Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe said on Monday that his first on-screen kiss was a doddle compared to stripping naked on stage.

The 17-year-old actor insists he prepared for his first on-screen kiss by getting naked on London's West End stage. He believed that the earlier role equipped him with the bravado to smooch co-star Katie Leung in the latest installment of the boy wizard franchise.

He says, "Once you've been onstage naked in front of 1,000 people you really feel you can do most anything without inhibition.

"Being naked was possibly not as complicated as kissing - although belt buckles can give everybody a bit of trouble at times - but kissing Katie was a very comfortable experience, especially when compared to being naked onstage."

The teenager filmed the love scene under the mistletoe with Scots actress Katie Leung, who plays fellow Hogwarts pupil Cho Chang in the latest instalment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Leung, 19, who beat thousands of others at open auditions to win the part, admitted she had been nervous about watching the final cut, which took 30 takes to perfect.

"I thought I'd be cringing, but I'm very pleased with it," she said. "It's a very endearing and sweet scene.

The actress, from Motherwell, Lanarkshire, added: "Daniel was great. I'm sure everyone wants to know if he's a good kisser and he definitely was. I had so much fun filming it."

The pair were promoting the launch of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth instalment in JK Rowling's bestselling series, in London yesterday. They were joined by co-stars Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger, and Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley.

（Agencies） 

Vocabulary: 

doddle: 輕而易舉的事；不費吹灰之力的事

smooch:kiss（吻）

（英語點津陳蓓編輯）