The Mail on Sunday has a new feature online tonight with actress Bonnie Wright. Bonnie reflects on growing up during her years with the Harry Potter series as Ginny Weasley, as well life at University, her work with fashion and much more.
Bonnie speaks to the now famous kiss between Harry (Dan Radcliffe) and Ginny in Half-Blood Prince where she says:
‘The way it was done was very romantic,’ she says of that kiss. ‘Daniel [Radcliffe] and I have always been good friends, which I think worked in our favour. It’s the only love scene I’ve filmed, but I imagine if you had to do one with some random person that you had no relationship with, it would feel very strange. 'It makes the on-screen relationship make more sense – this idea that we’ve known each other, and in a sense grown up together, off-screen as well as on. Dan is so energetic and really good fun, and the way he works is extremely professional.’ My character initiates the kiss,’ she says, ‘which is great because it gives this power to girls and shows that it’s OK to be the one who makes the approach.’
As to the development of Ginny in the last film, Bonnie noted: ‘Well, it’s hard to know if what she’s seen on the screen has influenced the storyline,’ she says modestly, ‘but I’m thrilled that I’ve been given the chance to sink my teeth in and show what I can do. I felt, in the last one, as though I really got to create something worthwhile.’ And so did the critics, who lauded her breakout performance.
Bonnie Wright also talks of going to University and a career in film with the following:
‘I’m not quite sure if I’ll end up behind or in front of the camera,’ she says, ‘but because the scale of Harry Potter is so massive – just hundreds and hundreds of cast and crew – I’d love to do something totally different next: maybe a small independent project where the whole team worked really closely together, something creative, not just churning out a film to put bums on seats.’ Amazingly, she manages to say this without sounding ungrateful, just matter-of-fact. She adds, ‘I’ve always admired actresses like Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman – especially for her work in Moulin Rouge and The Hours – but I’ve never really fixated on anyone and thought, “I want to do exactly what they’ve done.” I really just want to do my own thing.’
The interview also covers her love of fashion and her involvement in the Made-by project and sums up with her thoughts on the upcoming Deathly Hallows:
‘When I read the book, I was shocked that my character had turned into something so big,’ she says.Bonnie admits to feeling wistful as the end draws near (they wrap next June). ‘We’ve been so busy filming it that there hasn’t really been time to think about the fact that this is the last one. It will be very strange when it’s over and very sad. I don’t think any of us thought about it until the recent press promotion, when people started saying, “The end is near.” And we were, like, “It is?” When we’re filming you forget about the millions of people waiting for it to come out. And then when you turn up at a premiere and see thousands of people, you go, “Whoa!”’
But I sense real excitement in Bonnie about leaving her alter ego Ginny Weasley behind and moving on. It’s only too easy to imagine her as a leading light in arty independent films.‘I know what Ginny would do in every situation, and relate to her because we’ve both got older brothers,’ she says. ‘But I think all of us who’ve been there from the beginning have got to the point where we want to do something different, be someone different.‘People always ask, “Is this going to be the biggest thing in your career?” And while I don’t think there’s ever been anything like Harry Potter, that’s gone on for so long and maintained its popularity, I think the answer – for me and for all of us – is that more challenging.
New Interview with Bonnie Wright
Tom: Yes. I thought they would dye my hair a dark brown for Harry one week, then red for Ron for another week. The week after that, blond for Draco.
