the media attention?

Not particularly. The press on the whole have been really nice and supportive, but you get the sense half of them are wishing for a story about 'Kid stars going off the rails'. We've all been pretty set on the idea of not giving them that, because that would be too easy. I've always liked the idea of wrong-footing people in life, and I think that applies to that situation.

Does the publication of the seventh book mark the end of this period of your life?

It doesn't mark the end of it for me - I've got a few more years to go yet. But I'm very excited about it. I don't know what happens, but whatever it is it'll be the end of an era. After that I'll start to feel the films are going to be drawing to a close in the next few years, which will be a very sad moment.