Category: Film

Matthew Hemley, of The Stage, recently interviewed Matthew Lewis. In the interview the Matt’s talked about Our Boys, life Post-Potter and much more! Some snippets may be read below:

“I am fortunate that I get sent scripts and get to meet people I would never have met had I not done Harry Potter,” he admits. “But I feel I had to come out of that show and prove that I am not a one trick pony and can do other stuff. I have to start at the bottom really. I am fortunate that it opened doors but now I have to step through them.”

He adds: “I did feel immediately after it, when I went to auditions, that the worst thing I could hear was the director saying, ‘I am a big Harry Potter fan’, as immediately you think, shit, I have to convince them I am not Neville Longbottom before I can convince them of anything else. It was the hardest thing. But since then, I have realised you can’t think negatively. You do the best you can do and if it’s what they’re after it’s what they’re after, and if it’s not it’s not. Simple as that. And you’ve just got to get on with it.”

[..]

“To be honest I was not interested in doing anything again so quickly after [Verdict],” he says. “But then my agent gave me a call and said there was this play called Our Boys and asked if I would like to go in for a meeting about it. I was apprehensive, given it was the West End, as I was not sure I was ready to go and do that. But then I read the script, and it’s one of those scripts that you can immediately picture and see on stage. I thought, ‘Okay, I want to go into this. I doubt they will cast me but it will be a good laugh to go in for it’.”

[…]

Our Boys, directed by David Grindley, is based on Jonathan Lewis’ own experiences of being a soldier in hospital. It is described as a “comic and moving testament to the men Jonathan shared his hospital bay with”. Lewis describes his character, Mick, as a “really good guy.” “He loves the army, it’s his life,” he says. “He loves everything about it – the discipline, the uniform. And he’s not afraid to stand up for it when it comes into question.”

[..]

Our Boys also stars Laurence Fox and Arthur Darvill. Lewis says he has enjoyed the rehearsal period with the other members of the cast, admitting that rehearsing is an alien concept to him, given his background in film. “You don’t get time to rehearse in film and TV at all,” he says. “Even on Potter, where we had this huge budget and time, we did not rehearse. So it’s nice to go into a rehearsal room and just play around with ideas in front of a director. And you get to create a fuller character, which I am really enjoying. Every time I do a new job I learn a little bit more.”

[…]

And what of future work offers? Does he find himself being particularly choosy about parts that come his way now? “I have turned down some stuff,” he admits. “If I don’t think I will enjoy something I won’t do it just to make money. I want to enjoy what I am doing.” He adds: “If I am going to be away from home so long, then I want to make sure I am not depressed. Because if you’re not happy with what you’re doing you will only give a shit performance.”