Matthew Lewis

Matthew David "Matt" Lewis is a British actor who portrays Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films. He was born 27 June, 1989, in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, the son of Adrian and Lynda Lewis. He has two older brothers named Chris and Anthony - whom he began acting at the age of 5 to follow in the footsteps of. He attended St Mary's RC High School in Menston, Leeds and supports the local football team. He enjoys playing video games, including Counter Strike and Battlefield 1942, as well as playing tennis and badmindton. He had intentions to join the Royal Airforce.

Career
Before being cast as Neville Longbottom, Lewis appeared in many television shows, including Heartbeat, Dalziel and Pascoe, and This is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper. His favourite football team is Leeds United. He attended St Mary's High School in Menston, West Yorkshire. Lewis has been acting since he was five years old. He started off with minor parts in television programmes like his debut 'Some Kind of Life' and then went on to try out for the part of Neville Longbottom. He has portrayed Neville Longbottom in all eight of the Harry Potter films. For his role as Neville, Lewis wore yellow and crooked false teeth (though only in Prisoner of Azkaban), a fat suit, two-sizes-too-big shoes and had plastic bits placed behind his ears in order to make them stick out more. He was also under contract not to fix his naturally crooked teeth until filming was completed. This was done to give the character a more awkward and "geeky" appearance. Lewis has spoken out against this treatment in interviews, claiming that while it no longer bothers him, having to take on a purposefully unattractive appearance on a film set full of attractive girls his age whilst going through puberty was "rubbish".

During the filming of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Helena Bonham Carter, who portrays Bellatrix Lestrange, accidentally ruptured Lewis's eardrum when she stuck her wand in his ear. Lewis is also known to be a fan of the books and has read them and modeled his acting on Neville. This is highly admired in the Potter fandom and has earned him praise. Matthew also likes to play a bit of cricket.

Filmography

 * The Night of the Loving Dead (2012)... Nigel - (Short-Film,Voice Character)
 * Wasteland (2012)... Dodd - (Post-Production)
 * The Syndicate (2012)... Jamie Bradley - (TV Series,Series 1)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)... Neville Longbottom
 * Agatha Christie's Verdict (2011)...Lester Cole - (Stage Production)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)... Neville Longbottom
 * Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (2010)...Neville Longbottom
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)... Neville Longbottom
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)... Neville Longbottom
 * The Queen's Handbag (Harry Potter short film) (2006)... Neville Longbottom
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)... Neville Longbottom
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)... Neville Longbottom
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)... Neville Longbottom
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)... Neville Longbottom
 * Heartbeat (1999)
 * Where the Heart is (1997)
 * Dalziel and Pascoe (1996)
 * Some kind of life (1995)

Trivia
Matthew Lewis' favourite quote from Neville Longbottom is: "Why is it always me?"

Matthew Lewis' favourite prop from the Harry Potter series is the Sword of Godric Gryffindor.