Latest Site Notices

masterofmystery · #1 (**permalink**) 07-31-2012, 07:23 PM

Jessie Cave was recently interviewed about her work in the Harry Potter series as Lavender Brown, her upcoming role in Great Expectations by director Mike Newell, and her Bookworm stage project. Highlights of her and sister Bebe's interview with FAULT magazine can be read below. Bookworm starts this Thursday, August 2 at the Edinburgh Fringe; tickets can be purchased here.

Can you tell us a bit about how and why you went from art graduate to actress? What attracted you into this industry?
Jessie Cave: I didn’t graduate! I had to leave because I got the part in Harry Potter. Creating Pindippy is a perfect way of using my art and I still draw everyday and all of my props are handmade etc. I have always written, stuff I now realise was comedy although at the time felt like tragedy, and so acting has always felt like an extension of drawing and writing.

In what ways (if any) would you say you relate to Biddy’s personality and character?
Jessie: Biddy is patient, loyal and resilient. I’m incredibly impatient and if I am upset, people tend to know, but I am very loyal.

’Great Expectations’ is a gripping story and touches on many timeless issues such as social mobility and the importance of education. Are there parallels to be drawn from the story and your own upbringing? I’m speaking very generally here – unless you were recently adopted by a blacksmith?!
Jessie: There is a passage in the book when Pip has a week to wait out before he goes to fulfill his ‘expectations’. He can’t sleep, is restless, and can’t make the most of the time he left at the barge. He relies too much on these ‘expectations’ making everything better, changing his life, and he neglects the people who love him and value him right under his nose. I think everybody can relate to that in some way.

Throughout the years there have been many film, television and stage adaptations of the story. From the famous 1946 version directed by David Lean to the parody retelling of the story in controversial adult animation ‘South Park’ in 2000. How does this new adaptation of the book differ from all the others?
Jessie: Mike Newell. You can’t help but meet him and fall in love with him and I think that by assembling such a group of actors, including Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Sally Hawkins and David Walliams, this film will be wicked! I feel very lucky to have met him and both me and Bebe are besotted.

Can you give us any details as to the ending? Dickens himself includes two…
Jessie: I’m not allowed – sorry!

In the Harry Potter story, Lavender Brown provided a lot of comic relief to what was quite a dark time in the story. Can we expect to see some of the same comedic flair with your portrayal of Biddy? Or should we expect something very different from you as an actress?
Jessie: I don’t think so. Mike has been economical with the book and the script to create a fast-paced and not overlong but good film, so things have been cut, which is sad but makes sense. As an actress I was just thrilled to work with him and the other actors in my first properly adult, period role. I wear a wedding dress!

Can you tell us about your upcoming show, ‘Bookworm’, and what people can expect to see?
Jessie: The idea is Book Club. The show is the official launch of ‘Bookworms United’. I am the host and I know everyone in the audience. It is a celebration of the books and the characters who have helped to form my personality and that led me to creating the book club we are launching today. There is perhaps an underlying story of heartbreak.

Jessie's former Harry Potter costar and PinDippy video regular Evanna Lynch recently chatted with Glamour magazine about those who inspire her, including J.K. Rowling and Natalia Tena (Tonks), who she still keeps in contact with regarding her Harry Potter costars, and upcoming projects.

Out of all the amazing people you've worked with, who has been the most awe-inspiring?
Evanna Lynch: I'm inspired by strong women. I didn't work with her exactly, but meeting J.K. Rowling and being around her on set sometimes was amazing because she is such a powerful, inspiring lady. She has contributed so much to art, literature and humanity and still has not tired of striving to make a better world for people in less fortunate situations, both through her talent and her voice.

Acting-wise, Natalia Tena (Tonks in Harry Potter) and Orla Brady (my mother in Sinbad) are two women who I found to be awe-inspiring. Nat throws herself into things completely, she is so full of energy and life and she truly doesn't give a damn what people think of her. I remember a conversation I had with Nat on one of the publicity tours for HP, when I was feeling glum and complaining about some boy I was failing to impress...and she just leaned over to me and said 'You need to stop thinking baby! Just STOP THINKING!' and it hit me that that's how she lives life and how she loves it so much."

Orla Brady is someone who just amazed me with her talent and her commitment to acting. Orla is very much in control of her characters' stories. She takes it upon herself to fill in all the blanks, all the things the writer's don't necessarily tell you. I remember on one of the first days on the set of Sinbad, she called me and said we should spend time together to build this mother-daughter bond. So we spent a few hours trying to figure out gestures and create memories they shared. It was such a great experience for me, hanging out with someone I'd just met but just sitting there and letting our imaginations go for a few hours.

Who were you closest to on the Harry Potter set?
Evanna: I was close with all the girls on the set. Emma [Watson], Bonnie [Wright], Katie [Leung], Jessie [Cave], Scarlett [Byrne], Afshan [Azad]. We all used go for dinner and shopping after filming or on weekends. Now I'm closest with Scarlett, Jessie and Katie, I see them regularly and we've all filmed things for Jessie's website, 'Pindippy', which has brought us together a lot.

I miss everyone and wish we could all keep in touch but it's hard as we're all working and most of us globe-trotting so it's difficult to get everyone in the same city at once! Of the adults, I also got to know Jason Isaacs and Mark Williams really well. We had so much fun and many interesting talks on the publicity tours and they offered me a lot of valuable advice on continuing as an actor.

What would be your dream role?
Evanna: I got a role in a film called Monster Butler recently that was pretty much a dream role. I want to play more conflicted, flawed characters at this stage in my career and this is exactly that.

My other dream role, which started as a joke but quickly took hold as a burning desire, would be to play Britney Spears in a biopic! She's always been an idol of mine, I think she's awesome. I admire how she's an artist and beautiful, but still a human. I think that's brave, when you're that much of a star and a household name, to let yourself be human and not get caught up in the public's image of you. I think she's braver than people realise and that's why I hope they make a biopic about her someday soon. And I had better at least get the chance to audition!!