Professionalism is clearly important to you…
It’s a vastly underestimated quality that a lot of young actors don’t have. It comes down to the fact that actors get away with a lot of sh*t they shouldn’t, so people expect a certain level of complacency. I always feel that’s the perception of me I’m coming up against and I want to counteract that as strongly as I can. One of the main reasons I want to direct is so I can be really f*cking bossy with actors. I won’t take any sh*t [laughs].
There’ll be no mucking about for the blooper reel, then?
God, no. Even when I was 11 on the first Potter film and the other kids would say, “Let’s do something funny on this take,” I’d think, “No. Why don’t we just do our jobs?” The crew don’t f*ck about, do they? They don’t do one take where they all f*cking shake the camera. So why should the actors do it?
There’s been a lot written about your drinking…What’s the truth?
It’s ridiculous that it’s been talked about so much. The drinking was unhealthy and damaging to my body and my social life. That’s beyond question. I was living in constant fear of who I’d meet, what I might have said to them, what I might have done with them, so I’d stay in my apartment for days and drink alone. I was a recluse at 20. It was pathetic — it wasn’t me. I’m a fun, polite person and it turned me into a rude bore. For a long time people were saying to me, “We think you have a problem,” but in the end I had to come to the realisation myself.
Was there ever a point when you regretted signing up to Potter?
There was a time after the third film when I thought about quitting. It was only for a second, but I thought, “If I do the fourth, I’ll have to do them all,” and that seemed quite daunting. If I was going to leave, that would have been the perfect time because it would have given whoever came in to play Harry enough films to establish himself properly. It wouldn’t have totally dumped him in the sh*t. But then I started thinking, “What other good parts are there for 15-year-olds? None.”
You’ve talked in the past about getting hassle at school – did that contribute to you thinking of quitting?
I don’t know. I mean, school was sh*t because the kids didn’t like me, but I wasn’t there very often. The problem at school was that I ended up getting cocky. Although most of them were brighter than me, I’d spent five years on film sets, so I’d developed a sharp tongue. Kids would shout, “Oi, tell Hermione she’s fit, yeah?” and I’d say, “Definitely. You’re exactly her type, actually. She’ll go ape-sh*t when she hears you’re interested.”
Do you ever Google yourself?
I try to stay away from the internet. Occasionally, I’ll type my name into Google to see what comes up — that’s funny. At the moment, it’s ‘gay’, ‘Twitter’ and ‘alcoholic’. That’s the top three [laughs]. ‘Gay’ always comes up, although it comes up for most people — even Florence Welch. So, really, if people aren’t saying you’re gay, you don’t have a career. I’m sure there are a few ostensibly straight celebrities who are gay, but that’s their f*cking business. They’ll choose if and when they come out — they can’t be forced into it.
Is there anyone you’re desperate to work with?
I’d love to work with Will Ferrell and Steve Carell. I find those gentlemen incredibly funny.
Having already worked with Ricky Gervais on Extras, you’re in a good position…
Yeah, but [Ferrell and Carell] come from a school of improv that wasn’t there in the English Office. Ricky improvises a bit. In the Extras episode I did where Warwick [Davis] attacks him, he was improvising all these funny little lines — “He’s coming at me like Björk!”, “He’s all arms!” — but at that age I didn’t have the confidence to try any of my own.
But you think you could contend with Ferrell and Carell now?
I definitely think I could keep up with them. Not that I wouldn’t have a lot to learn from them, of course.
You don’t fancy another big franchise, such as Bond, then?
I’d like to be in the new one, with Sam Mendes directing. But I don’t know if I’d be any good as Bond. I definitely wouldn’t want to follow Daniel Craig.
What have you got coming up next?
I’m shooting a film called Kill Your Darlings. I’ll be playing Allen Ginsberg.