On the casting call:

You had to wait about four hours in the crowd. and it didn't feel long at all, it was just really exciting. … They bring you into rooms. They saw everyone who was of the right age and nationality. They check your passports and everything. In fact, the girl in front of me who I was talking to, she was 13 and they just kicked her out. We went in. It was harsh at first the way they knocked people out. They'd take about 200 into a room and line about 30 up and they'd tell you to come forward and say your name and where you come from. And by that they would pick 2 or 3 people out and the rest would be, "Goodbye. Go home."


We had 1:1 auditions then and they said we want to see you again, that was on Saturday. And then the next Monday they called and said, "All right, screentest with David Yates, Daniel Radcliffe" … cameras, the whole shebang. I was a bit tazed by then.

I'm still more a Harry Potter fan than an actor.

On the screen test at Leavesden:

We went to the studios. That was so daunting for me because you've been watching this thing forever and suddenly it's in front of you. And you can't believe it. They put us in costume and make up and hair and all this. And I was meeting all these people who I'd seen all the time and introducing myself to them. But it was like I was 'reintroducing' myself because I felt … as you do, you think you know the person you've been reading for years. And then we went on set and had to do a few scenes. It was so professional. It was like right out of a dream because it was all happening. It was a film set and they were treating me like an actor.

I went back home and they were kind of vague about it. They said, "You know, we'll let you know."

After school on the following Monday the casting agent called me up. I was in the local shop in Termonfeckin and my mom takes ages in the shop and she said, "Can you get to somewhere where there aren't a million people watching?" So I went outside. She was very simple about it, what else can you say, she said, "We want you to play our Luna." She said, 'Oh, by the way. You're not allowed to tell people – only tell your family – because we're not going to announce it for a few days." It was awful because my friends, I couldn't tell them, they were asking the next day. And I had to go home after that and study for a French test because I'm a studious person and if I hadn't studied, something would be up, you know? So we had to keep it quiet for 10 days.

On watching herself on screen:

Well it's mad. I just felt like the whole time during the film it was like, "I'm lucky. I've won something." They'd all been there for seven years and I found it hard to suddenly think, "Yeah, I'm an actress." I just kept feeling like a Harry Potter fan. And they were all so nice and so welcoming, but it's hard to go from one extreme to the next. I remember, at the premiere, I was sitting and I was watching. Half of me was like, "That's not me." and in that way I was able to watch it comfortably rather than objectively watching it. But at the same time, everyone else looked like they should be up there. And there was me … very normal, I know everything about myself. I'm not a movie star. It was confusing.

On future plans:

Oh god, afterwards? Not just Harry Potter. 'Cause it's an amazing opportunity. That's one thing, when you go into the films you can't just say, "Right, I'm gonna be an actress." because there's so many doors open for you and you meet all these people. You learn so much and you realize that actors are not the geniuses. They're the poster people. So, I don't know. I'd definitely like to explore behind the camera because I think they're amazing and they're the unsung heroes really. If you go to the art department, it's just amazing all these people working on tiny little things – details that you won't see, but they're still there. And they don't do it for fame or recognition or anything, because they won't get that. They do it for their art and because they love it. It's amazing dedication, so I'd definitely like to try that.

For a few days I went back to school. I was in second year at the time. And then it was announced on the 2nd of February, nice and really early in the morning. I was like, "Oh, it'll spread over the day, I'm sure." Next thing, I went in to school and we have a corridor above, on the second floor, and all my year we're standing there. All of them just lined up and I was like, "Oh my god." And I walk in and, like I'm quite quiet in school and I stick with my friends and I'm not the most outgoing, but suddenly I had to talk to everyone and recount the story a hundred million times. It was mad. And there was Sky News and all these people were coming to the school. And, oh jeez, they sent body guards, I'm just remembering. They had these big guys in silver cars and they were escourting me from class and I said, "Is this really necessary?"

On her friends' reactions to her fame:

My friends are fine. They think it's cool when they see you on the big screen. I remember when I brought them to the Irish premiere and they thought it was great. But in school they don't really ask. Say, if I've gone to an event, a premiere or something, they'll be excited and ask, "Oh, who' d you see?" and all that, but it's more the first years – every September when new first years come in – it's kind of hell for a few weeks because they're all pointing at you. They think you dropped out of the sky, when really you always lived in Termonfeckin among everyone else.

On future plans after leaving school next year:

I want to go to university, I think. I do want to do more acting, but you have to go to London for that. It's just, that's where it is, you know? So I'd probably study in London. I'd love to do stage acting. I think that's amazing. I think that's more like the actors are in control. You know, on a film it's all controlled. It's a business. Even though you can put a little bit of your own artistic contribution, it's more a director and what he's telling you. Whereas when you're on the stage it's up to you. You have to carry the show. I think that they're amazing, those people.

On working on set with David Yates:

Well, they don't expect you to be perfect all the time. I knew the character. I hadn't gone to drama school, but I think I know her as good as anyone else can. And they're always trying to help you. The director is there. David Yates, he was great. He didn’t direct as in order you to do something. If something was wrong, if he didn't feel as if you were spot on or if you weren't getting it, he wouldn't tell you. He would ask you questions that might make you come to the realization.

On tutoring on set:
In school, I find it hard to do both. They have tutors on set. You have to do a minimum of three hours a day and, Harry Potter, 'cause it's such a big business they can't. You can only do 9 1/2 hours [of work] a day when you're under 18. And sometimes if we were about to get the scene and we'd go over the 9 1/2 hours, I was like, "I don't mind. I won't tell your lawyer." And they were like, "No, no, no." They were really strict about it and they make sure you get all your school hours.

On Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows:

We have the sixth one done, it was done in May. And it was meant to come out in November, but they held it back for some reasons. And we're doing the seventh one, they started it in February, but I start next month. And it's being filmed in two films.