Discus:
hereQuibbler Interview With Evanna Lynch
There are many, many reasons to go see "Order Of The Phoenix" when it hits theaters incoming weeks.
It's a really well done movie. The actors are only getting better. It's connected to Harry Potter.
And, oh yeah - Evanna Lynch rocks.
The 15-year-old
Irish actress steals the show as eccentric Hogwarts student Luna
Lovegood. Her performance is - as JK Rowling herself once put it -
"perfect." Flawless. Hilarious.
The first thing I
said after leaving a screening of OOTP the other day was, "Wow, that
kid is going to be a star." Personally,I think a lot of fans will leave
the theater loving Luna more than ever after seeing Evanna's
performance. She is truly amazing. To think she's just a die-hard fan
like the rest of us who scored the part at an open casting call makes
it even more incredible.
Yesterday, I had the immense pleasure of interviewing the sweet, mature, modest, totally down to Earth actress via email for an article in today's Post.
Take a look - her story really is fascinating. The only problem with my
article is it's not long enough. I just didn't have the space to put in
all the fun facts, theories and tidbits Evanna took the time to share.
That's the beauty of the internet. All the news that can't fit in print can fit online! So keep reading for my full interview with Evanna Lynch, who incidentally folks, reads this blog!! Yay!
First of all,
before even getting into the questions and answers, I have to share
what Evanna said even before the interview technically began. She
apologized profusely for sending me answers to my questions a bit late
(although it wasn't really late) explaining, "I had to go watch my
brother's football match earlier." How cute is that? She later wrote,
"Please tell your editor it was my fault and that I'm sorry if things
have been terribly messy" before complimenting me on my questions and
thanking me for my praise on her performance. She then asked for
pointers on playing Luna because she wants to keep getting better.
Here's a pointer, Evanna - never ever change.
How cool is this kid? A star of a blockbuster movie who's this easy to talk to? Love it.
THE INTERVIEW
Q: When did you start reading the Potter series? What about it captured your attention?
A:
I started reading them when I was about eight but I was not at all
enthusiastic about getting into them at first. I was into Tintin back
then and as I am now with HP back then I was reluctant to read anything
else. But my mum had heard good things about HP
and insisted on reading it to me. I was hooked immediately and took the
book from her and she never held that particular copy again :) I can't
explain what about it captured my attention. I was too young to
pinpoint that. All I knew was that suddenly I wanted to be in that
world and I was very happy to have found it.
Q: I hear you
actually got a letter from JK Rowling. When you got that letter, what
was your reaction? Were you shocked? Did it give you hope that you
could indeed play Luna someday? Do you still have the letter?
A: I
was overjoyed. I had written a very heartfelt letter to her but I did
not presume that she would read it let alone reply to it. The letter
was hand-written, too, and that really got me. I had been a huge fan
for a long time at that point and so it was very surreal to get such a
personal letter from the one person who had created all of it. I read
that letter to death and I still do. Yes, it gave me hope. It showed me
that us regular fans can connect with those elite people. I did tell
her that I badly wanted to be Luna but was afraid the opportunity would
never arise because of my humble village where not much happened. But
she told me that she also came from a sleepy little village,
so how could that not give me hope. Of Termonfeckin she also said "at
least it has a great name" which gave me a new sense of pride of
Termonfeckin. I do still have all the letters and carry them with me in
my handbag always.
Q: What about Luna did you like right off the
bat? You knew right away you could play her, right? You even sent tapes
to the casting director?
A: Yes, it was very instant. I had loved the films from the start and quite enjoyed acting.
