Evanna Lynch on ‘Fantastic Beasts’, Animal Welfare and being Luna!

Mar 31, 2016

Posted by: Emma Pocock

Fantastic Beasts Movie, Lynch, Lynch Interviews, News, Redmayne

Evanna Lynch spoke to People about potential appearances in Fantastic Beasts, excitement about Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, and fan theories about the film, and also spoke to Buzzfeed about her role as Luna, her love for animals and her dedication to social justice.

“I am so excited. Those are my two favorite things: animals and Harry Potter.”

People pointed out Evanna’s dedication by reminding us that on Sunday 20th, she took part in the New York City’s Half Marathon to raise awareness for World Animal Protection.

Lynch is also hugely excited about Eddie Redmayne’s leading role as Newt Scamander:

 “Eddie Redmayne is going to be fantastic! He’s definitely a wizard.”

As one of the biggest fans of Potter, Evanna’s dying to be in Fantastic Beasts – we don’t blame her! She mentions some of the fan theories connecting her to the role, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be happening:

“I’m just waiting for the call!” she said laughing, adding “Fans have been concocting all these scenarios where Luna narrates the film as if telling it to her children or grandchildren. They didn’t go that direction,” she adds.

 “I do get a little bit jealous when I think of them filming right now. I miss it!”

Buzzfeed also caught Evanna this week to talk about her participation in the New York city Half Marathon for World Animal Protection, connecting her love of animals to her role as Luna Lovegood:

On animal rights and World Animal Protection:

It’s something that I was always interested in and it always felt like a natural impulse for me. When I see an animal in pain it really upsets me because they’re innocent and they’re the outsiders. I think that’s why I resonated so much with the character of Luna in the Harry Potter movies; I feel for the oppressed and I want to stand up for them. In a way, animals are so different and we as humans think we’re better than them, but I really think we just don’t know them very well. I had lots of pets growing up and there were sheep in the fields behind our house. We were just surrounded by them, and I just felt that I wanted to protect them. I just think they have a lot to teach us. I feel like they already teach us so much about trust and always having compassion for people. Animals are just waiting for us to catch on.”

Evanna also told Buzzfeed that she thinks Luna is ‘extremely spiritual’, and resonates with her connection to the natural world:

“She doesn’t fear death, she feels that there’s a very thin divide between those two worlds, and I think that’s why she feels this connection to the spiritual world. I think that relates back to animals too, kind of like the message in Pocahontas about how everything has a spirit in it. I think that’s why Luna doesn’t get so caught up in the minutiae of everyday life and teenage angst. She doesn’t get worn down by bullies because she really sees the big picture; she sees people’s spirits and their energies, and she sees that with animals. Just because they can’t speak to us or communicate with us in the same ways [as humans] doesn’t mean that they’re not worthy or that they’re not able to offer us anything.

….. “She’s someone I really look up to, especially because of her outlook on the world. She doesn’t judge anyone and is curious about everything, and I’d like to have that [outlook]: not to take life too seriously, especially in the industry I’m in. In acting, it can get so competitive because everyone’s trying to make it. I think Luna reminds me that that’s not what I want, you know? Not to sound cheesy, but I just want to follow my heart and do things that make me happy. We share that outlook and appreciation for art and nature; she doesn’t look at something and try to understand it or try to claim it, she just appreciates it. I’m always striving for that outlook on the world.

On the lessons Evanna learnt from Harry Potter, and what she thinks the series can teach fans about social justice:

“I was always encouraged to give my opinion on things and to not be a perfectionist; just to get in there and play and talk to people. My perspective on film and movie-making before I joined the Harry Potter films was that I have to be a total pro and I have to do everything perfectly, and you have to just do exactly what the director says. But on Harry Potter, the filmmakers always invited me and all the younger actors to collaborate. They got me to make some of [Luna’s] jewelry and just put my take on it, and that’s what people liked. Initially, I was just waiting for people to tell me what to do or tell me I was doing something wrong, and instead they just encouraged me to express myself. Every time I do a movie I tend to get nervous in my head and I always have to remind myself, “Just be yourself. They just want you to add something to it. They don’t want you to just be exactly what you expect it to be.”

….

“I think especially in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, that whole idea that the media is not telling you what’s really going on and that you can’t trust the government — J.K. Rowling really drove that message home. The government was so corrupt, they were trying to get Harry to be their poster boy and their actions actually become interchangeable with the dark side. And I know it’s a magical world, but there is a lesson to learn from that: to question everything, to use your voice, always be striving for your ideal world, and not just accept a world that’s what the papers say or that’s what the government is telling us. J.K. Rowling is very aware of that. Even the fact that she’s tackling diversity issues in the film industry with the new play [Harry Potter and the Cursed Child]. They cast Hermione as a black woman, and that’s something that people just didn’t expect. It just gave the stories a new resonance and new power. That’s what the Harry Potter books definitely instilled in me: to question everything.

Read the full interview on Fantastic Beasts with People here, and the interview on animal welfare, Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood with Buzzfeed here (featuring a few photos of her at the marathon!).

Catch Evanna’s latest on-screen appearance in the trailer for the independent film My Name is Emily (in cinemas April 8th) below, and an interview on the film here!





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.