We’re damn lucky to have our bodies, these strange, multi-functional machines, that let us leave our legacy on the planet.

One week I was in school and the next I'm at Leavesden Studios in Dumbledore's office reading scenes with Daniel Radcliffe. Weird. And terrifying for such a huge 'Harry Potter' fan

Don’t ever give up. Don’t see the obstacles, just the way around them. For me, of course it looked improbable, but not impossible. So as long as there was a way, I would not be discouraged.

Drawing on the experience I have of now directing, to me, my one strength that I know is my ability to communicate with actors and therefore make characters really important.

I think there are a lot of writers that can get away with not being gifted with words.

It calmed me down to see that most of the time no-one gets the scene on the first take.

Sometimes I`m stressed and I`m sick of things and I need to forget about them for a while, so in Harry Potter you`re taken to this wonderful imaginary world where everything is so different. But also the main characters are completely real and modern so you can relate to them.

About 200 girls went into a room and there were two casting agents and they asked you to say your name and where you came from and then they picked two or three out of that. And they sent you into a room and I was really nervous and kept dropping things and I was going the wrong way and everything. Then she gave us a script and you had to learn it.

I don't want to know what they think of me - there's always going to be someone who won't like it and that'll just upset me. So, if I'm happy with it, it just matters if I've done my little vision.

While I was in London it was completely upside-down. I got a whole new life and it was a challenge to keep in touch with my life in Ireland, but it was great fun. Now though, I've been back home since November and gradually all connections with my HP life have been fading.