James and Oliver Phelps talk 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' Parts 1 & 2

Of all the Weasleys running around, there are none more beloved than the twins Fred and George -- played by real life twins James and Oliver Phelps. The two brothers left Hogwarts in a bang in one film only to reinvent themselves as magic joke shop proprietors in the next. By the time "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" comes around, the Weasley twins are up to their ears in action sequences -- which is where the Phelps like to be.

Q: You were running around the set as not just an actor, but a P.A. -- did doing double duty make you want to go into film production?

JP: It's not so much that as getting a broader eye on the crew and learning how a film is put together. As an actor, you can be spoiled rotten in what to do, so it's definitely something I want to do more. Maybe not as a P.A., but something on the other side of the camera, yeah.

Q: Do you think that experience helped you as an actor, and did you convey that experience to your brother here so he could benefit as well?

JP: Yeah, it made me a lot more professional, because I realized people are there a lot earlier than you, and stay a lot later, so you go in and rush-rush, and try to get the other guys in the cast to know that.

OP: He asked me to help out one day, when they were a man down. I went in, and it didn't last very long. [Laughs] And then I left. It was cool to see that side of it, but I much prefer to be in front of the camera.

Q: Your main action in Part 1 is helping Harry escape -- and the sacrifice you make...

JP: It was weird doing the whole ear sequence thing, after not having a scratch in any of the other movies before, to get the whole thing off. It was pretty grisly.

Q: What was it like filming the Battle of Hogwarts?

OP: It was fun. It was kind of like being in a Bond film-meets Bourne-meets Harry Potter. You're fighting, there are huge explosions going on, you're in a scene like in "Saving Private Ryan," where literally it's just rubble and it's fantastic to be part of the experience of the whole thing.

Q: Was it also bittersweet, to destroy Hogwarts?

OP: Yeah, it was cool. Luckily we weren't filming all in sequence. The last scene James and I filmed was a scene just before the Battle, so it was nice to finish on that level. In one minute, we're happy it's gone out at the top of its popularity, but at the same time, it is finishing.

Q: Would it be different had you been destroying Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes instead?

OP: I can't imagine someone doing that! I think whatever the outcome, they'd still be in business someway, or the shop itself would be. The set was too good to be blowing up!