Obviously, when you're in theater, you have to be in character. You have to prepare for the unexpected. You have to be able to react to things that don't necessarily happen every night, or aren't supposed to happen every night. And you have to react to it in character. In six months, 192 shows, those things did happen. And the experience of that, the ability to stay in character, I feel like I've learned a great deal.
Matthew LewisAt that age, filming Harry Potter, I never contemplated. I just went in there and did my acting. I never thought, "What's the character actually feeling here? What's he trying to get across?" And never looked at it from that classically trained actor's point of view. And so when Jason Isaacs started throwing up these ideas, I thought, "Whoa. What an interesting way to look at acting." Which is why, again, I would do theater.
Matthew LewisI think screenwriter Steve Kloves does such a difficult job. And he does a bloody brilliant job, too. Transferring these Harry Potter books into films and making them coherent is one thing. But making them entertaining, as well, is quite another... He does a tremendous job, and he gets a lot of stick. And it's really unfair sometimes, and I challenge anyone else to do the job he does.
Matthew LewisAs an actor you really want to push yourself, and there's no better way than to do an intense drama.
Matthew LewisI mean, I must confess I don't own Harry Potter DVDs. My parents do. They have them all. And they like watching them.
Matthew LewisThe fame stuff, the kind words from websites and things, are very flattering and lovely, but I just wanna act.
Matthew LewisIf someone wants to employ me, whoever wants to employ me, I'll go and do that. I just want to work.
Matthew LewisI'm very comfortable being at home and keeping my head down, really. It's nice being invited to night clubs and stuff, which is nice once in a while, but I prefer to kind of keep to myself.
Matthew LewisI think as an actor you're always learning, you're always trying to experience more things.
Matthew LewisDon't get paparazzi following me everywhere. My life there is exactly the same as it would have been if I had not been in Harry Potter. So for me, Harry Potter isn't something that changed my life. It's just something I did that was a lot of fun, and I got to experience amazing things from. But my actual, personal life is the same.
Matthew LewisIn fact, my favorite Beatles song is "In My Life." And from that, you can gauge that my friends mean so much to me. I love John Lennon, so it's kind of like moody... There's a lot you can gauge from that. As insignificant as it seems, as an actor, it's an interesting way to approach a character.
Matthew LewisYou couple that with how I looked when I was younger, and growing up... The voice is not quite breaking. It's awful. No, I don't enjoy that at all. But that's one of the things people love and find so endearing about the Harry Potter series, and why they've lasted so long. Because people have grown up with us, and they care about the characters. They're not just some characters in the film, they're people you can relate to, and you care about, and you grew up with, and when they die in this film, people feel it!
Matthew LewisI did enjoy theater. I actually do prefer making films and television, but it was a learning experience for me, because I got into television at 5 and film at 11, and theater was something I completely bypassed.
Matthew LewisI was being a sort of rebellious teenager, really. But there was never any point at which I was considering leaving Harry Potter. If I were to stop acting, it would have been after. As long as they kept asking me to come back, I was gonna keep doing it. 'Cause I loved the story! There's no way I would have left.
Matthew LewisMichael Gambon telling filthy jokes and Alan Rickman talking about scrambled eggs, just really normal things, and yet they're these amazingly, superb, famous actors. I feel so privileged to have been around them on the set of Harry Potter.
Matthew LewisTheater was such a different school of acting. But it really is a foundation of everything. It's where it all started! And I feel like I learned so much.
Matthew LewisI wasn't bullied or anything at school, but I was quite shy and didn't speak up too much in class.
Matthew LewisAt least I like to keep it the same. That's why I've got all the same friends. That's why I go back to Leeds as much as possible. I don't know if you know much about England, but Yorkshire is a very sobering place. In the North. It's very gritty. Old mining villages. And people don't really care about celebrities up there. And it's great. And that's why I get back there whenever I can. 'Cause it keeps me very grounded, and it keeps my life very normal, whatever that is.
Matthew LewisThe great thing about filming a film is that you all have your final day's shooting, but you always know that you're all going to be coming back for the premiere.
Matthew LewisYou hear about all the great British thespians doing stuff on the West End and that kind of thing, and I missed out on that. Alan Rickman actually suggested to me that I should try it. And I thought, "Geez, I really don't want to do that." But he must have recommended it for a reason, so when an opportunity came up, I took it. And it was tough. It was hard! But by the end of it, I absolutely loved it.
Matthew LewisI never really looked at it like that, but it's true. It's weird that it's been half my life. Because I lead these two separate lives. I've got my life and Harry Potter, where I travel the world, I make films, I meet amazing people, I do press junkets and stuff. And then I go back home to Leeds, where I live, and I've got the same friends from before. I still go to the pub. I still go to watch the football, soccer. And I go shopping at my local shop.
Matthew LewisRupert Grint is exactly like his character Ron, in that they are both incredibly funny, friendly, and loyal.
Matthew LewisEmma Watson was saying the other day that when Helena Bonham Carter was becoming Hermione, or trying to become her for the polyjuice-potion sequence, she was trying to take on Emma's mannerisms, and she was asking Emma questions like, "What's Hermione's favorite color?" Because she wanted to absorb all this information and to know, in here touches temple what she was like. And as I've tried to develop as an actor, I see that these things, however much they seem insignificant... By knowing what's Neville's Longbottom favorite Beatles song, you can know so much!
Matthew LewisAlan Rickman, who was mentored me a lot. He was very keen to offer his opinions on stuff. Not in a pretentious way. Not in a patronizing way.
Matthew LewisAlan Rickman told me to do a play, so I did. Because when Alan Rickman tells you do something, you go and do it.
Matthew LewisA lot of people struggle in their younger years, and I think people can relate to that.
Matthew LewisHaving done television, I was used to either being aware whether I got the part within the same day, or within two, three days max.
Matthew LewisI love making people laugh, and to be able to be that humorous character was great. And I actually was very similar to Neville Longbottom. I was very shy and chubby-cheeked. I wasn't bullied at school, but I wasn't particularly outgoing. We were similar. And so I loved playing him.
Matthew LewisI must confess I don't own Harry Potter DVDs. My parents do. They have them all. And they like watching them. They've got all their home videos done in HD quality! They love it. But I struggle very much. I'm very self-conscious as an actor, anyway. I don't like watching my own performances, even in this recent one.
Matthew LewisWhat I've found is that stage is very much a foundation of acting. It's where it all began and you're working with that repetition.
Matthew LewisThere was never any point at which I was considering leaving Harry Potter. If I were to stop acting, it would have been after.
Matthew LewisI don't think leave the Harry Potter franchise. Not wanting to act, yes. I think it was that stage of rebellion, really. Everyone goes through it. I thought, "I've been an actor. My parents are proud of me being an actor. I want to do something else." I wanted to join the Army, actually, or be in the Air Force, or something like that. I still wouldn't mind doing that. Obviously, it's a bit late for me now.
Matthew LewisI was never really bullied at school. I was pretty confident in terms of school work and teachers and I've never shyed away from much but a lot of people have come up to me and said that they were bullied at school and my portrayal of Neville has influenced them a lot in their lives and helped them out.
Matthew LewisI can't wait to go back home and disappear into relative obscurity for a bit. I just want to go back to my house and just get away from it all for a bit. It's so flattering to hear people say nice things about the performance, about the Harry Potter film. It's great. Don't get me wrong. I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not shunning it. It's just been such a bubble I've been in, with these promotions.
Matthew Lewis