Extreme Wizard Makeover

Things are starting to change for Harry in 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,' the fifth film in the series. But before we get to minor details like tone and plot, let's talk about the most important development: Harry's hair. That's right -- young Potter's distinctive moptop has been shorn. According to Daniel Radcliffe, that's because Harry is at an age where he's trying to impress girls. So how does the new haircut feel? "Colder!" says Radcliffe. "I had gotten used to having insulation 24/7."

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Lip-Locks

Hmm ... Looks like the new haircut does the trick. Change number two? Harry gets to kiss a girl (Cho Chang, played by Katie Leung), a development that comes just in time for Radcliffe. "When I read the fifth book I was quite scared. I was 13 and was quite inhibited about things like the kiss," he says. "Then I got to 16 and I thought it was fantastic."

No More Mr. Nice Guy

The kissing scenes might make Daniel Radcliffe happy, but Harry Potter spends much of this movie in a foul mood. Forget the quiet boy wizard who keeps his emotions bottled inside. According to Radcliffe, "This film sees the release of all that anger that's been building up his entire life." Helping Radcliffe and his castmates get in a suitably grim mood is new director David Yates, whose previous work includes the gritty 'Sex Traffic' and the socially aware 'The Girl in the Café.'

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

A director known for political drama isn't as odd an addition to the fantasy franchise as you might think. As readers of the book know, 'Order of the Phoenix' features the arrival of repressive new regime at Hogwarts. Indeed, Yates had Daniel Radcliffe watch the John Hurt version of '1984' to get in the right mindset. Meanwhile, Emma Watson (who plays Hermione Granger) chose to catch up on Yates' own films, and found herself getting "nervous, in a good way."

She's Come a Long Way, Baby

After seeing the performances he got out of his previous casts, Watson admits to being "in awe of David Yates." Even more intimidating was the leap her character makes in 'Phoenix' -- from good girl to leader of a Hogwarts rebellion. "For Hermione, to break the rules has always been a big thing. She'd rather die than be expelled," Watson says. Fortunately, Watson relished the chance to get down and dirty. "There's only a certain amount of looking concerned on the edge of a scene you can do."

Who's Your Daddy ... This Week?

While Watson reveled in her dark side, Gary Oldman (Sirius Black) was showing off his light side ... relatively speaking. "I tend to play anti-establishment and bad," he says. "It's nice to play anti-establishment and nice." When he's playing darker roles, Oldman hangs out with his kids, but he won't let them on-set to watch him work. "They get the impression that Dad works in a trailer," he says. The Harry Potter series gives the Oldman children a rare chance to see Dad on the job.

The Godfather, Part Three

Turning a book into a movie, Oldman says, is "like taking an elephant and trying to squeeze it into a phone booth." To maintain the book's character depth, he looked to his own experiences as a parent. "When you nominate somebody to be a godfather, you don't do it lightly. Harry's father and Sirius must have had an incredible relationship." Radcliffe agrees, adding, "The relationship with Sirius is a sad one. They love each other, but at some level, it's forged by death."

Think Pink

Joining the cast is Oscar nominee Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge, whose pretentious manner and meddling ways make her universally loathed at Hogwarts. Keep an eye on Umbridge's outfits: The costume designers gave her a series of pink outfits that get brighter as her lust for power grows. Offscreen, Staunton is immensely popular with her young castmates -- Radcliffe says he's learned more from Staunton than from any other actor besides Oldman.

Spicy Luna Role

Newcomer Evanna Lynch makes her film debut in 'Order of the Phoenix' as the amiably spacey Luna Lovegood. A lifelong fan of the books, Lynch saw a casting notice on a Harry Potter fansite and talked her parents into bringing her to an open casting call. She ended up getting chosen from among 15,000 girls to play Luna Lovegood. The other characters think Luna is weird, but Lynch disagrees. "She's just honest. I think it's weird when people aren't themselves."

If This Wizard Thing Fails, There's Always the Village People

Jason Isaacs says his portrayal of villainous Lucius Malfoy is "an amalgam of people who treated me badly through life, and I hope they recognize themselves in it." He describes Malfoy's costume as "a fabulous leather armor/S&M outfit. It makes me feel much cooler than I am." For a climactic scene in which he duels with his wand, Isaacs spent a week with a choreographer, working out every step of the action.

Knowing Is Half the Battle

"Unfortunately," Gary Oldman says, "There's things I know in movie five that I didn't know in movie three. I don't know if I'd have played it differently, but I'd like to have known." Maybe he should have asked 'Harry Potter' scribe J.K. Rowling. For 'Order of the Phoenix,' she did something she's never done before: She gave Daniel Radcliffe some acting advice based on inside information. "She told me some things about Dumbledore's Army -- which I can't reveal," Radcliffe says.

They're in the Army Now

If you're one of the five people on the planet who hasn't read the books, Dumbledore's Army is an underground group of Hogwarts students, led by Harry. The Room of Requirement -- where their training sessions take place -- quickly became the cast's least favorite shooting location. There are four actual, wood-burning fireplaces in the room, and the scenes were shot as the UK suffered through a freakishly hot May. And those costumes? They're made of wool.

This Ministry of Magic Moment

Fortunately, there was more breathing space on another new set: the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. In the film, computer special effects enhance its size, but even in person, the physical set is massive. In fact, it's one of the biggest sets built for the series thus far. If you've been on the London Underground, it might look a bit familiar, as the decor was influenced by the Victorian tiling in London's real-life Tube stops.

He's Got the Books

'Order of the Phoenix' lets us go deeper into Dumbledore's (Michael Gambon) office, to the cozy sitting area behind it. The library looks impressive, but it isn't real; most of the volumes are phone books with fancy covers. Perhaps because he spends this film battling the wizard government, Dumbledore seems to be doing some heavy-duty legal reading. Titles include 'Laws of Conduct When Dealing With Muggles,' 'Muggle Law & Order,' and 'The Dark Arts -- A Legal Compendium.'

Dining ... But Not Yet Wining

Along with all the new sets is an old favorite: the Hogwarts Dining Room, which has stood in England's Leavesden Studios since the very first 'Harry Potter' film. Knowing they'd use it for a decade of filming, the crew constructed it more solidly than the usual film set. The floors are real York stone (although the stone walls are fake). Unlike real-life school furniture, the long wooden tables have stayed graffiti-free ... except for the initials HP carved discreetly into one end.

Fade to Black

In the book, a family tree hangs in Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's family home. But J.K. Rowling listed only four of the names on it. When the time came to build the set, producer David Heyman called her and asked if she had any suggestions on filling out the rest of the tree. "Fifteen minutes later, she sent me a complete family tree with seventy five names," Heyman says. Look closely, Potterheads: That's 71 new potential clues to the Black family history. -- Jacob Sager Weinstein

Take Umbridge (Please!)

If you thought anyone who loves little kittens and the color pink must be girly and sweet, think again -- and then take our QuickTime tour of the office where Dolores Umbridge, the dastardly High Inquisitor at Hogwarts, cooks up all her evil schemes. You'll never look at a lace doily the same way again.

Tour Dolores Umbridge's Office at Hogwarts