Harry Potter: Neville Longbottom actor stuffed cheeks with ‘vile’ sponges after losing weight between films

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Actor Matthew Lewis has described how he was forced to alter his appearance after losing weight between two Harry Potter films. Lewis played the role of Harry’s put-upon schoolmate Neville Longbottom in the hit fantasy franchise. “It was a slightly longer break than normal because they had shifted from a winter to a summer blockbuster,” he said, “and when I came back I was much taller than everyone else and, I guess, thinner than I had been.” While the series recast some roles over the course of its eight-film run, Lewis said he was assured by producers that he would be kept on, but “they had to do something”. Then I had the shoes that were two sizes too big, the plastic behind the ears to make them stick forward, the false teeth…” Lewis joked that he would “probably love that stuff” now as a means of “getting into character”.