But there was no part that grabbed me. And then came June 21st and Luna
along with it and I knew she was who I had been waiting for. I love her
disarming honesty, her unassuming wisdom and her innocent purity (I've
thought about her a lot, hehe). I believe that everyone has a core
being which they are born connected with but drift further away from as
they grow older. Some people grow further than others. Luna has stayed
as close to hers as anyone ever could. She's so intuitive and she knows
herself back to front and is so comfortable with that. She has no masks
or insecurities, she simply is. Those are some reasons for why I love
her. I didn't immediately say "that's me." I never thought that
actually. But she was someone who I thought was quite perfect and I
aspired to be like. I felt I could understand her thoughts and how she
came to be who she is and I felt I could do her justice. So, yes I sent
tapes to the casting agents. I was not happy to just sit and wait for
fate to take its course, which I think is one major difference between
Luna and me. My friends
were great - they played Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and
anyone who was needed, faithfully. In the end, the tapes came to
nothing, but it is still a cool fact that we made them now that all
this happened.
Q: What was it like meeting JK Rowling?
A:
Just (I'm sorry, I can think of no better word)...magical. Everyone
says to me "I bet she was really nice and down to earth and normal" and
the answer is yes, kinda, but you can also tell she has magic
in her soul. She's not ordinary. She has like a glowing aura or
something that makes her very special. That's what struck me anyway. I
was totally unprepared for meeting her. She kept saying in letters "see
you soon" but when she came finally (30th March 2006) I was in the hair
and make up chair being "Luna-ed" and she just was there suddenly,
standing, smiling. I thought wow, she kind of looks like JK Rowling but
couldn't be, but then everyone was watching and smiling expectantly so
I knew it was her. That was my cue to jump and scream
and hug her. I couldn't stop watching her, too, just marveling at the
fact that all this Harry Potter world could come from one little lady.
Q:
I know she whispered some stuff in your ear about what's going to
happen to Luna. Does it bother you that you know anything in advance?
A:
Not really, no, because what I know is solely about Luna. I'm extremely
grateful for the Luna advice because it reassures me that I'm not
interpreting any traits or habits "wrong." That said, she hasn't told
me an awful lot. There will still be many surprises about Luna to come
for me, too. She is very careful when talking about Deathly Hallows and
I am entirely grateful for that because I wouldn't want to know before
anyone else. I think that would be like Christmas coming early, and I
don't consider that a good thing.
Q: What are some of your theories for book 7? Are you super excited about reading it?
A:
Oh gosh, that's such a dangerous interview question. How many pages was
this profile supposed to be? I don't have any outlandish theories,
though. I will try to give you a summary but just know that this is not
even touching the surface really. I think the trio will survive but
will suffer many bumps and bruises along the way. Voldemort HAS TO DIE!
I think the ministry six will all return and will be key in finally
defeating Voldemort. There's too much stuff on friendship
and "uniting" for Harry to be able to go it alone. Harry is NOT a
horcrux and neither is his scar. But there is something very close to
him that is. RAB is Regulus, but that is hardly a question anymore. I
think Regulus is dead and dies to help defeat Voldemort and I don't
think the locket note was the last written aid he left for the one who
is to defeat Voldemort. I can imagine Harry going on some sort of
treasure hunt, finding lots of those notes along the way. I like to
think that anyway. I feel I'm spurting rubbish now so I'll stop with
the veil theory. I'm confident that Harry will venture beyond the veil
on All Hallows Eve (for reasons unknown by me anyway) as part of the
horcrux hunt and that he will also return from there because the veil
will be at its thinnest then. I like this theory especially just
because it means that Harry will live and die and that is such a very
JK Rowling thing to do. There's rarely a straight answer with her. Yes,
I am super excited about it!! I'm watching the MuggleNet countdown but
I still can't just believe that the end is less than a month away. I
always thought that the last Harry Potter was so far away, that it just
wouldn't happen, like getting married or dying or something big like
that. But it will come I know. I am not thinking about the fact that
it's the end though. I think with awful prospects like the end of Harry
Potter you just have to live in the present and try to enjoy it. This
is one of those situations where Hagrid's brilliantly wise words are
applicable: "What's comin' will come an' we'll meet it when it does."
Q: As a fan, are you a shipper? Who do you like?
A:
I ship all the normal ones - Ginny/Harry, Ron/Hermione, blah blah blah.
But I do have a strange one, which is Luna/Dumbledore. I think they
would be quite perfect. They're both so detached, so otherworldly and
so comfortable with themselves and they have this uncommon fearlessness
of death. They also both have quirky hobbies and deep minds and I can
see them getting along a storm. I don't see this ship sailing, of
course. It's just one which I think could have had potential, aided
along by a time-turner.
