Summary
- Matthew Lewis, known for his role as Neville Longbottom in Harry Potter, has had a successful career outside of the franchise.
- He has starred in multiple movies and received awards for his performances, proving his worth as an actor.
- Although he was intimidated to work with Emilia Clarke in Me Before You, he praised her talent and enjoyed the fun and comfortable environment on set.
Matthew Lewis wasn't one of the main protagonists of Harry Potter, but he played a crucial role in the movies. He was the reason Harry Potter was able to defeat Voldemort because he killed the villain's snake, Nagini, who was the last Horcrux.
However, Matthew has come a long way from his Harry Potter first appearance. He's starred in other movies, showing his worth as an actor, received an honorary Master's degree, and launched a theater career. Yet, possibly his biggest role outside of the Harry Potter franchise was in Me Before You, opposite Emilia Clarke. Despite the movie's commercial success, Matthew had a hard time filming the movie and was intimidated by his co-star.
Matthew Lewis Appeared In Various Projects After Harry Potter
Much like his famous co-star Daniel Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis went through a phase when he was rather embarrassed with his Harry Potter role. Daniel admitted his feelings for the role that started his career in an interview with Elijah Wood, saying:
"I'm intensely embarrassed by some of my acting, obviously. But yeah, it's like asking, 'How do you feel about your teenage years?' There's so much in there that it's almost impossible to single out one feeling. It's hard to separate my relationship with Harry from my relationship with the film as a whole," he admitted.
Likewise, Matthew spoke about his embarrassment about the fact that fans still think that playing Neville Longbottom was his only claim to fame.
"I have done things that have been so wildly different... it's still like people are making the claim I've sort of jumped from Harry Potter into this and have completely ignored the journey it's taken to get there," he said.
So, what are some of these things that fans seem to ignore?
Matthew has a variety of roles under his belt, some of which have won him awards in movies like The Rise, The Sweet Shop, The Syndicate, Terminal, Baby Done, All Creatures Small And Great, and The Night Of The Loving Dead. He proved he is a great actor despite the fact that none of these movies were major blockbusters.
He's also shown his worth on the theater stage, appearing in various stage productions like Agatha Christie's Verdict and Our Boys, which was his West End first appearance.
Finally, Matthew starred in Me Before You, where he played Emilia Clarke's boyfriend.
Matthew Was Intimidated To Work With Emilia Clarke In Me Before You
Me Before You was Matthew's chance to work with someone who had also risen to fame because of one franchise. Emilia Clarke was intimidating to him, he told ITV's Lorraine because of how important her character was in Game of Thrones.
"She's so friendly and so lovely to be around and obviously because of her playing Khaleesi in Game of Thrones, I was very nervous about working with her. But she's so talented and so disarming that it's a pleasure working with her," he said.
However, he appreciated not only the star's approachable demeanor but also her acting ability.
"I think she did the most beautiful job in this film," he told Lorraine.
Matthew also talked about his experience starring opposite Emilia with Bustle. Once again, he mentioned how nerve-wracking his experience had been but he also explained how Emilia made everything fun and got him to relax on the set.
“The whole environment of the set was set by her,” he said. “It was just a really fun environment — we got to come in and play around and try things and do things, and it just felt really comfortable.”
Matthew Still Can't Watch Himself In The Harry Potter Series
While Emilia Clarke got him to relax and put in a great performance in Me Before You, Matthew is still squeamish about watching his earlier movies. In the same interview on ITV, he told the hostess how he's still unable to watch himself in Harry Potter.
"I decided to go back and watch them all again and I got half-way through the first one and that was enough for me. I didn't want to see anymore," he told Lorraine about his experience trying to watch himself on screen.
However, he felt the need to explain his statement.
"I always feel bad when I talk about it like that because it sounds like I'm being cynical. But it was fantastic, I had the most amazing time. But it's like watching home videos of you as a child, so it's difficult sometimes," he clarified.
It is perhaps because of his embarrassment with the part and his inability to watch any of the movies that Matthew doesn't want to return to Harry Potter.
“I can't confess to having given it any serious thought. I don't know... I don't have a desire to do it, let's put it that way,” Matthew answered when asked directly if he'd bring Neville Longbottom back to the big screen again.
The star is ready to explore other genres and characters, which bids well for fans who want to see more of him.
