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Irish 'Luna Lovegood' on 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'

Asked is there any part of the whole experience she has never told anyone about before, Lynch demurs before confessing. “Maybe I shouldn’t say this, because it might get me in trouble. But..."

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Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

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At 17, Irish actress Evanna Lynch is already famous for two things -- for starring in the epic Harry Potter films, and for being such a huge fan of the original books that the casting directors almost had no choice but to pick her for the role of Luna Lovegood.

Since being cast in the Warner Bros. blockbuster films, her life has been a rollercoaster ride of filming and red carpet openings. This month she left her hometown of Drogheda, County Louth to promote the latest Potter film (“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which opens around the world next month) across all the main hotspots of Europe. Is she anxious?

“No, I can’t wait! I think I’ll attend premieres in Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland and other places,” Lynch tells the Irish Voice and IrishCentral, her voice brimming with enthusiasm.

“I’ll be traveling with Bonnie Wright (who plays Ginny Weasley) and Matt Lewis (who plays Neville Longbottom).”

Wise beyond her years

Stardom, when it comes early, can turn a young person’s head, but Lynch sounds remarkably collected and wise beyond her years.

“My life really hasn’t changed as much as you’d imagine. I mean, more people recognize you, and in Ireland that’s especially true because it’s so small. Over there everyone knows you,” she says.

“But people in Ireland enjoy their famous actors, their claims to fame, but I don’t think they get too fazed by it, you know? My family and friends are exactly the same as they were, and life is normal. I’m still working away, still doing my Leaving Cert (high school finals) and all that, you know?”

In case anyone’s under the impression that filming the biggest movie of the summer is just an endless lark, Lynch has news.

“We have school tutors on the set and we have to do three hours a day minimum with them. Everyone in my school thinks that makes me lucky but it’s not true at all,” she says.

“It’s one to one tutoring, so it’s quite intense, and they really make sure we get our tutoring in. It’s kind of hard to combine the tutoring with the film work. It’s hard to focus on both sometimes.”

A natural as Luna

In the role of Luna Lovegood, one of the most beloved characters in the whole Harry Potter universe, Lynch is a natural. Her slightly otherworldly face and manner are the perfect compliment to the eccentric character she plays.

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