Q:
At the end of OOTP film, your character says something very
interesting. I don't want to go into detail (cause it's a bit of a
spoiler). I'll just say it's not something Luna says in the book, and
it goes something like this - things always find a way of coming back.
Considering the end of OOTP, I found it interesting. Do you, as a fan,
find that line interesting? (EDITOR'S NOTE: Some have pointed out that
this line IS indeed in the book. Luna doesn't say it. Nearly Headless
Nick says it. I agree - my question doesn't say it's not in the book.
It says Luna doesn't say it. What I was basically asking was, "Hey
Evanna, do you think it's interesting that the line was kept in the
movie, put in that particular spot, and said by Luna, a major
character?" So sorry for the confusion.) A: Oh yes extremely. I can't
say I've had experiences that prove this theory but I'm sure it's true.
I bet that line is indicative of something that's going to come back in
Deathly Hallows, perhaps going behind the veil. The fact that that line
was put in the script when it is absent from the book says to me that
it will be an important theme of Deathly Hallows. I tortured myself in
the days after doing that scene wondering what else might come back to
Harry in Deathly Hallows but I still have not had any brainwaves.
Q: Tell me about the audition for Luna. There were 15,000 other girls there. What made you go for it?
A:
The audition was insane. We arrived at about 7:45 am and the queue was
supposed to start at 8. There were already hundreds and hundreds of
people queueing. More were arriving every minute. I was never
discouraged by the crowd, though. Because when it came to the end only
one person would be chosen regardless of the amount of people present.
Only one person was meant to get that part and I loved Luna as much as
anyone could so while I did not presume that I was "destined" for it, I
knew that I had just as much of a chance as anyone else there. I went
to do my version of Luna and to do her proud. I knew I could do my
version perfectly; the obstacle was making mine and the casting
director's vision match. Thankfully they did.
Q: Have you ever read the blog Melissa and I write for the Post called "The Quibbler"?
A:
Yes, Melissa did a post on Leaky about it a while back and I read it
avidly for a while. The exams came then and I fell behind on my Harry
Potter "fanliness" with all the studying but this interview has just
reminded me of it so I will be back. I think you do a fabulous job by
the way, and have often, in e-mails to the rest of the cast, referred
them to your blog. They are fans but not to the same extent and they
like being enlightened on cool new theories and so your Quibbler is
perfect for that.
Q: So, what's your opinion? Is Snape good or bad?
A:
Good, good, there is no question in my opinion. I have too much faith
in Dumbledore to believe he is bad. I think it would destroy the
character of Dumbledore and that would be too tragic to think about. I
don't like Snape as a person but I believe he is with the good guys. I
think he feels responsible for Lily's death because he told Voldy part
of the prophecy without realizing it was about her. And when he found
out it was his fault he was completely wracked with guilt and by
confessing to Dunbledore and agreeing to help the good side and
ultimately Harry, Snape hopes to be able to earn Lily's forgiveness so
that he can rest in peace. I also noticed that while Snape was killing
Dumbledore, there was hatred blazing in his eyes, and that makes me
wonder even if he was killing Dumbledore for Voldemort and not on
Dumbledore's orders. There would be no reason for Snape to hate him.
Voldemort could, but Dumbledore has never had any relations with Snape
that should make him hate him. I don't think it was a mistake that
earlier in the book at the cave when Harry is force feeding Dumbledore
the potion it is written that Harry was "hating himself" for doing it.
Snape was just hating himself for having to kill Dumbledore. He knew it
was for the greater good but it still pained him to do it. One could
argue that if it was for good intent Snape would not have been able to
kill him but I think he channeled the self hatred (there is a lot of
self hatred there, poor old Snape) into the curse, and viola, he killed
Dumbledore. That's just a little thing, but it contributes to the
overall belief: Snape is good.
https://blogs.nypost.com/potter/archives/2007/06/interview_wi th.html#more
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