Evanna Lynch: ‘With another set of parents, in another time, I would have been dismissed as mad’

Evanna Lynch, known globally for her portrayal of Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter film series, is back in Cork, Ireland, preparing for a new theatrical role. Nine years after her acclaimed performance in "Disco Pigs," a seminal play associated with the city, Lynch is rehearsing for "Pool (No Water)" at the Everyman theatre.

The British play by Mark Ravenhill is set in the avant-garde art world and explores professional rivalries and the impact of fame. Lynch plays a character who questions her life and purpose when a peer achieves immense success. This theme resonates with Lynch's own experience of ascending to stardom after being discovered at age 14 in a global audition for "Harry Potter."

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There’s a bridge here where there’s a bunch of teenagers who are so confident. They talk so loud. They’re all smoking. Sometimes, a few years after a project, you’ll think, ‘That’s what that meant.’ I had that a little bit when I saw those teenagers.

Lynch's journey to fame was not without personal struggles. In 2003, at age 11, she was hospitalized for an eating disorder. She later wrote to "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling about her condition, finding solace in the books. "With another set of parents, in another time, I would have been dismissed as mad," Lynch reflected in an interview, hinting at the challenges she faced and the support she found through her passion for the wizarding world.

Her casting in "Pool (No Water)" is seen as inspired, given her own history with fame and the pressures associated with it. The play delves into the distortions that fame can create, a subject Lynch, who became an international star as a teenager, can deeply understand.

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With another set of parents, in another time, I would have been dismissed as mad.