Matthew Lewis

You can stay true to yourself and your friends, you can do the right thing, you can do with your life whatever you want to. I think that's a lovely message.

I don't want to act as if 'Harry Potter' wasn't the most amazing thing because it truly was, but it's also great personally that I'm starting to see signs that I can move on from it and do other stuff that hopefully people enjoy.

I was a short, chubby kid, pretty shy.

I think a lot of people can relate to that school is pretty lousy for a lot of people, and it just shows that you don't have to be perfect and you can still be a hero.

When you're a young man, a young boy, all you want to be is that action hero; you want to be the James Bond, and I got to do that for a bit, and that was great.

I get recognized now and again, but the paparazzi aren't following me around. I get to go to the shop and buy bread and milk, and no one worries me.

I've acted since I was 5 years old, so that's still something I want to do.

One of the crucial things to the story of 'Harry Potter's' success is just how well everyone got on. There were never any problems with anybody.

I was nervous. I was thinking, 'Gee, he's Ralph Fiennes. What an amazing actor, and I can have this scene with him.' But I enjoyed it, you know. That's what I got into acting to do - to push myself and see if I can do these things.

You don't get time to rehearse in film and TV at all.

With 'Verdict' I was away for six months, touring, with a week in each town. I did not really enjoy that aspect of it.

To be fair, when I started doing 'Verdict' I literally had no idea what I was doing. I wanted to do some theatre, as I wanted to do something different. I wanted to learn and get an understanding of the craft.

I am fortunate that I get sent scripts and get to meet people I would never have met had I not done 'Harry Potter.' But I feel I had to come out of that show and prove that I am not a one trick pony and can do other stuff.

As an actor, you always want to feel like what you're doing is making a difference to the story.

I was offered 'Strictly Come Dancing.' I turned it down because that celebrity world is not what I'm into.

A lot of people struggle in their younger years, and I think people can relate to that.

I think as an actor you're always learning, you're always trying to experience more things.

I'm very comfortable being at home and keeping my head down, really. It's nice being invited to night clubs and stuff, which is nice once in a while, but I prefer to kind of keep to myself.

I'm very self-conscious as an actor, with performances and things, and I don't like watching my own stuff.

I mean, I must confess I don't own Harry Potter DVDs. My parents do. They have them all. And they like watching them.