Evanna Lynch Reveals Her Major Struggles After ‘Harry Potter’
Evanna Lynch became famous for playing Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter movies. The role was probably somewhat challenging, though Lynch was more than up to the task. The struggles that she had after her role as Luna, however, might surprise even the most dedicated Harry Potter fan.
How Evanna Lynch got the role of Luna in ‘Harry Potter’
There was certainly a lot of competition. According to a report by CBBC Newsround done when she was cast, Lynch beat out over 15,000 other teen girls for the role of Luna. At the time, according to Lynch herself, it was a “dream come true.”
She had “been a Harry Potter fan for years and years.” According to an interview with the BBC, her mother encouraged her to read the books. Lynch was reluctant at first but after her mother read her a chapter, she loved it. She was captivated by the fantasy world that allowed her to “escape from all the boring stuff of this world that you don’t want to know about” but was also struck by how “normal” all of the characters are.
Many Harry Potter fans can probably relate to Lynch here. While the fantasy world of Harry Potter is intriguing, the characters are all very easy to connect to, including Luna herself. Everyone who has ever been teased or felt out of place can undoubtedly relate to Luna.
Evanna Lynch ‘struggled to get work’ after ‘Harry Potter’
After winning the role of Luna, it would seem that long-time Harry Potter fan Lynch would be on top of the world forever. After all, what could be better than playing a role in the movie adaptation of a story you love? Unfortunately, expectations and reality often aren’t the same. According to an interview with Bustle, “[When] the films ended, I genuinely, at first, I really struggled to get work.”
The actress says “It was just weird because we were getting all this fan mail and all this attention.” However, she felt that the adoration she was getting from Harry Potter fans “wasn’t reflected” in her daily life. According to Lynch, “it was hard” to deal with such a discrepancy between her Harry Potter life and her post-Potter movies life.
“For a while, I really missed the validation,” she says, “of being in a giant film series where anything you did was just admired and gushed over.”
Lynch ‘struggled to find a sense of self-worth’ post-‘Potter’
Lynch’s other major struggle is even more heartbreaking. The actress told Bustle that she “struggled to find a sense of self-worth after the films.” She felt that she “had [her] huge break at 14. [Was she] ever going to be able to do anything that will top that or [is she] always going to live in the shadow of [her] 14-year-old self?”
Her fear is understandable as it would be hard for any role to top one in Harry Potter. The movies were and are a franchise of epic proportions. According to Lynch’s interview with Bustle, she still has struggles. However, she is satisfied with the work she is doing even though it is, by her own admission, “on a much smaller scale.”
She has “put [her] heart and soul into it.” And that probably means it’s even more satisfying.
