October 5 2010
When Matthew Lewis sat down with us on the set of Deathly Hallows, the pudgy, shy Neville Longbottom was nowhere to be seen. The new Neville, however, looks like a lot more fun – leaner, grungy, and sporting a tattoo on his right forearm. The jovial Lewis talks to us about the evolution of his character, his passion for acting and who he follows on Twitter.
Q. Does Neville receive a full makeover to show that he’s been fighting?
Lewis : Yes. This is only half of what we’ve got to come. A lot of stuff we’ve been doing has involved about another pint of blood more than this. The first week, it was really enjoyable. The novelty has definitely worn off. [To get the] the full thing on – a headpiece as well – it took two hours for the first few weeks. We’ve knocked it down to about an hour and a quarter now.
Q. When did you find out Neville was going bigger places?
Lewis : I found out when I finished [Order of the Phoenix]. I went to the bus stop in the morning and talked to my best mate. He said, “It’s good, isn’t it? You’re gonna have some wicked stuff to do!” I said, “Yeah, I can’t wait!”
Q. Did J.K. Rowling ever give you a heads up about your role in Deathly Hallows?
Lewis : I spoke to J.K. Rowling at the premiere of Number 5, and she said to me, “I’ve written some really cool stuff for you for Number Seven.” I was like, “Don’t tell me anything, I don’t want to know!” She said, “OK, but you’ll enjoy it.” And then I read the book. Where is it? She promised me (laughs). It comes in at the end, and it was pretty cool. I spent the last couple years waiting for this moment, and here we are. It’s really fun.
Q. How is David Yates different from the other directors?
Lewis : David’s very keen to get it perfect. So if he thinks that he had a good idea and you had a good idea, he’ll just shoot them both. He’s not adverse to take it a little bit at a time to make it the perfect shot, so we’ve got a lot of freedom in terms of that. The first thing that he said when he came in was, “I’ve got all these ideas in my head,” and you can tell his image is very vivid. But he just said, “You’ve been playing the guy for so long. You know him better than anyone. Let’s work together.” And that’s what we do. It’s been a really enjoyable process.
Q. What did the producers say the first day you showed up on set with your tattoo?
Lewis : I asked for permission because I’m a good boy (laughs). I’m very professional. David Barron as a parent wasn’t happy, but he understood so he said it’s fine. It’s Number 11, my lucky number. I always wear it for sport.
Q. What’s your favorite Harry Potter film?
Lewis : Number 5 has been my favorite so far. I enjoyed having a lot more to do in that one. Neville’s character in that year really took a massive leap. I got to do a bit of emotional stuff with explaining the boy’s parents to Harry, there was the action in the Ministry of Magic, and then there was all the fun comedy. It was a nice, diverse year for me. Previously in films, there’s been a lot of being in the back of the classrooms or in the Great Hall. This year, I’ve been in the thick of it. I actually love that. I love to work. This year’s been a lot of fun.
Q. What other genres do you want to do?
Lewis : It’s always been my dream to be in a war film. Saving Private Ryan – that’s a quality film you wanna be in.
Q. You have a big following on Twitter. Do you enjoy interacting with fans?
Lewis : It’s an odd thing. It’s for arrogant people to let people know what they’re doing all the time. It confuses me whilst at the same time fascinates me. I know the fans love anything to do with Harry Potter. I follow people I’m massively star struck around – Carrie Fisher for example…It’s a way of being close to and engaging with fans. They can ask questions and you can answer them. It’s a lot quicker than fan mail and they get a real interaction. Very often, rubbish comes out my mouth. I try really hard not to do it. Sometimes it bursts out. I get too excited about football and rugby.
Q. What would you be doing if not acting?
Lewis : Sitting on the sofa, watching TV. I’ve honestly no idea. From the age of 5, I’ve not wanted to be anything else. I’d probably be in the Army or something.
Q. Will you miss playing Neville?
Lewis : I’ve been here since I was 10. I’m 21 this year. It’s been a long time, so I am going to miss him a great deal. I found it challenging in parts, but on the whole it’s been so easy because he was so brilliantly written. And it was such a character you could relate to. Everything I do from now [on] is going to be a little bit harder, but at the same time, it’s time to move on and do something else. I can’t wait for that either – some ambivalence on it really. I’m happy, sad, a little bit of both.
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