Evanna Lynch: Harry Potter didn't test me as an actor — now I'm seeking a challenge

Despite having just 17 minutes of screentime across the entire Harry Potter franchise, Evanna Lynch can’t escape the character of Luna Lovegood. Deirdre McArdle finds there is so much more to the talented Louth actor

Evanna Lync inside the disused swimming pool beneath The Metropole Hotel, which will become the stage for the upcoming production of Pool (No Water) during Cork Midsummer Festival. Picture: Chani Anderson

When most people think of Evanna Lynch, the first thing that will come to their mind is her role of Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films. Lynch was just 15 when she first appeared in Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix as the much-loved Luna, but over 20 years later the character still looms large in her life.

“Harry Potter is the thing everyone wants to talk about. The films are very present in my life still because I don’t make a living on theatre and short films, I pretty much make a living doing Comic Cons. But creatively, for me, that chapter is closed.”