Evanna Lynch in HF Magazine!

Evanna Lynch was interviewed for HF Magazine.

Photos from the HF Magazine photoshoot:

Exclusive interview with Evanna Lynch:

HF: What do art and commerce mean to you?

EL: I don’t really think about the commerce side, there’s too much thinking in that and thinking is what kills art. To me, art is about constantly stepping out from your comfort zone, being always on your toes, learning and growing. It never ever ends and it’s therefore kind of torturous but then so rewarding. I think real artists are the bravest people as it is such a solo and precarious journey. There’s no wrong or right. There is no recommended route and no template for what’s good and what’s bad in art, and that’s kind of terrifying.

Personally I think I’ve always been attracted to art because of how its pursuit can transform you as a person. When I was younger I was naturally very shy and held back by so many self-generated fears. But I also had this desire to express myself and my ideas; to create. But it’s impossible to create and even consider that your own ideas matter enough to be expressed if you’re crippled by shyness and fear and self-doubt. Fear will stop you from ever putting a pen to paper. So, eventually if you let that need to express become strong enough, you’re forced to grow into a confident, assertive individual. You have to keep telling yourself your voice matters or you will fail altogether.

HF: What and who inspires you?

EL: People who can be completely content and creative by themselves, who don’t need others to feel inspired. As an actor, I spend a lot of time travelling alone and living alone and it used to make me very lonely but you have to turn that loneliness into a chance to discover your individuality and be a consistently positive, creative person. You can’t find that in other people. I think people who crave attention, those girls that go from one guy to the next and are never alone, are shying away from their own creative purpose because they can’t stand the oddness of their own company. That’s why I find myself inspired by people like Michael Jackson and my character from Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood; they’re oddballs to our society, but in truth they’re completely natural and self possessed. Both of them are strong and bold enough not to conform to what their peers expect of them. That’s why Michael Jackson exceeded everyone else’s expectations creatively. He brought something new and radical to his music and performances; he brought himself.

I read a lot of artists’ biographies, too. I’m kind of fascinated by their arrogance. That’s one trait that almost every great artist possesses. Van Gogh was a great artist but he wasn’t arrogant and I think the lack of that quality is why his life was so tortured and painful. Artists are such sensitive souls that if they listened to their own rational minds, the fearful, paranoid part that tells them they suck, they would never be crazy enough to paint. That’s why they need a steely shell of arrogance that tells them they can produce something fresh and original. I’m a sensitive person but I could never be arrogant enough to be a good artist. But I like reading about those people in the hope that eventually I may pick up some of their steeliness.

HF: Can you name an actor that you would love to work with?

EL: I’d love to work with Kirsten Dunst. She is so talented. I’ve admired her for years. You think she’s this fun, light-hearted blonde at first but underneath that she can portray such profound sadness and pain and damage. You can tell she’s had her ups and downs and she’s not afraid to pour all that into her work. I also really admire Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He’s brilliant in everything. And I read an article about him recently that mentioned a production company he runs that gets people to collaborate on projects via the Internet. I was so impressed by that because he’s breaking down the idea that the film industry, Hollywood, all that gab, is impenetrable. People have this false idea that it’s composed of an elite group of powerful people, when really it’s all just about creative people working their asses off.

Mostly I’d like to work with my friends again. I’d love to work with anyone from Harry Potter again as we had such an unbelievable time together. I think the reason the Potter films are so good, too, is because everyone gelled so well. When you’re with people you trust, you don’t care how ridiculous you look. I’d love to work with my Potter friends again because the trust is already there and we could be as ridiculous as possible.

HF: Aside from acting, what is your preferred method of artistic expression, if anything?

EL: Dancing! I love dancing. It kills me that I’m under 21 and can’t go out and dance in America!! It’s so freeing and fun and is a much more effective way of bonding with people than talking. Dancing really brought me out of myself when I was younger because you have to be confident to be a good dancer. You have to do the moves with heart or you end up looking really foolish. I’m dying to be in a musical someday! I think musicals are the most complete form of art because of all the movement and dance. I tried to get into dance college a few years ago but was rejected. I guess my style was a bit too alternative. But I still love dancing.

HF: What is the best life lesson you have learned from a fellow actor?

EL: Stop thinking.

HF: What is the best acting lesson you have learned from a non-actor?

EL: Take care of yourself, respect yourself, be happy with yourself. When you’re happy with yourself, then you can forget yourself and truly inhabit another character’s mind. I think insecurities set actors at a huge disadvantage as it’s then impossible to detach from your own mind and be someone else. Little things, like when I neglect my appearance, I find it difficult to have a conversation with someone because I’m thinking about myself, not the other person. And acting is all about thinking about the other person, letting the external become more important than the internal. You have to be a generous person. Personally, I consider it part of my job to look after my health and happiness. It takes discipline but it’s the only way you can be free of yourself enough to act.

HF: If you could be anything but an actor, what would you choose to be?

EL: I would love to be in the circus. I’d most love to be an acrobat, but really anything in the circus would be amazing. I just adore that lifestyle. Moving from place to place, never settling, working constantly on your craft, performing unbelievable acts for people all over the world. Never being in a secure situation. Always learning. I have so much respect for the circus performers and for the lack of ego in that profession. They are the best at what they do, so incredibly talented and hard working and they’re doing it just for the love of it, not for acclaim or accolades. The film industry frustrates me in that sense. It forces you to want to impress everyone and care what others think. To be successful in film you have to have impressed a lot of people. And thinking too much about what others think drives you crazy, you have to learn to detach from that when you leave an audition or a meeting but it’s hard. So to me, the circus seems like the ideal form of performance art, because it’s based solely on your talent and how hard you’re prepared to work to be on that stage. It’s basically just you and your craft.

HF: Is there a performance that you have seen, either from your childhood or more recently, that has stuck with you more than any other?

EL: I will never forget my first Cirque du Soleil experience, at Quidam in Dublin about four years ago. There was one act, a contortionist elevated up above the audience, entwined in two long pieces of silk, raveling and unraveling and bending and twisting and falling so gracefully to a song called “Let Me Fall.” It was so breathtaking. And I remember watching the girl making these incredible, terrifying shapes with her body and a piece of silk and it occurred to me that no one in the audience even knew her name. And I felt ashamed that some people knew who I am when I haven’t a fraction of that kind of talent. But then I realized that those performers are above all that, they don’t need the approval and support of the masses, and that must be the most wonderful, freeing, blissful feeling in the world. Watching people like that inspires me to work hard.

HF: Where would you like to find yourself in 5 years? In 15 years?

EL: I want to be surprised by whatever I’m doing. I’d like to look back in 5 years time and laugh because I could never imagine I’d be doing what I’m doing. You never anticipate the best things that happen in life. Like when an amazing new friend or guy comes into your life but you never could have dreamed them up and you didn’t realize they were missing in your life. I think what I want most out of life is adventure and learning. I kind of like my life to be unpredictable so I’m always being pushed. I’d like to be happy, too, but really learning and growing is paramount and you have to be ok with a certain level of discomfort for that.

Although, I have some conventional ambitions, too. I’d definitely like to be married in 10-15 years. I’d like to have a partner in crime. I’d love to have made more movies and have a strong network of friends within the industry who I can be creative with. I’d like to have written a book too, though maybe I’ll give myself 20 years for that… And I hope to be a better driver. I just got my license a few months ago and as it stands, lives are at risk.

Link to the HF Magazine website: Here.