‘After 10 Years In Harry Potter I Was Ready To Do Something Else.’ Neville Actor Matthew Lewis Gets Real About What Changed For Him After Starring In The Wizarding Franchise

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The magical world and franchise that is Harry Potter is still chugging along today. With a lot of buzz around Max’s Harry Potter TV show, which is still in its development phases, the Fantastic Beasts series, and love for the original series, there’s no slowing down for the actors involved. Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom recently shared about life after Potter and his opinion about reprising Neville in the new series.

The 35-year-old attended the Rhode Island Comic Con over the weekend and weighed in on the decade he spent on set. He talked about everything from how the young cast stuck together and created a safe community for one another as well as life after the original Potter franchise ended.

Lewis shared (via People) that as he was shedding Neville Longbottom there was some apprehension about graduating into the industry and moving on from Hogwarts. He was excited to switch it up and explore the possibilities, he shared:

Although, that said, I was very excited about the prospect. I have quite a short attention span, so that’s probably why I’ve never chosen a real career. [After] 10 years in Harry Potter, I was ready to do something else and also was not keen to do anything that was going to lead to multiple series.

Dedicating ten years to a series is a big commitment, especially as a child star. Lewis has been candid about his experience post his wizardly world days and how his portrayal of Longbottom still follows the actor, even with a decade’s worth of work to show for after Part 2.

The original Harry Potter franchise ran from 2001-2011 and the Fantastic Beasts series ran from 2016-2022 and can be a lot to keep in chronological order. This new Max show has received a lot of opinions for its interest in expanding the seven book series but the reason why seems commendable. As an OG fan of the movies, it feels odd, especially with the cast remembering Maggie Smith, who played Minerva McGonagall earlier this year.

Either way, the new series is underway and has the potential to be released in 2026. We’ll eventually see if any of the original cast makes a return to Hogwarts. Lewis did say it isn’t out of the question but we’ll have to wait and see if he is indeed ready to return. Hopefully, he doesn’t face the same fate with another magic character following him around for another decade.

If you’d like to watch the complete saga of the original Harry Potter movies or the Fantastic Beast series you can do so with a Max subscription or Hulu+ subscription.

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