Matthew-Lewis.com

Earlier today, Matthew Lewis was in attendance at the 75th Anniversary of the Air Cadets at the Royal Air Force. Matt has been a supporter of the RAFI for many years having been an air cadet himself. At the event he said:

“This year, being the Air Cadets 75th anniversary, it has been extra special for me having been an air cadet many years ago. Being asked to cut the celebratory cake in front of so many cadets and visitors has been a big deal for me and I have been thrilled to be asked to do it.”

Photos of Matthew at the event may be viewed in our gallery and a press release featuring a few more quotes from Matt can be read below.

The Royal Air Force Air Cadets were treated to a special birthday gift for their 75th anniversary today – an appearance from Harry Potter star and former air cadet Matthew Lewis.

Matthew, who played Neville Longbottom in the legendary film series, kicked off the celebrations by cutting the cake for the 1,000 young cadets working at this weekend’s Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT).

“When I was asked to come to RIAT this year it was a no brainer – it’s an incredible event to come to and it’s great to be the face of the Cadets; to spread the word about how much fun it can be and how useful it is for young people,” said Matthew, who currently stars in the romantic drama film, Me Before You.

When he wasn’t busy filming movies, Matthew was an enthusiastic member of 2168 (Yeadon) Squadron in Leeds, throwing himself into the cadet lifestyle.

“I’ve been a professional actor since I was five and so apart from that and school, I didn’t have much else going on: I was quite introverted and shy. Joining the Air Cadets was a great opportunity for me to do something different and interact with other people. I really enjoyed it and definitely grew as a person.”

A lucky group of cadets enjoyed their slices of cake with Matthew, who happily chatted away and posed for numerous selfies with his fans.

“It was quite special meeting someone we grew up watching on TV,” said one cadet. “But even more special knowing he was a cadet aswell!” added another.

The event was held in the ‘Techno Zone’ at RIAT which aims to get young people – the next generation – enthusiastic about technology. With activities hosted by companies such as Lockheed Martin, youngsters can try their hand at flying a simulator or learn how to become the next Red Arrows engineer.

Earlier today, the Air Cadets 75th anniversary was launched at RIAT with a visit from HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, who became Honourary Air Commandant of the RAF Air Cadets in February.

The RAF Air Cadets is one of the UK’s largest youth organisations, providing more than 40,000 young people with training, adventure and opportunities to fly.

In a new feature by Interview Magazine, Matthew talks about his career post-Potter including Me Before You, Happy Valley and more! The interview also comes with a new photoshoot which can be seen in the gallery.

When discussing what types of roles he likes, he said:

“Some of the more interesting characters are the ones that aren’t heroic, that aren’t James Bond-esque,” Lewis explains over the phone. “I quite like the interesting ones, so I never really say, ‘I won’t do that, I won’t do this’ or ‘I want to do this or that.’ I like to keep an open mind… [I’m interested in] the idea of people wanting to discuss something that’s happened in their life or that’s impacted or changed them,” he continues. “On the flip side of that, sometimes it’s nice to do something that’s fun, a movie where people are going to come in, and switch off for an hour and a half. I feel like if you can do one of those two things, if you can tell a great story that affects people or you can make them have fun, then you’re doing all right.”

He also talks about his latest roles as Patrick in Me Before You and Sean in Happy Valley‘s second series.’

What was your reaction to your character, Patrick, when you read Me Before You? I know Jojo Moyes also wrote the screenplay, but was there more in the book than in the script?  It was quite different. In the book, Patrick is a bit of a dick. He is obviously very focused on himself; he’s self-centered and won’t give a whole lot of time to Louisa’s needs, wants, and potential in life. We wanted to keep the inherent features of Patrick in the movie but we wanted to make it a little bit less black-and-white, a bit more ambiguous as to her ultimate decision. We wanted to see more of a reason why Louisa was with Patrick for the seven years. In the book, it’s so heavily focused Lou and Will’s story, which is brilliant, but it was nice in the film to round off Patrick a little more. They weren’t right for each other—he was not right for her and he was holding her back—but we wanted to show that there was a reason why they were together in the first place and that her decision to ultimately make that leap was a lot tougher than you think it is. It can be a scary thing to suddenly leave your life behind and say, “I’m going to go and realize my full potential.” It can be quite daunting and we wanted to convey that.

I’d like to talk a bit about Happy Valley because Sean is such a dark character. What was the most challenging part of taking on that role? There were a few. It was very unlike anything I’d done before. One of the early things that I had to get over was that I was such a huge fan of the first series and a huge fan of Sally Wainwright and Sarah Lancashire, and everyone involved in the production, really. I had to shake that fear and that pressure of coming into the second series of a show that’s so spectacular and BAFTA Award-winning; you’ve got a responsibility to uphold that quality. There were quite a few nerves involved with that for the few months of preparation for it. I just wanted to make sure that I did it justice.

