EVANNA LYNCH: I always found with [Harry Potter director] David Yates, he was so good with working with actors because he always credited us with knowing more about the character than anyone else. He never imposed any direction on me. He always questioned and questioned till you found common ground.

BONNIE WRIGHT: On Harry Potter, David Yates was the fourth director to direct me in the role of Ginny, so that was always interesting as well. I also think independent films give directors more space to have an intimate relationship with an actor. With David Yates, that was just part of his way of being. Even outside of directing, he's very one-on-one and very intimate during conversation, and I think that obviously really helped him, even amongst thousands of people on set.

LYNCH: After Potter, I would work with directors where I would get the roles just because of Potter, and I would have these moments where there'd be a miscommunication and I would have this, "Am I a terrible actor?" instance. I remember I had a theater audition and the guy just didn't even look up at me, didn't engage. I called my acting teacher and I was like, "I can't do this. He's a really well-known director and I can't connect with him." And she was just like, "This is not your way of connecting with a person." There are different ways of directing different actors.

WRIGHT: Going back to the difference between independent films and large studio productions, did you find being on this film that you were able to really create a different kind of intimacy amongst the cast and crew, and how did that elevate the process for you? Or were there elements of it that you really missed from the scale of filming Harry Potter?

LYNCH: There are pros and cons to both. I feel like the main difference for an actor between studio and independent films are the opportunities to **** up. I always felt like on Potter, there were so many people looking out for you—tweaking your wardrobe and your hair and correcting you—that you couldn't mess up. The end result was cool and the magic is awesome, but you're very much aware that a lot of people went into the performance. When I first started doing independent films, it was thrilling that I had to fight for myself more, that I could actually mess up. It was more stressful, but it was more rewarding artistically. Also, [on Potter] we had the luxury of time. I really missed that about studio films. I'd mess up and be like, "What? We can't just do another one? Just one more?" And they were like "Nope! Moving on!" You have to be looking at your performance and you have to really trust the director.

WRIGHT: When you're doing a film on the scale of Harry Potter, you're putting trust in multiple things—in the producers, the cast and crew that you've been working with for ages, the script that you already trust because you love the books. If something does end up not being great, they'll just reshoot it, whereas with independent filmmakers, you are putting so much trust in your director and your fellow actors.