In a new interview with The Big Issue, Matt talks about his experiences on Harry Potter. He first talks about a fear that he might be recast in between Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban:
“I shot up in height and lost a lot of puppy fat and I wondered if they were going to recast me – we were only contracted to two films at a time,” he told The Big Issue. “I thought, are they going to recast me? It didn’t keep me awake at night but I considered it a possibility.
“I’ve since been told there was never any question but I reckon in some dark room somewhere in California it might have come up. I had to wear a fat suit and false teeth and stuff to stick my ears out, which was pretty grim for a few years, but it meant I got to keep my job so I can think of worse things.”
He also reveals that he wishes one scene from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix made it into the film, which many fans were also upset about:
“There’s a scene in Order of the Phoenix when Neville visits his parents in St Mungo’s Hospital. It’s the first time we see Neville’s parents and they’ve been tortured to insanity. There’s a brief moment where his mother gives him a sweet wrapper and it means absolutely nothing to anyone else in the room but Neville believes that his mum recognises him. It’s a nice little moment in the book and I remember being really passionate about that scene. And I thought it really conveyed who Neville was and why also in the final film he becomes this hero – he’s doing it all for his parents. I thought that was a really important part of his story arc and his journey, and David [Yates, director] agreed, but unfortunately we never got the chance to do it. We were both a bit gutted.”
The full interview may be read in this week’s The Big Issue, out now. If you live in the United States (and I assume other countries) you can still obtain an issue of the magazine by emailing Robert.White@bigissue.com for pricing information.