It's not all about Harry
Dumbledore's Army leads the fight against Lord Voldemort
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Tuesday, 26, Jun 2007 11:48
Newcomers to the Harry Potter universe can be forgiven for assuming the literary series and cinema franchise is all about the eponymous boy wizard.
But while mega-star Daniel Radcliffe continues to steal the plaudits and grab the limelight in an admittedly self-effacing way, other members of the movie's cast are immortalising themselves in the Potter pantheon in their own right.
Bonnie Wright, 16, and Matthew Lewis, 17, have been members of the Harry Potter cast since day one, playing Harry's eventual squeeze Ginny Weasley and Gryffindor compatriot Neville Longbottom in each of the five films so far.
Katie Leung made her debut as Harry's crush Cho Chang in The Goblet of the Fire, while Evanna Lynch appears for the first time as Cho's Ravenclaw associate Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
InTheNews caught up with the four members of Dumbledore's Army in the build-up to the release of the fifth film to ask them, among other things, how being in the movies had changed their lives and what the future held for them now that the publication of the final book was only weeks away.
The first thing that becomes apparent on meeting the quartet is how incredibly grown-up they already are, despite their ages ranging between 14 and 19.
Relative newcomer Katie says it is "unbelievable" how mature her younger co-stars Bonnie and Evanna are.
"It's just really strange to think Bonnie and Evanna are four and five years younger than me, because we do get on so well and we do have lots to talk about," she told us.
And Bonnie concedes that while at first she was "very timid and shy" during filming for the first Harry Potter film way back in 2001, shooting the subsequent films had become a breeze, explaining: "We've all grown up in it together and more comfortable with it, and each other."
Evanna recalls how her first day on set was "overwhelming", with "so much going on, so much I wasn't used to".
The 14-year-old, who beat off competition from 15,000 other hopefuls to secure the role of Luna Lovegood, is a self-confessed Potter-obsessive, and was understandably nervous about meeting the boy she had idolised for the last five years.
"They warned me 'you're going to be doing the screen test with Daniel Radcliffe a week after the audition," she recalled. "And then in the hair and make up department, he walked up behind and scared me.
"But you get used to him quickly because he tries to make you feel very welcome and at home," the teenager continued.
David Yates, the director of Order of the Phoenix, says he sees the film as a coming of age tale for Harry and, to a less extent, his friends, as they unite to stand-up against Lord Voldemort.
For Matthew, who is virtually unrecognisable without his clumsy shoes, fat-suit and pinned forward ears, the transformation seen in Neville, who goes from bumbling clown to avenging wizard, was one of the best experiences of his acting career so far.
"What I loved doing this year was the emotional side of Neville, the drama, it was a really big challenge for me," he explained. "Neville's always been a light-hearted and humorous character."
But while the entire cast and production staff can look forward to shooting the sixth film in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, later this year, the publication of JK Rowling's final book is casting a shadow over the entire Order of the Phoenix release.
The film is scheduled for general release on July 12th, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and last book, coming out 19 days later.
For the young cast, especially those who have been involved in the films since the start, the publication of the final book evokes mixed emotions.
Bonnie claims she is "not that nervous" about what will happen in the Deathly Hallows, although Rowling has already said that two major characters will die, leading to feverish speculation among fans and tipsters.
"I think that whatever happens will be an adventure for everyone," she claimed.
"There is that main fear for people that their character will die off, but to be honest it's the last book and I think each character has a sense of importance - where each character will go.
"It's nice to have theories about what you want to happen. I personally prefer not to think about it too much so I can have the excitement of reading it."
A little surprisingly, mega-fan Evanna is philosophical about the end of the series, as if it were to go on and on she "might become old and die and I wouldn't know what would happen".
But she continued to say that "of course there will be tears" when she has finished reading the Deathly Hallows.
"This is the end of the series, this is the end of Harry's life, this is the end of lots of people's lives," Evanna said, although she claimed she would not need to phone the special 'mourning-Harry' helpline that retailer Waterstones has set up for post Deathly Hallows blues.
If one scene defined Order of the Phoenix more than any other it is the first kiss between Harry and Cho that fans have been looking forward to since reading the text in 2003.
Katie, who turns 20 in August, says the kissing scene was something she was "definitely looking forward to".
Tabloid newspapers reported last year that it took 30 takes to satisfy director David Yates, but Katie insists that the kiss "did not take any longer than any other scene, but David really wanted us to get it perfect".
"It was not at all awkward," she went on to say. "If anything it was more awkward when we first met because we knew the kissing scene was coming up.
"I was so worried it was going to go wrong and we were going to end up banging heads. But it went really well and it was really funny to shoot as well, we had a laugh before, like 'have you brushed your teeth yet', 'have you had your breath mints'.
"I hope when [audiences] watch it, it satisfies their perception of the kiss."
The appeal of the Potter phenomenon is worldwide in its extent, and balancing an everyday life with filming commitments has proved problematic for all the children, Matthew revealed.
"When I go to parties my friends - I could kill them sometimes - they sort of go 'he's in Harry Potter', because it's a great way to get with girls, but then they look at me and they're like 'he's not in Harry Potter'.
"It's a good way to start conversations but I also like to get away from it, there's more to me than Harry Potter."
Looking to the future, Katie is in the unusual position of not knowing for sure whether she has appeared in her last Potter film.
Her character Cho has only a brief cameo in the sixth novel and it seems unlikely she will return in Deathly Hallows.
"It's so strange to believe I started three years ago, it just seems I got the part yesterday and it's all gone by in a flash and a blur and I've just had the best time of my life doing it," she reminisced.
"It is sad to sort of leave it and everything but I've met so many good friends I'm going to keep in touch with, and it's also something I'm never going to forget; it's an experience that not many people can say they've been through."
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix goes on general release in the UK on July 12th. Make sure to check back to read what we thought of the film in our review.
Matthew Champion