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Interview with Chris Rankin -
Summary:
Interview with Chris Rankin
Article:
Thanks to
Wizardnews for providing the link to this wonderful interview with Chris Rankin.
vanessa
What's the best and the worst thing about working on the Harry Potter movies?
chris rankin
There's so many good things about working on Potter (apart from the fact that it's one of the biggest film projects ever!). The cast and crew are lovely people, the whole feel to the film and the studio is very friendly and we all get on as a team. The only thing that I get a bit stressed with sometimes is when I get called to work (so into costume and make up) and then don't do anything all day apart from sit in a dressing room and wait! Minor thing though really!
vanessa
What did you think of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix?
chris rankin
I think it's a very good book - I'm not sure that it needed to be QUITE so long, and I was a little disappointed by the death scene (it kind of just happened and that was that). But it's a very deep and dark book - I'm curious to see what they do with it if they carry on making movies....
vanessa
What did you think of Percy's role in this book?
chris rankin
I think it's very interesting, I'm curious to see what happens to him in the 6th - because it could go both ways really - either he'll see the error of his ways and go running back to the family, or he'll go the whole hog and become part of the Death Eaters (or something!).
vanessa
What did you think of the ending of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix?
chris rankin
I don't actually remember it!!! I'd go and look it up, but I'm moving house and I packed my books yesterday!!
vanessa
Now that you've read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which of the Harry Potter books is your favourite?
chris rankin
Still Prisoner of Azkaban (it used to be Chamber of Secrets, but having re-read POA I changed my mind). It's the first book in the series that is REALLY sinister, especially with the dementors and such.
vanessa
What have you heard about my country, Colombia? And if so, what do you think about our situation?
chris rankin
I can't say that I'm particularly up to scratch on world affairs - which is awful cos I really should be, but I've got so much going on in my little world that everything else has kind of taken a back seat in the last couple of months!
vanessa
How did people call you back in school? i.e. redhaired, gingerhead, tomatohead, ketchup?
chris rankin
Oh god - they called me all sorts of things! Ginger, Chuckie (like the Rugrats Character - or the bride of....), Jesus (I played Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar at school, so for some reason the name stuck). When I go back now, I'm "Harry Potter Boy".
vanessa
Has working in the Harry Potter movies fulfilled your expectations?
chris rankin
Yes, simply because I didn't know what to expect when I started! It was my first professional job as an actor, and I was 16 when I started, so had no idea how films were made, or the process or anything like that! But I've been working on it for 3 and a half years, and I'd be perfectly happy to work on it for another 3 and a half!
vanessa
Have you managed to keep anything from the set in this movie? If you haven't, what thing would you like to keep?
chris rankin
The props and costumes and such from the film are VERY collectible on Ebay and such - so everyone who works on Potter is checked randomly on their way out for props and costumes in their bags and things. I'd love to keep some of the props, because they're beautiful... We were all given an Ollivander wand box at the end of the first film though - I've got two for some reason...
vanessa
What's your favourite thing about the HP books?
chris rankin
I just love the fact that they appeal to so many people of all ages all around the world. It's quite amazing that one woman and her dream can be SO popular!
vanessa
I read you'd like to be part of a Shakespeare play, did you know the song from the trailer of the 3rd movie belongs to a scene from Macbeth?
chris rankin
Yes, and it's a bloody good song too - Alfonso let me listen to it months ago when we were filming Azkaban. I think it adds a lot of atmosphere to the movie and works really well on the trailer!
vanessa
What would you like to do after the HP movies?
chris rankin
I'd like to keep working in films, but my real passion is acting on the stage. I've just set up a professional theatre company with a director friend of mine, and touch wood it's starting to look promising for the next couple of years already!
vanessa
Do you know if you're working on the next HP movies? If you do, would you like to continue working on the HP movies?
chris rankin
I'm starting work on HP4 in a few months (as far as i'm away - after they cut Sean last year, I'm a wee bit skeptical - even though Percy's a bit more of an important character to the plot of the up-coming books...). I'm happy to keep working on them as long as they keep making them
vanessa
Tell me something about your role as Percival while you're doing panto? Did you have fun?
chris rankin
It was fabulous - we had SUCH a good time! The panto was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and I was playing Percival (who USED to be Egor - the guy who takes Snow White into the forest to kill her) - so it was a pretty big and important part. The theatre we were in wasn't the most attractive thing I've ever worked in - but the company made the whole project worth while - and I'm missing it tremendously.
vanessa
Thanks to the Harry Potter productions, what countries have you visited so far? And what countries would you like to visit?
chris rankin
I haven't been anywhere on Warner Brother's behalf, but thanks to the salary they pay me, I've been to New York twice this year, and Canada. I've also just bought my first house - so it's all good
I'd love to go back to my home land of New Zealand sometime in the near future, because I miss it lots and haven't been for 14 years!
vanessa
Who's your favourite character in the books, besides you?
chris rankin
Tom Riddle is my favourite in Chamber of Secrets, but I have to say McGonagall (strange choice I know), because I think she's a very caring person, and we're seeing that coming through now.
vanessa
I read you're moving into a new house, how come? Is it because you're too old to live with your parents or is it because you need to live a little closer to the studios?
chris rankin
No - it's more of a change of scenery... As was mentioned on my website back in August, my father died in the summer, and my mother and I decided that we just wanted a new start and to be closer to our friends. So we're moving into Norwich, our nearest city, in just under a week's time!
vanessa
What's more relaxing for you, doing the HP movies or panto?
chris rankin
None of it's particularly relaxing, because on stage you get the adrenaline rush, which is why I love it, but on film there's a lot of hanging around, and you have to keep going, so it's often quite tiring. I feel happiest on stage though.
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