Mugglenet

May 4th 2004 With Mugglenet

MuggleNet: Hi, this is Devon Murray and Matthew Lewis from the Harry Potter films here interviewing for MuggleNet.
Matthew: Hey guys, how are you?
Devon: How are you doing?

MuggleNet: Good! So a month to the third film-what’s it like?
Matthew: Well, it’s tense. I’m really looking forward to it.
Devon: Yeah.
Matthew: Yeah.
Devon: I mean the premiere.
Matthew: Yeah. We went to the Warner Bros. studios in California and some of the big guys in there, they’ve seen it, and they said that it was very, very good, so I’m really looking forward to it.

MuggleNet: Have you not seen much of it then yet?
Matthew: I saw one scene when we were doing ADR and that was pre-edited, so I have no idea what it looks like.

MuggleNet: So, what’s the filming like for the fourth filming, because that’s just about to start, isn’t it?
Matthew: Yeah, we start on Tuesday?
Devon: Yeah, we start Tuesday, so another long, long, long time.
Matthew: So about twelve months, I think, this one.
Devon: Yeah.

MuggleNet: So what’s it like working with the new directors-the change of directors from Chris Columbus to the new one?
Devon: Nick. Yeah, Mike.
Matthew: Nick?

[Matthew and Devon laugh]

Devon: Well, it’s a good experience for us as actors, and being young, because we get to work with an awful lot more people, so that’s pretty sweet.
Matthew: It’s very good how you can observe the different styles of direction. It’s really, really interesting, and all three of them so far have been excellent.

MuggleNet: So, Order of the Phoenix has been out for a year now. I gather you both have read it?
Matthew: Yeah, I have read it, I have. Have you?
Devon: Me, unfortunately, I’ve only listened to it.
Matthew: Oh, ok. I enjoyed it, actually, I thought it was good.
Devon: Yeah.

MuggleNet: How much has it influenced your view on your characters? Especially with you playing Neville.
Matthew: A bit more, actually, in the fourth one because I was asked by Mike Newell the other day, and he said, “How would Neville react to Harry getting his Triwizard thing?” And I thought, well, in the fifth one, Neville’s quite…he stands by Harry; all the other people, like Seamus, are like, “My mom says you’re a…” like so-and-so-and-so. But Neville, Neville stands by him, and so I think that he would, although he realizes there’s nothing he can do about it, he’s still sort of…he’d stick by him.

MuggleNet: Do you have problems, especially with the fifth film, what’s it going to be like being nasty guy for a bit?
Devon: I’m looking forward to it, if they make the fifth film. Originally you’re like I wish, I wish, I wish I could get into Slytherin. But then I got into Gryffindor, and I’m like, ah, this is even better-I’m a good guy! But being a baddie would be pretty sweet.

MuggleNet: What’s it like working with the new actors, such as Gary Oldman and Michael Gambon?
Matthew: It’s still pretty mind-blowing seeing all these faces that you’ve seen for years on the TV, and all of a sudden they’re there working with you. Yeah, it’s pretty scary, but it’s cool.

MuggleNet: Have you got any funny accounts of filming with any of them?
Matthew: Let’s think…
Devon: I’ve got one with Robbie Coltrane. One day I was going in for a hair and makeup, so me and Robbie on this, we went over and got a lot of plasters and then put them all over our face, we went in, and she’s like “What’s wrong? What’s wrong with you?” in a big panic stage.
Matthew: It’s quite amusing when Michael Gambon, Dumbledore, the first scene we shot with him was in the Great Hall. He was walking through with Alan Rickman, and it was all silence; just those two talking in the middle of the night. And suddenly a fart machine goes off that was in somebody’s bag, and they carry on going, being professionals. And then it went off again, and it gets louder and louder, and eventually everybody just started laughing and laughing. And you find out, because we didn’t know either, and we found out that actually Alfonso and Daniel Radcliffe were all in on it, but Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman and the rest of us, we didn’t know. So it was really, really funny.

MuggleNet: So they’re good with practical jokes, then? Did they have a good time?
Matthew: Yeah. I thought they were going to get a bit angry, actually.
Devon: Yeah.
Matthew: Because we’d been working for quite a while on the scene, but they didn’t, they had a good laugh. It was funny.

MuggleNet: Well, thank you very much for your questions. And would you mind giving a big “Hello” to MuggleNet again, please?
Devon: Hello, MuggleNet!
Matthew: MuggleNet, it was great doing everything we’ve done for you guys, so thank you.
Devon: Thank you, take care.