XCITY Arts and Culture Interview
Matthew Lewis played the nervous buck-toothed Neville Longbottom in all eight Harry Potter films, but after losing the false teeth and the puppy fat in the last two movies he has become an unlikely heartthrob.
Now starring in The Syndicate, with Joanne Page and Timothy Spall(starting March 27, BBC1) and with independent movie Wasteland in the pipeline, Lewis has shed the fat suit and is ready to flex his muscles…
I’ll never forget the first time I turned up on the set of The Philosopher’s Stone. It was magical. The first scene I ever filmed was a broomstick lesson – it blew me away.
Harry Potter didn’t change my life, it added another dimension. I went around the world, went to premieres, then I’d come back to my home in Leeds and go to the pub to play darts with my mates.
My friends keep my feet on the ground. They remind me what real life is about – they’re merciless. They’ll say: “Well you might have had that write-up in the paper but you’re still crap at football.”
I didn’t realise at the time, but Neville made such a difference to people’s lives. His character had been through a lot. I got some really heart-warming letters from people who had been bullied and seeing Neville’s strength helped them get over it.
It’s difficult to keep in touch with the other cast members because everyone’s working all over the world. But when we meet up at events we have a good time.
I’m not worried about being labelled as “that guy from Harry Potter”. I can think of a lot worse things to be called.
As for being the “hot one” from Harry Potter, I don’t know about that. Very excellent photography is more accurate. It was the fact that I didn’t have the fat suit and false teeth that shocked people.
I was ready to finish playing Neville. I was happy with the way it had gone, but I wanted to take on a different character and be somebody else.
Filming The Syndicate was brilliant. It’s a five-part series by Kay Mellor about a group of supermarket workers who win the lottery. My character, Jamie, makes some poor choices but there’s much more to him.
Matthew McNulty is a lot of fun to be around and it was good to with Tim[Spall] again. Tim is also in Wasteland, the next film I’m doing.
I started playing the lottery when we were filming because my character drives a Ferrari and I thought: “I could get used to this.” If I didn’t win, although I did I would have had to buy a Ferrari or an Aston Martin. Not sure if I could afford the insurance for that though.
Now I’m filming Wasteland. It’s about a lad, Harvey, who’s been framed for heroin possession. He’s in jail for 12 months and he comes out planning how to get back at the gangster who framed him.
It’s a heist film but it’s also about redemption. It’s about four friends, loyalty and friendship. Think Stand by Me meets The Italian Job meets Trainsplotting.
When I’m not filming I’ll wake up late morning and go to the gym. Then watch the rugby in the pub. There’s nothing glamorous about my life. I’m pretty normal I think.