Today we have the second of three cast Question and Answer sessions held for fans. In this session Matt Lewis, Devon Murray, Evanna Lynch, James Phelps and Oliver Phelps answered questions from the hundreds of fans in attendance. An almost full video of the event (some questions were not recorded due to battery life of the camera) may be viewed below.
Video: Matthew Lewis at Press Conference for A Celebration of Harry Potter
We have the first of many videos from A Celebration of Harry Potter for your enjoyment! First up is a press conference held on Friday, January 24th. Matthew Lewis, along with Devon Murray, Evanna Lynch, James Phelps and Oliver Phelps, all took some time to chat to various media about their careers, the new Diagon Alley expansion, the current theme park and much more! Watch the full video below. You can also view photos of Matt from the weekend in the gallery. And view photos of all the events at Magical-Menagerie.
Matt Lewis Talks Joining The Army with ‘What’s On TV’
In a new interview with What’s On TV, Matt Lewis talks about his new television show Bluestone 42 as well as his near career change. Matt first appeared in the show’s Christmas Special last month and will soon be on Series 2 of the show, airing in February.
The actor, 24, joined the cast of the series about the titular bomb disposal unit in Helmand Province at Christmas, and found chippy, newly arrived Yorkshireman Corporal Gordon House, nicknamed Tower Block, engaged in a class war with Captain Nick Medhurst, played by Oliver Chris.Although a tour of duty in Helmand might seem a far cry from life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lewis, who spent 10 years working on the Harry Potter franchise, says the two worlds aren’t as different as you might think.
“You’re all together, sleeping in the same quarters, and you’re around each other all the time,” he says, adding that he considered joining the forces himself when he became disenchanted with life as a child actor. “I actually did think about it when I was about 14,” Lewis reveals. “I’d been doing Harry Potter for a few years, and I was in a bit of a rebellious phase thinking: ‘I don’t want to do this any more – I’ll join the army’. Then I got a bit older, started to enjoy the acting a lot more, and stayed on that path. I’m so glad I did, because I’d have been the worst soldier of all time.”
Matt Lewis Talks Bluestone 42 With Radio Times
To promote the Christmas Special for Bluestone 42 (airing tonight on BBC Three!) Matt Lewis talked to Radio Times about the show. Read some of the interview here and see the full thing over at Radio Times.
What can you tell us about your character? I play ammunition technician Corporal Gordon House. He’s a Yorkshireman who’s just been transferred into team Bluestone 42 and he’s the best of the best at what he does. He’s passed all his exams at the top of the class and that’s why he’s been picked by the captain but he’s got a bit of a working class chip on his shoulder and Nick and Gordon don’t get on immediately.
If you could describe Gordon in three words, what would they be?Efficient, affable and fearless.
Who are you more similar to – Towerblock or Neville? The terrible thing is in the Christmas episode, Towerblock’s a complete dick so if I say that now everyone’s going to think, “What, really?” but he’s alright after that. I’m more like Towerblock in the rest of season 2.
Did you have to do lots of training to achieve your “army physique”? Well, not so much a regime. James and Richard very kindly put in some shirtless scenes so there was a degree of work – thanks for that, guys. I’ve been working a little bit but I’ve got a few friends who’ve served out there and they don’t get a whole lot to eat and they’re pretty exhausted a lot of the time, particularly the bomb disposal guys who don’t have a lot of time for downtime and rest. They’re not the biggest of guys in the world.
What can you tell us about the Christmas special? What should we expect? We’ve got Gordon’s arrival which we’ve already shot and obviously there’s a bit of a class war between Nick and I going out on ops together. Gordon’s really not up to speed – he likes to think he knows everything but he doesn’t and it all gets a bit hairy. There’s going to be a lot of action, doing things that a lot of other Christmas specials just aren’t able to do because what happens out in Afghanistan happens around the clock – it doesn’t stop for a nice little national holiday so it’s good to be able to show what these guys are going through while everyone else is tucking into their Christmas dinner.
How do you keep yourselves amused between takes? Do you have any on-set pranksters? Stephen Wight is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. The choices that he makes and his instinct for humour – I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s just got a real gift and on days when you’re out in the hot weather and people are starting to lose energy, he just brings it back up.
Is there anything quintessentially British that you really miss when you’re out in South Africa? I brought tea with me and we’ve got Dairy Milk but I’ve been missing the rugby league. They don’t do rugby league in South Africa anywhere – and I mean anywhere – they do rugby union. I called up every bar in Capetown and no one’s got it.
What have you got coming up after you finish filming on Bluestone? I’ve got a couple of scripts this week that I’ve got to read. It’s always difficult when you’re doing something on the other side of the world but there are some things that have been sent this week that I’ll have a look through. I’m quite looking forward to just having a nice bit of time back home with people for Christmas.
Matt Lewis Chats Bluestone 42 on BBC Breakfast
This morning, Matt was a guest on BBC Breakfast where he discussed his newest project: Bluestone 42. The Christmas Special will be airing on December 23rd at 10pm on BBC Three. If you are in the UK you can watch the 8 minute interview over at BBC’s website. I will add an international version as soon as one becomes available.
If anyone is able to transcribe the interview, please send it over!