Harry Potter: Who Plays Luna Lovegood?
"Harry Potter" is a series full of mystery, whimsy, and magic. All of it heightened with the addition of Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch), who joins Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." The franchise's fifth installment introduces Luna as an upbeat character who enjoys exploring the fantastical world around her, and her entrance marks a big moment for the actress portraying her.
Evanna Lynch made her on-screen debut in the fifth "Harry Potter" film, and she would continue to play the role for the rest of the series. She revisited a version of Luna in the 2013 TV musical "A Very Potter Senior Year" and voices an animated iteration in the 2015 video game "Lego Dimensions." Lynch has several credits outside of "Harry Potter," including voicing Gentry on "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and playing Paisley Robertson on the crime drama "Silent Witness." She's also shared her talents with theatergoers by portraying Runt in the play "Disco Pigs." And her empire goes way beyond acting.
Lynch has added activist and podcaster to her many job titles, spotlighting the vegan lifestyle on her podcast "The Chickpeeps," which began in November 2017. She then became an author in 2021, releasing the biography "The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting: The Tragedy and the Glory of Growing Up." But the Wizarding World still holds a special place in her heart.
Lynch's Wizarding World contributions go beyond acting
Evanna Lynch was a big "Harry Potter" fan before stepping onto the set, with Luna Lovegood making a big impression on the actress. She told Audible UK, "I loved how she made me feel because she's totally nonjudgemental, you know? ... I think it comes from her self-acceptance. She fully accepts who she is, and that extends beyond her so that she can accept every person, every animal, every situation as it is." Luna's acceptance and reassuring nature are depicted during her introduction in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" when she meets Harry, hoping he will calm down after telling him that the Thestrals he sees are real.
Lynch told Playbill that she started reading the "Harry Potter" books when she was 8 years old, noting that Luna was written into the series by the time she was 11. "I felt very protective of her. I felt like I understood her energy and her spirit. And I was like, 'I just don't want some actress coming in and doing her job,'" she said, noting that she nabbed the part of Luna after responding to an open casting call when she was 14 years old.
Lynch has since shared her love for the written word with Wizarding World fans by offering a creative writing lesson during Harry Potter Book Day 2023. She has also connected her vegan lifestyle to "Harry Potter" by writing the introduction for "The Unofficial Harry Potter Vegan Cookbook: Extraordinary Plant-Based Meals Inspired by the Realm of Wizards and Witches," written by Imana Grashuis and Tylor Starr.