Interviews – Page 24 – Matthew-Lewis.com

September 14, 2013

Matt Lewis Mentions New Role in Interview With The Telegraph

In a new interview with The Telegraph, Matt Lewis mentions a new role he will be taking on for BBC. The interview says he’s “off to South Africa shortly to film his first big lead for the BBC, for a top-secret project that will air next spring.” I’m sure Matthew will let us know more as soon as he is allowed! The interview also included a new photo, taken at King’s Cross, which you can see in high resolution in the gallery!

He also spoke about Harry Potter:

“When we got to film three, and I’d got quite tall and slimmed out a bit, they decided that they were uncomfortable with that, and thought, ‘No, we need to make him a bit geeky looking’, or geekier, I should say, so they put me in a fat suit and false teeth.” The whole ensemble made the poor teenage Lewis so miserable that David Yates, who directed the final four films, agreed he could ditch the teeth, although the suit stayed.

“Looking back on it, it doesn’t really bother me at all, but at the time, when you’re going through puberty and you’re on a film set with a lot of attractive girls anyway, and then back at school as well, and you have to wear this fat suit, and have this long greasy hair – oh, yeah, at the time, it was rubbish. It was really rubbish.”

[…]

All those teenage crushes, like his pash for Emma Watson. “From 11 to 14 or 15. Absolutely. Obviously, I was a looker, so she missed out, clearly,” he grins. “You can put ‘sarcastic’ in brackets there. She’s a very, very good-looking girl, she was even back then. But I think everyone had a crush on someone. For 10 years!”

He briefly talked about his newest film, The Rise (also known as Wasteland) by saying “It was supposed to be a nondescript northern town. But one of the things Rowan [Athale, the director] said was that he didn’t want it to be one of those typical knives, hoodies, guns, south London gangsta movies which he felt, and I agree, have been done to death. For a start, he didn’t want any guns in the movie … he didn’t want it to be the typical glamorising of that entire world.”

August 30, 2013August 30, 2013

Matt Lewis Interview in October Issue of Total Film

Matt Lewis and his new film, Wasteland also known as The Rise, are featured in the October 2013 issue of Total Film Magazine. You can view a scan of the page here and read a transcript of Matt’s section below. Make sure to pick up an issue for yourself. Thanks to SnitchSeeker for sending over the scan!

On the distant dance floor a sweaty crowd parties like a certain Prince song, while a group of lads on a nearby table plan the night’s conquests. Only something’s not right. There’s no music.

“It’s a bit surreal, isn’t it?” laughs Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis, reassuring us that we haven’t gone deaf. “I don’t know how they dance so well to silence.” We’re on the set of The Rise, first-time director Rowan Athale’s Ocean’s Eleven-on-a-council-estate caper, and the plotting pals in question are Lewis, Luke Treadaway, Iwan Rheon and Gerard Kearns. (The lack of backing track is so that the boys can hear themselves act.)

The Rise tells the story of Treadaway’s Harvey; framed by a drug-dealing club owner and imprisoned for a year, he returns home to seek himself some redemption – and make something of his pal’s going-nowhere lives in the bargain.

The Hogwarts-educated actor talks life after Harry Potter and saying goodbye to Neville Longbottom…

Does Harry Potter still affect your acting choices? I get asked a lot if I’m making a conscious decision to get away from Neville, but anything so drastically different. I just want to do things I think have a story worth telling.

Did you worry you might end up typecast after the series ended? I was doing Neville for 10 years and as much fun as Harry Potter was, you do get to a point where you want to do something different anyway. I wanted to do something contemporary. Something real.

So, what exactly is your post-Potter plan, then? Realistically, I just want to be an actor and keep jobbing away. No one’s in it for the spring, we’re all in it for the marathon. No fast tracks. I just want to be proud of what I’ve done.

August 28, 2013January 29, 2014

Matt Lewis Visits Thackray Museum & Attends Totally Lit Launch

Back in July Matthew visited the Magic of Medicine exhibition at the Thackray Medical Museum and some photos were taken of Matt and a few children. View the adorable pictures in the gallery! At the museum Matt said “It’s one of my favourite museums”, said Matthew. “I was amazed at how fascinated the children were by the element of magic in medicine and healthcare.” The exhibition runs through the end of the year and ticketing information as well as details on daily activities may be found on their website. Information about the exhibition is as follows:

The Museum’s year-long magic project explores the timeless association between bedpans and broomsticks, helping to dispel fears that the story of medicine is just gory or scary. In addition to the Magic and Medicine exhibition, the museum is hosting Harry Potter’s World, a travelling display from the National Library of Medicine in the USA. Visitors will learn how historic medical resources from the history of medicine have been woven into the magic of J.K Rowling’s much loved Harry Potter series.

