Belfast Telegraph – September 17
Matthew Lewis has revealed how filming The Rise was one of the most challenging jobs he has ever had.
The 24-year-old, best known for playing Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films, plays Dodd in Rowan Athale’s thriller alongside Luke Treadaway, Iwan Rheon and Neil Maskell.
“It was hard work. We filmed it in about five weeks – we didn’t have the budget or the money for more. It was a new experience for me,” he said.
“On Potter, we never had time constraints. We would spend days doing the same thing again and again, but on this, we couldn’t do that so we had to be on it and get it right quickly. It was close quarters and people stood on each other’s toes but everyone pulled through together.”
Matthew wasn’t a fan of the night shoots on the film.
“The long days were tough but the night shoots were the worst,” the actor admitted.
In one scene, he had to punch someone.
“It was tough. The sun was setting and we had 40 minutes max. Everyone was getting more stressed, and I had to work with the stuntman to punch him without punching him. I actually punched him in the nose three times and kneed him in the balls twice,” he said.
Matthew enjoyed getting more hands-on with the production side too: “We sat around in the pub having a discussion about the title, music, cinematography and editing – stuff I never would have got involved in on Potter. I loved it. Doing a movie like Potter is fun and there is nothing like it, but sometimes you do feel like a small cog in a big machine.”