Then it was just the idea of trying to get into Sean’s mind. Luckily, for me, Sally understands her characters very well; she has vivid images of where they’ve come from, where they’re going, why they do what they do, etcetera. I had to pick at her brain and find Sean’s motivation, which was daunting for sure, but it all helped in trying to create this character—this young man who is very, very lost. You don’t play him as the bad guy; you just play what’s on the page and you play his life, and his life was that he moved from town to town, no one had really ever given a shit about him, he’s got a very bad temper and often he regrets that. He drinks a lot and he can’t remember and it’s that frustration more than anything. The anger is a result of the frustration and once you realize that, the rest of it starts to fall into place.

Matt also discussed his hometown of Leeds and his family:

What was it like to grow up in Leeds? Were you involved in acting and performing pretty early on? I started when I was five. It was basically the vast majority of my childhood. I went to a drama group, which was also an agency in Leeds, and I did a lot of Northern television. The North is a pretty decent place for television in the U.K.; they make a lot of things up there. Happy Valley was shot around the area where I grew up. I was really fortunate from a young age to be able to work quite consistently on things up in the North. Harry Potter came around at [age] 11 and I spent a lot of time down south filming it in Watford, near London, but I always went home on weekends back to Leeds. That place is very close to my heart and I have a lot of friends there. I’m [also] big fan of the sports team, the Leeds Rhinos. I see it less often than I’d like but I do try and get back whenever I can.

Is anyone in your family in the film or television industry? My older brother, Anthony Lewis, is an actor and he started first when we was about eight years old and I was about two. My mother had to chaperone him on jobs and then, my being two-years-old, I got taken along as well. So I sort of grew up being around it and I just wanted to copy my brother and carry on. Now, 22 years later, both Anthony and I are actors and our oldest brother Christopher has since gone into the industry behind the camera as an editor.

This past weekend, Matt was a guest at AwesomeCon in Washington D.C. One of our readers, Victoria, was kind enough to send us her photos from his panel to share. View them all in the gallery, and if you have any photos from the weekend feel free to send them to webmiss[at]magical-menagerie.com!

 

Matt Lewis is featured in issue #23 of FAULT magazine and a preview has been posted online by the publication. You can pre-order your copy for £15 by going to booksandmagazines.com. They do ship internationally so, for fans in the US, the issue will cost £22.99 (or $33.77.)

The interview comes complete with a brand new photoshoot as well as Matt’s thoughts on his life post-Potter, the passing of Alan Rickman, and his embarrassment (once again) at being called a sex symbol. Read the full preview here and some snippets below. The full interview will be out on Friday 27th May.

Did you find it difficult breaking the Harry Potter mold?

Not really. The first thing after Harry Potter, I played a guy who was not very nice. He wasn’t exactly a desirable character. And then I did a film where I was rough and ready; I was capable of throwing my muscle and weight around a little, completely unlike Neville. I don’t really get offered those types of roles anymore. The lovable, vulnerable, cheeky, Neville-type roles. They just never come up, it’s not like I’m getting them and turning them down. Maybe I’m just really good at being a dickhead haha.  Neville was quite complex in his character, with his history and things like that, but I am more drawn towards characters that are shades of grey. I don’t like the idea of black and white. I’m drawn to characters that make me question things. What made him this way? Why does he want this? Why is he behaving in this manner? That’s what I find interesting. And you can only get that from complex interesting characters.

I’ve completely embarrassed you [by calling you a sex symbol] at this point.

Yeah! Cause I can never see myself as that. When I grew up, my sister was obsessed with Take That. So people like Gary Barlow or Robbie Williams, they were like sex symbols. David Beckham and you’ve got your Ryan Goslings. They’re the heartthrobs. I’m not; I’m just a weird looking bloke from Leeds who keeps getting jobs on telly for some reason.

What’s your FAULT?

I’m very stubborn. To the point of almost childish immaturities. On the flipside, I do stick to my guns.

Three photos of Matthew Lewis in Me Before You have been released by Warner Bros. Two had already been circulating in medium quality, but we now have HD versions of the images. Matthew plays Patrick in the film, which will be released on June 3rd 2016.  View all three photos in the gallery!

They have also released a brief synopsis of the film, including short interviews with the cast. Matthew says:

“Patrick is Lou’s boyfriend of about seven years, and it’s comfortable, you know? He’s also a personal trainer and is obsessed with fitness. He’s set up his business and he’s won this local entrepreneur of the year award twice, and that’s just spurred him on to get fitter and fitter. Now he’s planning to do this Viking triathlon in Norway as his and Lou’s holiday together. In his mind, and probably hers at one point, they’re going to stay in this town for the rest of their lives, get married, get a house, have kids, and everything’s going to be okay.

“When Will comes into her life,” he continues, “suddenly her eyes are open to the possibilities and opportunities in the world outside of this town…and outside of Patrick.”