Also, thanks to Danaholics Anonymous we have some news about a new program Matt is involved with called Totally Lit. It is run by his older brother Anthony and serves as a “a new kind of workshop training in Film, TV and Theatre, opening in September 2013, in Central London, for young people aged 11-18 years.” Every week there are 3-hour workshop’s and Masterclasses with top casting directors, actors and agents. DA has done some digging and found that Matt will be hosting one of these Masterclasses. A statement from an artistic director of the programme may be read below:

Matthew is the one of the first actors to sign up to our masterclass programme. Just so you are clear, as I don’t wish to mislead people, the masterclass is only for students at Totally-lit. We are recruiting in the first two weeks of September (7th and 14th). People wishing to audition will need to book in, in advance, but they can do this via the website. Anyone under 16 needs an adult (parent/carer) to book on their behalf.

To sign up and for more information about the cost of the programme, visit this page and be sure to read the FAQs! A few photos from the launch may be viewed in the gallery.

July 29, 2013

Video: New Wasteland Featurette

A new featurette for Wasteland was released over the weekend which you can watch below. There are multiple clips with Matthew as well as interviews with the other cast members.

July 29, 2013

Matthew Lewis Talks ‘Wasteland’ and ‘Knight’s Club’ with Vulture

In a new interview with Vulture, Matthew Lewis talked about his newest film, Wasteland, which is out in select theatres in the US and is available onDemand. The film will hit cinemas and be available on demand in the UK on September 20, and will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on September 30.

Did you and your new castmates [for Wasteland] get together before you filmed to build a camaraderie? We absolutely did. It was one of the first things Rowen [Athale, the writer-director] said to me in our first meeting. He said he’d written the script, but from his own perspective — there is only so much dialogue you can write, especially when it comes to that kind of banter [in the movie], which comes really naturally. So there was a lot of ad-libbing we did together. Rowen was very keen on us improvising some scenes and wanted us all to be good pals. I think a lot of the budget went to us drinking before shooting. We went around Leeds, I had a few of the lads over to my house to play poker and have a few beers. Just becoming familiar with each other, really, so when we had these scenes we could take the piss out of each other and be as comfortable and funny as possible.

You’ve also done stage work since Potter ended (Our Boys on the West End). Any plans to return to the stage? I really enjoyed that. Unfortunately, I just had to turn another show down because I’ve got another project that is going to clash.

He also talks about Harry Potter and gives a little more information about Knight’s Club which we posted about last week.

You tweeted very mysteriously recently about lending your voice to a new documentary, Knight’s Club. What more can you say about that? It’s going to be on BBC, it’s about the medieval reenactments in France every year. But it’s not just dressing up and having a bit of fun — it’s full combat with swords and shields and full armor. There’s broken bones and blood and it’s insane. This year, Team U.K. entered for the first time. It’s about these four guys from very different backgrounds and parts of the U.K. who come together to make this first-ever team. They get a bit of a battering, but it’s very fun.

Can anyone actually take part in the reenactments? Can you do it as a novice or do you have to train forever? These guys were all supposed to go to training, but one of the guys spent all his time in the pub. As soon as he got there, he really regretted it. They hired this guy from Lithuania who’s one of the best fighters in the world to train them, and one guy got his arm broken in the first fight and was out of the team. So, yes, you could have a go, but you’d want to train. It’s pretty much a bloodsport.

I don’t know if you’re aware, but fans have taken to using Neville Longbottom, your Harry Potter character’s name, as a verb, to describe when a character grows up and transforms into an attractive adult. I was not until you just told me, but that makes me very proud. That’s not something I ever expected. We’ve entered the vernacular! It’s very humbling. The fan base of Harry Potter is so fantastic; even now, a few years since the final one coming out, they’re still going strong. They’re really a great bunch of fans. You think once the film is finished people will disappear, but they’re keeping it going.