Evanna Lynch beat 15,000 hopefuls to play Luna Lovegood with no acting experience
At 14, with only school plays behind her, Evanna Lynch went to an open casting call in London and walked away as Luna Lovegood. Years earlier the Harry Potter books had helped her through serious illness, and she had written to J. K. Rowling, who wrote back.
Lynch was born on 16 August 1991 in Termonfeckin, County Louth, one of four children, and raised Catholic; the literary scholar Declan Kiberd is her uncle. She discovered Harry Potter at eight, wrote fan fiction and sent letters to Rowling. At eleven she developed anorexia and was hospitalised several times, later saying the novels were the one thing that could distract her. Rowling replied with what Lynch called wise, incredible letters, and when Order of the Phoenix came out in June 2003 she was allowed out of hospital for an hour to collect a signed copy.
In January 2006 she joined an open audition in London for that same story's film. After a screen test with Daniel Radcliffe she was cast, and producer David Heyman remarked that others could play Luna but Lynch simply was Luna. Rowling, though not involved in casting, agreed she was perfect. Lynch even designed some of the character's accessories and was tutored at least three hours a day on set.
Her debut in 2007 drew praise: The New York Times called her spellbinding. In Half-Blood Prince in 2009, the Boston Globe enjoyed her dreamy comic timing, and The Irish Times named her the best Irish actress of that year, and she stayed with the role through Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 2011.
Later work included the Tribeca premiere G.B.F. in 2013, a UK tour as Bess Houdini on stage, the indie drama My Name Is Emily, acclaimed at the 2015 Galway Film Fleadh, and a London revival of Disco Pigs in 2017. In 2018 she finished third on season 27 of Dancing with the Stars. Off screen she campaigns for veganism and animal rights, hosts a vegan podcast and launched the cruelty-free cosmetics brand Kinder Beauty Box.
Source: Evanna Lynch
