It’s been 12 years since Harry Potter first appeared on our screens, but the star looks completely different to her magical days.
Daniel Radcliffe, who recently admitted to reading fan fiction about himself, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint rose to fame as the mischievous main gang of Hogwarts.
As the years went by, other characters cemented their status as Harry Potter royalty, such as Neville Longbottom, who stole an epic moment in the last film (if you know, you know), and Ginny Weasley – although she didn’t have a huge number to play with – being a pretty badass member of Dumbledore’s Army in the fifth film.
One character, a fan favorite, brings serious comic relief to the action-packed narrative with her brooding demeanor and soft-spoken voice—and she looks completely different.
If you haven’t already guessed, it’s really Evanna Lynch, who plays the dazed but amazingly wise Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood.
The Irish actress, now 32, is set to contrast with her old character Luna, who was recognizable by her signature long blonde hair. Since then, the actress has changed her image to short dark hair – and she looks incredible.
One of Luna’s defining moments, often dismissed for her frivolous and magical nature, comes in the final film during the final magical battle as Harry races to find an object that can help destroy the antagonist Voldemort.
We see the main character pushing past students who are rushing around chaotically, waiting for Voldemort to appear at Hogwarts.
Luna follows Harry, knowing that he is looking in the wrong place for her Rowena Ravenclaw’s lost tiara, which contains the key to destroying Voldemort.
‘Harry!’ she calls out to him, but the wizard hero brushes her off, believing that she is distracting him from his mission.
“Harry Potter, listen to me!” she roars. Luna explains why he’s going the wrong way and says – obviously he is – he needs to ask the ghost where he is.
So, in true Potter form, the always underrated character saves the day. Hooray.
In addition to her Hogwarts adventures, Evanna has appeared in films, television shows, and theater productions since the franchise ended in 2011.
She also wrote a memoir detailing her struggles with anorexia and hunger.
In 2020, Evanna revealed the reality of life after Potter didn’t live up to her “exaggerated” expectations of what it would be like.
“Sometimes I meet (fans) at conventions and plays, and then I meet them and they ask, ‘Why don’t you do blockbusters?’ and I say, ‘Yes, why?’ I did not do? I don’t know, I just didn’t feel like it, that’s all,” she said.
“They have no idea how cutthroat this industry is.”
In August it was revealed that the star, who became a much-loved character despite only appearing in four of the eight films, was having a secret affair with a fellow Harry Potter actor.
It turns out that she dated her co-star Robbie Jarvis, who played James Potter, for many years, and she miraculously managed to hide their relationship from public attention.
They met on the set of the fifth film, where Evanna got the role the year before, when she was just 14 years old, and beat out 15,000 other girls. Robbie was 20 when he starred in the franchise.
They split in 2016, with Evanna revealing they are “still friends.”
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