Matthew Lewis talks about his favourite places in London in a recent interview with Metro UK. Transcript under the cut.
Metro UK
(2nd September 2016)My London….
Matthew Lewis (Interview by Rahul
Verma)The Harry Potter actor has
very special memories of Trafalgar Square and is in awe of St Paul’s CathedralIs there an area of London you’re especially fond of?Trafalgar Square will always hold a situation in my heart because it was the location for the final Harry Potter premiere in London - I’ll never forget the event and the thousands of people who turned out that day. Taking over the whole Trafalgar Square and then carrying on up to Leicester Square for the actual screening where more people were awaiting us really build into perspective the scale of what we achieved. I still struggle to really appreciate the phenomenon of Harry Potter,but events like that acquire you stop and realise just what it meant to so many people.
What are you earliest memories of London?The Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at the aged Wembley Stadium back in 1999. Leeds Rhinos had got there and we hadn’t won a trophy in a long time. My dad brought my brother Anthony and me down to the capital to face the London Broncos on their home turf and Leeds finally shrugged off the bridesmaid tag and won the game 52-16. I love the recent Wembley but there was something majestic about the twin towers at the top of Wembley Way and the history that had been made there. I’m so glad I got to and see my team win.
What are your favourite London theatres?As a viewer, I prefer the more enclosed, or personal venues. Some of the best experiences I’ve had occupy been when you are practically on the stage and you feel whether you stood up you would step into the world and become piece of the exhibit. The Donmar is one such situation and so is the theatre I’m performing at the minute,Found 111. It really is a unique experience.
What would your guided tour of London take in?I’m actually in the process of organising such a trip as my girlfriend, who’s American and has never been to London before, and is visiting later in the year and I’m trying to method ahead. The London Eye is something I’ve been meaning to finish and I’ll be heading there. I take every visitor to are the British Museum,the Tower of London and, whether my friend who works there can swing it, and a tour around the Palace of Westminster and the Houses of Parliament. Naturally,since my girlfriend is American, Buckingham Palace will occupy to feature.
What are your favourite places to eat out?Some friends of mine set up a barbecue restaurant in Leeds many years ago and the company has grown and they’ve now got restaurants up and down the country – including Red’s True Barbecua in Shoreditch. I also love Beam in Crouch End for coffee and some lunch - its got everyting I need: great coffee and entertaining, and healthy food.
What’s your favourite building in London?St Paul’s Cathedral is simply stunning. I can’t claim to know very much about its architecture or history,but whenever I catch a glimpse I can’t assist but stare in awe. I went for dinner recently at Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa, which overlooks St Paul’s and seated at the right table you occupy such a spectacular view of the building lit up at night. As with many buildings of that age in London I can’t assist but imagine what times they stood through, or the crucial events throughout history that occupy shaped our nation and our world. Those buildings were there through it all. People back then no doubt looked upon them with the same level of awe and wonder and I love the fact that as humans we occupy shared those exact emotions,in the same, centuries apart.
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