Evanna Lynch

Evanna Patricia Lynch (born 16 August 1991) is an Irish actress and activist. She is best known for portraying Luna Lovegood in the ''Harry Potter'' film series.

Born in County Louth, Ireland, Lynch made her film debut in ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' (2007), reprising her role in successive sequels to critical praise, concluding with ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2'' (2011) and series parody ''A Very Potter Senior Year'' (2012). Lynch appeared in '' G.B.F.'' (2013), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival to positive reviews. She made her stage debut in ''Houdini'' as Bess Houdini, which toured the UK in 2013. Lynch starred in the indie drama '' My Name Is Emily'', which premiered at the 2015 Galway Film Fleadh to critical acclaim. In 2017, Lynch starred in revival of ''Disco Pigs'' at the Trafalgar Theatre in London. In 2018, she competed and scored third place on season 27 of ''Dancing with the Stars''. She went on to star in the British stage adaptation of ''The Omission of the Family Coleman'' at the Theatre Royal, Bath in 2019.

As an activist, Lynch advocates for veganism and animal rights. She has been involved with several non-profit organisations and launched both a vegan-themed podcast and the cruelty-free cosmetics brand Kinder Beauty Box.

Early life and education

Evanna Patricia Lynch was born on 16 August 1991 in Termonfeckin, County Louth, Ireland, the daughter of Marguerite and Donal Lynch. She has two elder sisters and one younger brother. Lynch's maternal uncle is Declan Kiberd, a distinguished scholar of Irish literature who is a professor at the University of Notre Dame.

Lynch read the ''Harry Potter'' series for the first time at age 8 and became a fan, reading and writing fan fiction about the series and sending letters to the author, J. K. Rowling. She attended Cartown National School in Termonfeckin until June 2004 and then moved to Our Lady's College in Drogheda, Retrieved from Internet Archive 15 February 2014. where her father was the deputy principal. In 2008, Lynch studied speculative fiction and drama at the Centre for the Talented Youth of Ireland, a summer school for gifted teens, in Glasnevin. While on the ''Harry Potter'' set, she was tutored for at least three hours a day. In September 2010, Lynch attended the Institute of Education to repeat her Leaving Certificate.

Lynch developed an eating disorder at age 11. She was hospitalised several times for anorexia, and stated that the Harry Potter series was the only thing that could "pull her attention" from her disease. During this time, Lynch often wrote to Rowling, and stated that "books and her kindness really made me want to live again." During the release of the fifth book ''Order of the Phoenix'' in June 2003, she was hospitalised and her family consulted with the book's publisher and the hospital. Lynch then was allowed to leave for an hour and collect a signed copy of the book.

Career

2006–2011: Beginnings and ''Harry Potter'' series

In January 2006, Lynch auditioned at a casting call in London for the role of Luna Lovegood in ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'', the fifth film in the series adapted from the books. After auditioning against 15,000 other girls, and a subsequent screen test with lead actor Daniel Radcliffe, she was cast at age 14. Producers were impressed with her affinity for the character; David Heyman said: "The others could play Luna; Evanna Lynch is Luna." Although uninvolved in the casting process, Rowling believed that Lynch was perfect for the role. She had never acted professionally before the ''Harry Potter'' series, her experience having been limited to school plays. Retrieved from Internet Archive 16 February 2014. While filming ''Harry Potter'', Lynch also made and helped design a number of fashion accessories for her character.

''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' was Lynch's debut screen performance in 2007. The film was a box office hit and garnered favourable reviews. Critics praised the performances of the supporting cast; Lynch was often singled out for acclaim: ''The New York Times'' called her performance "spellbinding", and Jane Watkins of '' Country Life'' said she " roughtan appealing sweetness to her character that's not so developed in the book". She also voiced the character in the film's tie-in video game. Lynch reprised her role in ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' (2009). The film was critically and commercially successful. Wesley Morris of ''The Boston Globe'' wrote that Lynch "combats the movie's occasional sluggishness with a hilarious sluggishness of her own", and Michael Dwyer of ''The Irish Times'' called her the best Irish actress of 2009 for her work on the film. Her performance earned her Scream Award and Young Artist Award nominations, and she returned in the film's tie-in video game.

''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' was released in 2010 to positive reviews and box office success. The ''Boston Herald'' commented that Lynch "is still delightfully lunar," while Quickflix criticised the film, noting that "the delightful Evanna Lynch is brutally underutilized". She reprised her role in the film's tie-in video game. Lynch appeared in the role for the final time in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2''. The film opened to critical acclaim and went on to become the fifth highest-grossing film of all time. ''The Seattle Times'' wrote that Lynch "continues to be all-that-and-a-radish-earring as the ever-wafting Luna Lovegood," and ''Orlando Sentinel'' named her as "maybe" one of his "favorite players in the finale." She again reprised her role in the film's tie-in video game. In August 2012 at Leakycon in Chicago she joined the cast of StarKid to play Luna Lovegood in a script reading of the third ''Harry Potter'' parody musical, ''A Very Potter Senior Year'' (the other two being ''A Very Potter Musical

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases