5 Fun Facts From the Set of 'Harry Potter'

It's 79 days and counting until 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince' hits theaters (on behalf of 'Potter' heads everywhere, we'll now take the opportunity to thank Warner Bros. for its recent move in pushing the release date up two days to July 15). Considering that all told, it will be over 700 days in between 'Potter' installments, it's safe to say we're in the home stretch.

But for fans clamoring for some wizardly fun to hold you over, look no further. After "teasing" you once with our first sneak peek from the set of 'Half-Blood Prince,' we bring you another look at the goods gathered from our broomstick ride (OK, fine, we flew Delta) to the London set. Check out five fun facts.
-- By Kevin Polowy

1. Daniel Radcliffe got a kick out of Dumbledore's "outing."
"I thought it was hilarious," Radcliffe told us about his reaction to Rowling's late-2007 revelation that she "always saw Dumbledore as gay." Radcliffe continued, "But what was even funnier about it was the reaction from people who were up in arms about it. I don't think it really matters. He's [Rowling's] character and she can do what she likes with him." Michael Gambon, who plays the sage headmaster, was "camping it up around the set for a couple weeks" after the news broke, Radcliffe reports. We can only hope there's footage available of that for the DVD.

2. It takes "about 10 takes" for the perfect kiss.
Or at least that's how many takes Rupert Grint estimates were shot for the first of a few smooches between Ron and Lavender (Jessie Cave). "Quite embarrassing" is how the reserved Grint describes the scene's filming. "We were both quite nervous and [director David Yates] was really good and only let it go on for about 10 takes." Only? To make matters worse, Grint and Lavender were performing for a live audience. "I had a room full of people cheering," Grint says. Well, he must be doing something right.




3. A "Bizarro World" exists on the set of 'Potter.'
One of the first things you notice wandering around the outskirts-of-London set of 'Potter'? There are twice the number of main characters. Each lead has a stand-in, and they look so strikingly similar (and are also sporting identical costumes), it's easy to confuse them at any distance. "It's weird," Grint admits. "And they all sit together at lunchtime!" Emma Watson even admits she wishes she could send her body double to education classes in her place. The only problem? "She's like 24, something like that," Watson says.

4. Radcliffe isn't exactly Homer Simpson when it comes to bacon.
During the scene we watched filmed, Harry and Ron discuss a forthcoming Quidditch match over breakfast in the Hogwarts dining hall; and take after take we watch them nibble on seemingly fresh plates of bacon and eggs. Sounds like a food lover's dream, right? Wrong. Radcliffe was so sick and tired of bacon, he took to feeding a 10-year-old extra who couldn't get enough of it. "I've been turning around and shoving all my bacon onto his plate just to amuse myself," Radcliffe laughs. "He seems to be having a good time." Mmmm?

5. Rupert Grint won't be selling be ice cream any time soon.
Anyone who follows the exploits of the 'Potter' cast (religiously or otherwise) probably knows that the quirky Grint is the proud owner of an ice cream truck. Why not live out your childhood fantasies when you have the means, right? But Grint, at the time of our visit, hadn't yet brought his parlor-on-wheels to set (the 1970s-built truck was having engine trouble at the time), and doesn't plan on getting it licensed to you know, actually sell ice cream. "That's quite complicated," he says. "You have to go through all sorts of different health checks."