Matthew Lewis BBC Radio 1 Interview with Sara Cox
4/22/2012
Sara: Now we’ve got an actual star off the telly and the big screen. Normally soap stars in pajamas, don’t get me wrong I love soap stars, but we’re going big. But is he in pajamas? Let’s find out. Matthew Lewis, a.k.a. Neville Longbottom, off of Harry Potter and now other stuff, hello Matthew.
Matt: Hi there, how are you doing?
Sara: Oh good thank you. Now let’s get this out of the way, what are you wearing?
Matt: Umm, well I’ve got some Leeds Rhinos joggers on and a vest, so technically these are my pajamas
Sara: There your pajamas. Leeds Rhinos are rugby?
Matt: Yeah that’s right
Sara: Do you play or do you watch?
Matt: I just watch
Sara: You watch. How are they doing at the moment?
Matt: Yeah very well. We had good win on Friday night and uh, going from strength to strength
Sara: Excellent. Now do you, ha-ha you talk like a true sportsman in those match interviews “oh yeah going from strength to strength”
Matt: Ha-ha, yeah they’ve got that bounce back ability so
Sara: Now do you have season ticket with rugby? Can you get season tickets for these?
Matt: Yeah, you can indeed yeah. Longstanding at Headingly stadium yeah
Sara: Oh lovely. Do you ever get recognized? Was it tricky because you were in all eight Harry Potter films, so did you get recognized when you used to go to rugby?
Matt: Yeah a little bit. To be honest with you, the last couple of weeks it’s been more about The Syndicate, which has been a bit different. Um, you know sort of people don’t even mention Harry Potter, which is quite strange.
Sara: Oh, beautifully and subtly brought on to your new show that your plugging there.
Matt: Yeah, put that in there
Sara: I must say were looking at pictures of you here, we will definitely get on to The Syndicate in a moment. When you were Neville Longbottom, how should I put this, well I bet your mother loved your face, but you were a little bit porkier, you were a little, especially when you were very young. Then is it true when you were in the latter film they had to ugly you up a little bit because you had gone to darn handsome.
Matt: Um, well I certainly had to have quite a bit of makeup on in the last film or so, for whatever reason, I have no idea why. But um.
Sara: I bet when you walk on set they go, “oh no.” Because it probably happened with all the stars, I mean with Emma and with all of them where they just walk on set and suddenly they look a bit more chiseled and grown up and a bit like they’ve grown. Because kids take time to grow into their faces don’t they?
Matt: Yeah absolutely
Sara: And they were all “oh no Matthew’s gone all handsome on us.”
Matt: Well we all started at the ages of sort of nine, ten, eleven, and then finished when we were about twenty so
Sara: Incredible. I mean you’ve grown up, you’ve all grown up together, I imagine you stay in touch with some of your co-stars.
Matt: Yeah of course, yeah. I um, went to go see Dan’s musical in New York last year, which was cool, and um, whenever we have birthday parties and stuff we always try and get together for that. It’s difficult cause I’m still in Leeds and everyone’s sort of dotted around London and America and stuff, but if we get a chance to be together we definitely catch up.
Sara: How is it with you living in Leeds, where was The Syndicate filmed?
Matt: That was all in Leeds as well
Sara: Ah, nice, nice excellent.
Matt: Yeah
Sara: So literally sort of a hop and a skip from your flat.
Matt: It was very, very surreal really. I’ve sort of worked since I was a five years old in acting.
Sara: What was your first job?
Matt: It was a TV film called Some Kind of Life, which was also written by Kay Mellor so it kind of came full circle.
Sara: That’s funny. And did she remember you from that?
Matt: Yeah, yeah it was with Jane Horrocks, that was years ago well eighteen years ago now
Sara: What a start. I thought you were going to say, “I was in a soap advert” or something like that, but what a start working with Jane Horrocks
Matt: Yeah it was fantastic really
Sara: Did you know at five, or did your mom know, did she see it in ya that you sort of loved a bit of drama, how does it work?
Matt: It was my brother, Anthony Lewis, who had started acting when he was eight and I was about two. I just sort of grew up with it because my mom had to chaperone him on sets and so I had to go along as well and um, he ended up being in Emmerdale for a bit. He’s actually in The Syndicate as well.
Sara: Is he? Now who does he play in The Syndicate? So we ought to explain. Now I haven’t seen this, I’ve seen the trailers for it. It’s on BBC1 isn’t it?
Matt: That’s right yeah.
Sara: Um and is it on a Tuesday night?
Matt: Tuesday night nine o’clock.
Sara: Tuesday nine o’clock. Now it’s one of those where I’ve seen the trailer and gone “oh that looks good” and then for whatever reason I’ve missed it. So I’m gonna go catch up on Iplayer
Matt: Yeah, that’s just unacceptable
Sara: I know, I mean I am genuinely sorry
Matt: It’s alright
Sara: Because I keep seeing bits and I think it does look good that, but I will catch up with it. Now you play Jamie, who does your brother play?
