They talk about The Rise, his parents ‘shrine,’ Fantastic Beasts and much more
Empire Online Podcast Interviews Matthew Lewis; New Photo
Matthew Lewis Talks Fantastic Beasts, The Rise with Digital Spy
Looks like it is interview week for Matthew Lewis. His newest film The Rise is out in theatres in the UK beginning today and Digital Spy has posted a new interview with the actor where he talks about the upcoming film series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them he says,
“It’s a vivid universe that she [Rowling] created. There’s certainly more to explore now. When I was a kid reading the books there was so much more that I wanted to know outside of the linear story. I wanted to know about stuff that happened around the world and we’re going to find that out through this picture that she’s making. Anything that will show off that world a little more is great.”
He also shows his support of Rowling’s involvement: “If that wasn’t the case there’d be alarm bells ringing with a lot of people, but the fact that she’s in total control of it means that I think it’s going to be good,” he said.
He also talks about The Rise in another interview from the publication.
“Rowan attracted me to it, meeting him and hearing what he wanted from it,” the former Harry Potter star said. “He didn’t want it to fall into that group of being the same old South London hoodie or football hooligan story, he didn’t want that. We don’t have any guns in it, we tried to keep it as much to his experience of growing up in Barnsley as possible.”
Treadaway shared a flat with co-stars Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones) and Gerard Kearns (Shameless) close to Lewis’s home in Leeds. The quartet would regularly meet up to discuss the script and forge a bond that would translate to the big screen.“We wanted to have that chemistry off screen as much as possible,” Lewis said.
“We tore up Leeds!” quipped Treadaway.
Matt Lewis Talks Harry Potter with The Big Issue
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.
Matt Lewis Talks Post-Potter With Yorkshire Evening Post
In a new interview with the Yorkshire Evening Post, Matt talks about his career post-potter and The Rise, also known as Wasteland which is out in the UK beginning tomorrow. The interview began with Matthew talking about his first post-Potter role in the West End play Verdict:
“I guess I wanted to prove that I could do something after Potter,” he explains. “When you come out of a film like that you worry if you are going to work again. You have to shake that off and get the monkey off your back. I had never done theatre before and coming out of a big film, I wanted to go back to basics and see how it goes. I was largely terrible. We didn’t have a lot of rehearsal time and I’d done nothing like it before, so we had some bad reviews. But it was good for me. I picked up the basics and by the end I figured out what theatre was about. Jumping in the deep end like that was a stupid thing to do but I really enjoyed it. I’m very appreciative that they gave me that opportunity. Even though it was difficult at first I knew I had to knuckle down and I came out of that with a renewed confidence.”
On why he chose to accept the role of Dodd: “When I was approached with the script I thought it was brilliant. It is hard to explain the intelligence of it without giving away the ending. I really loved it. It was clever and different and very much something I wanted to be a part of.”
Of his character Dodd in The Rise: “The character of Dodd was really fun for me to play. He is the biggest of all of his mates and very loyal. He’s on the front line but isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. It was so different to Neville. Neville isn’t something I wanted to dwell on and I’m moving away from it now. But at the same time I’m not going to begrudge it because that is what made me and it’s where I came from. There are opportunities that I’ve got now that I wouldn’t have got without it. I wouldn’t ever shy away from talking about it.”
On being able to work in his hometown of Leeds: “Working in Leeds is brilliant for me. I am not a keen traveller in any way. I’ve been around the world with my job and been to many wonderful places but I always want to come home. So for me, to be able to do a job that I love in the city that I love really is a dream come true.”
More may be read in the full interview.
Video: Matthew Lewis Plays Innuendo Bingo on Scott Mills
Today Matthew was a guest on Scott Mills radio show on BBC1 and played Innuendo Bingo against Chris. He also talked about his new film The Rise very briefly, which is not in this clip. This possibly has content not suitable for young viewers so please be cautious. Although they are innuendos so kids may not pick up on them. Watch the hilarious clip below: