The Harry Potter movie series concluded five years ago, but many of the actors involved still deeply appreciate J.K. Rowling world of magic. Take Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom in all eight movies. He recently attended a performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and he thoroughly enjoyed what he saw.
Matthew Lewis this photo on his Instagram page of him with three of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child's main cast members. However, he also took the time to talk about how the play had reinvigorated his interest in the Wizarding World. Although it was a "dream come true" to be cast in the movies when he was younger, he worked on them for so long that he forgot how to be a fan of the Boy Who Lived's mythology. Fortunately for Lewis, he was able to "lose himself" watching Cursed Child's story, and even better, he was not involved with a production this "magical." By the time it was all over, he felt like he was nine years old again, which is something I think we can all agree is something we all want to experience when it comes to a property we love.
Like most of the major Harry Potter kids, Matthew Lewis first appeared as Neville Longbottom in 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Neville started out as s shy and bumbling student with a knack for Herbology, but as the books/movies progressed, he gained more confidence. His finest moment came in The Deathly Hallows (Part 2, for the movie watchers out there) when he pulled Godric Gryffindor's sword from the Sorting Hat and decapitated Nagini, Voldemort's snake and the final Horcrux. So Matthew Lewis' prominence in the movies increased as the years passed, but that also meant his enthusiasm for the Harry Potter world decreased as they became more work-heavy. Seeing this play, along with years having passed since the movie series concluded, has made him a Harry Potter fan once again.
Unfortunately for Matthew Lewis, one thing he was unable to experience while watching Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was seeing his character realized on stage. Neville Longbottom does not appear in the play, although he is mentioned a few times due to...certain plot points (no spoilers here). With the Wizarding World's cinematic presence now being handled by the Fantastic Beasts series, hopefully Lewis will feel a similar kind of joy watching these new adventures unfold, even though almost all the characters aren't the same as the ones he grew up with.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is currently playing at the Palace Theater in London, but if you can't make out there, the script is available in book form in stores.
