Posted Under: Harry Potter, Interviews, The Syndicate
Friday, December 2, 2011 at 8:08 am |
In a new interview with The Telegraph Matthew Lewis discusses one of his favorite actors, Al Pacino, and how he helped him through one of the tough times in his career, doing Agatha Christie’s Verdict. You can read the full interview at the previous link or in the press archive.
After the Potter films, I was doing a stage play [Agatha Christie’s Verdict] and really struggling with it, thinking, “I don’t know if I can do this.” So I started watching Dog Day Afternoon, and when I was watching it for the fifth time, the director came in and I told him: “I’m just trying to draw something, anything from his performance. I know it’s not what my character is, nothing to do with it, but I’m trying to get some inspiration from the big man.” […] He’s into the Method, which is something I’d love to do, even though it’s so hard, an incredible commitment. I’ve never had any professional training, so I might try it one day – but not with the character I’m playing at the moment [in the forthcoming BBC drama The Syndicate] because he’s such an idiot.
[In] the Potter films, my character took a sort of journey, too. I was lucky because I had 10 years to do it, every year developing the character of Neville a bit more, changing him slightly while keeping the essential character. Which is the hard bit, not losing sight of who he is. Pacino had a helluva shorter time as Michael Corleone. But, looking back on it, you can’t imagine anyone else doing it.
Also, Matthew will be on Soccer AM tomorrow morning [I believe at 10AM] discussing HP and his new project, The Syndicate.