Matt: My brother plays Peter, which is Tim Spall’s son
Sara: Right, ok I saw an interview with Tim Spall and he talked about it as well. And so is it nice working on the same set as your brother then?
Matt: It’s cool. Again like from the age of five I’ve never really worked in Leeds and I’ve never worked with my brother. And then all of the sudden a project comes along where I get to do both so it’s been pretty cool actually
Sara: Excellent. So your mom doesn’t have to chaperone you any more on set
Matt: No not anymore no. But she did pop in to be an extra in one of the hospital scenes
Sara: Oh has that bit already been on?
Matt: Yeah I think it has been, there might be a bit more in the next episode but um, we sort of go back and forth
Sara: Was she very injured? Was she giving it large in the background? Ahhhh!
Matt: No she wasn’t even injured at all
Sara: Right she’s just milling around in the background
Matt: Yeah exactly
Sara: Tell us about your tattoo, you got a number 11 tattoo
Matt: I do Yeah
Sara: Why is it, why is number 11 your lucky number?
Matt: Ha-ha I always said that I’d never say
Sara: Oh really
Matt: But I’ve already given it away on a couple of
Sara: Oh, you should make up a fib every time
Matt: I normally do that’s the thing, I always tell it’s because I got Harry Potter at eleven or eleven this that. I try to come up with multiple different things, but it’s too early on a Sunday morning to make something up so
Sara: Go on then
Matt: It’s to do with a footballer who used to play for Leeds United, um called Eddy Lewis and he wore number 11. Obviously his surname being Lewis it used to be very easy for me to get Lewis 11 on my shirt
Sara: Ah very nice
Matt: So I ended up having 11, I used to stick with my number I was 11 all the time in sport and stuff
Sara: And are you superstitious in general?
Matt: No that’s the weird thing, I’m not at all. I mean I say 11 is my lucky number but I’m not terrified if I don’t get it
Sara: Now is it in roman numerals or is it just the number 11, because it might just look like an equals
Matt: No it’s in roman numerals yeah
Sara: I was gonna be like yeah that’s a bit weird ha-ha. A lot of fans on the text very excited about you being on the show Matthew. Thanks for tweeting about it as well
Matt: Oh yeah
Sara: Are you a constant tweeter?
Matt: Yeah I tweet quite a bit, it’s usually pretty nonsense to be honest with ya, not really what I expect fans want to hear.
Sara: Well no they do that’s what they like, they like the little nonsense the little meanderings of your mind. Mattdavelewis if people want to get involved and follow ya. “OMG Neville/Matthew is sooo fit can you tell him please?” Says Megan Gloucester. That’s what Meg says. Have you got a message for Meg?
Matt: Thanks very much Meg, I think your insane but that’s very kind of you, thank you
Sara: Lori’s been on from Romsley says, “Tell Matthew Lewis he’s my absolute favorite actor ever and I love They Syndicate (in capitals) I love, love, love him but not in a creepy fan way.” Kind of failed there Lori, I’m afraid that was quite creepy. Oh no but very nice.
Matt: They’re lovely aren’t they?
Sara: Very lovely. Lots of girls, Lilly and Marin in Cambridge love you too
Matt: Thank you very much. It’s weird though, it’s one of those things where the attention and stuff are really quite daunting and stuff, but I imagine it would be quite worse if it was horrible stuff they were saying, I mean as long as their saying nice stuff it’s alright you know.
Sara: Exactly, exactly, it’s all good stuff, lots of lovely stuff on the text coming through people excited about you coming on the show so it’s all nice. Three tracks for you to choose from, do you you’re your music Matthew?
Matt: I do yeah
Sara: Alright what you gonna go for? There’s a new track he’s gonna be performing at the Big Hat this weekend he’s called D’banj and the track is called Oliver Twist, you’ve got the Maccabees and Feel to Follow or you’ve got Dead Mouse with the Classic I Remember.
Matt: I’m gonna go with the Maccabees if that’s alright
Sara: You’ll go for the Maccabees, that’s your kind of thing.
Matt: Yeah
Sara: We’ll play it especially for you then. Matthew absolute joy chatting to ya
Matt: You too, thank you
Sara: I’m gonna catch up on the Iplayer, if you have been watching The Syndicate though this Tuesday is actually your episode. Each episode centers on a different character and it’s Jamie’s episode this Tuesday so you must watch it.
Matt: That’s right
Sara: Excellent. Have a lovely rest of your day my love
Matt: Thank you very much, and you bye, bye.
Sara: Sorry I faded you in there, Bye
Matt: Ha-ha see ya later bye