‘Harry Potter’ Cast Reunion Q&A Panels at A Celebration of Harry Potter

Feb 15, 2018

Posted by: Emma Pocock

Actor Interviews, Celebration of Harry Potter, Events, Exclusives, Fan Events, HP Cast, Ianevski, Ianevski Interviews, News, Phelps, Phelps Interviews, Tena, Tena Interviews, Theme Park, WIzarding World of Harry Potter Orlando, Wright, Wright Interviews

A Celebration of Harry Potter recently reunited Stan Yanevski (Viktor Krum), Natalia Tena (Nymphadora Tonks), James and Oliver Phelps (the Weasley twins) and Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) at Universal Orlando, leading to discussions of their characters, the wizarding world and their latest projects!

We had exclusive access to a media panel on the day of the event’s opening, which opened with the cast discussing what they were most excited for in the weekend ahead. The rides, catching up with each other and experiencing the atmosphere in the parks were all stated as their most anticipated moments at the event. James and Oliver said they were, of course, excited to see Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes once again.

They were then asked for advice for aspiring actors. Stan Yanevski spoke about his experience as a Bulgarian actor, and advised people not to give up hope. Natalia Tena gave advice to female actors in particular:

A rather strange question saw the actors asked which objects they’d put – hypothetical of course – horcruxes into. Natalia Tena face-palmed, but then said she’d put one in her dog! Oliver said George would put his in a product from Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes (specifically the moving model of Umbridge), and he’d put his into a golf ball. James noted that that’d be easy to hide in your shed, and said that he’d put his in the shed, too. Stan said that Viktor “as a more physical character, would put his in a snitch”, and he’d put it in a barbell. Bonnie said she’d put hers in a piece of jewellery, and Ginny would put it in one of Molly’s knitted jumpers:

A question directed at James and Oliver that reoccurred throughout the weekend was based on a rumor that the two had swapped roles during filming. James was quick to shut the rumor down, saying that though they swapped on a rehearsal of a Great Hall scene once, they knew better than to try to prank the crew:

“There’s about 300 members of crew, and it’s quite an expensive gig, making a film, so if you got caught and you’re the reason everybody had to stay late because you were messing around… You can’t really do that. That story comes around every so often!”

MuggleNet asked the cast, if they could redo any scene and add a spoof to it, what would they choose?

James also said he’d like to make his voice deeper in the first films. Stan would’ve used “more realistic” exercise moves in the scene where girls were chasing Viktor by the Black Lake.

As they were at a fan event, the cast were asked by Tessa Netting to share what they’re fans of. James Phelps said that as he loves The Simpsons, being at Universal Orlando during a big Potter event is great, because the Springfield section of the park is much emptier than usual!

On craziest fan encounters, Natalia Tena said she was sent baby clothes once, because Tonks was pregnant! Even stranger, perhaps, James told the audience that he was once sent a watermelon in a big box with a return address and a sticker for James to write his autograph stuck onto the watermelon. He said he ate half of the watermelon and sent the (signed) other half back. (If you sent him this ‘gift’, please tweet us a photo of the signed watermelon). Stan was sent a bra with a marriage request, and Bonnie said she was once recognised in a tiny mountain village in Crete!

We asked the cast what their ideal spell / potion would do:

Oliver: “I’d want one like an alarm clock, so that as soon as you woke up you just felt great. You wouldn’t have to deal with any of that struggle to get out of bed.” 

James: “So you want to be one of those people that are like “Yay, daytime!” 

Leaky” “A morning person spell?”

Oliver: “Yeah exactly, that’s a good name for it – or “George’s Morning Medicine””

Natalia Tena said a spell or potion to stop sexism would be very nice!

They spoke more about shooting scenes in the film, and Oliver shared a story about filming the Hogwarts song:

James also said that he’d initially “stuff his face full of as much food as possible” when filming the dining scenes in the Great Hall, and after a few  weeks he became sick of the smell of brussell sprouts and potatoes – it was probably a good thing that they eventually decided to make fake food (as seen at Warner Bros Studio Tour) for the Great Hall!

Highlights of later panels included:

Watch the live panels in full below:

And see our full coverage of the event here (opening ceremony) and here (expo and panels).  We loved getting the chance to spend time with other fans and those behind the magic of Harry Potter – thanks to Universal Orlando for an unforgettable experience!





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