It has been a life lived in the public eye for the "Potter" kids – and one that I note with particular interest, since I met with the three of them in England in September 2001, before the first "Harry Potter" film was released.
Indeed, for 10 years and eight movies, we've watched Harry, Ron and Hermione grow bigger and bolder and more resourceful, while in their offscreen lives we've seen none of the child-star meltdowns that seem so prevalent on these shores.
Hell, Daniel Radcliffe had to tell us he once had a drinking problem, no one ever caught wind of it.
The release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" brings this era to a close, putting the final touches on a series that has made three young Brits examples in how to do child stardom right.
"They’re lovely kids, just lovely, and I don’t think they have any idea how their lives could change," actor Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) told me earlier that day.
They do now.
Here's what they said back then (actually, on Sept. 11, 2001 -- but that's another story) about subjects ranging from fame and their future to "objects of desire."
And here's how they answered the same questions on the stump for the last in the series: this weekend's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2."
DANIEL RADCLIFFE
Radcliffe may now be a Broadway star after performing naked in "Equus" and singing and dancing in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," but I remember him as a 12-year-old who talked enthusiastically about the World Wrestling Federation and said he was listening incessantly to the "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack.
On recreation:
Then: "We love practical jokes. I went out shopping with one of the runners and bought all these fake blood capsules,” he said. “And so I got one of the fake blood capsules and put it in my mouth and burst it, and then I smashed my fist down on the steel steps outside makeup, so it sounded like I’d just hit them. Then I rolled into the makeup bus and spat out all this blood.”
Now: "I became so reliant on alcohol to enjoy stuff. There were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person's lifestyle that really isn't suited to me."
On fame:
Then: "I think it’s going to be fun. I think it’s gonna be... just fun."
Now: "I get constantly mistaken for Elijah Wood. I was in Japan and someone held out a photo of him for me to sign.
