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Neville Longbottom actor had to wear "vile" cheek-padding in Harry Potter after losing weight
29 January 2021, 11:37
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Matthew Lewis also revealed which members of the Harry Potter cast he's still close friends with in real life.
Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis is opening up about playing Neville Longbottom and he just let slip some crazy information.
It's safe to say that the Harry Potter films wouldn't be the same without Matthew Lewis taking on the role of Neville. The star embodied the character so perfectly that he remains a fan favourite all these years later. From his debut in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to his performance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, he always did Neville justice.
Now, Matthew is reminiscing on his time in the hit franchise and he just revealed that he had to wear "vile" cheek-padding in the later films because he lost weight in between production and no longer looked like the same Neville as he initially did.
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Speaking to Metro, Matthew revealed: "It happened when I came back from the break in between films two and three. It was a slightly longer break than normal because they had shifted from a winter to a summer blockbuster, and when I came back I was much taller than everyone else and, I guess, thinner than I had been." And, here's where the padding comes in.
He then said: "Producer David Heyman assures me it was never a discussion about recasting but they had to do something. So they tried stuffing my cheeks with cotton wool, which was disgusting, then they cut these bits of sponge from creature effects and put them in there. But they just absorbed saliva so after a full day that was f***ing vile!"
Matthew added: "Then I had the shoes that were two sizes too big, the plastic behind the ears to make them stick forward, the false teeth. Now I would probably love that stuff, it’s great for getting into character, but back then, aged 14, I was like, 'Fuck this! This is not part of the deal!' But now, ten, 15 years later, I don’t begrudge it at all."
Matthew also let slip who he's closest to from the cast. He stated: "Alfie Enoch (Dean Thomas) was probably my best friend on set. He is the smartest man I know and so humble. We’ve really hit it off again and we have been chatting quite a bit the last few months."
