Ginny Weasley Is All Grown Up, But Still Weaving Magic

Constantly darting around the globe with filming and convention commitments, English favourite Bonnie Wright, aka Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter, has seen quite a bit of the muggle realm. But it’s in Australia that she has strong ties.

Of course most foreigners spiel affection for the country, but Wright’s experiences are more personal than most. “I have family in Sydney and in Perth, so I’m always usually there when I’m Australia. My mum’s side of my family live there, so I have a strong affinity with your country,” she begins.

It was last June that Wright visited those two cities for Supanova, and coincidentally was touring around with fellow Potter star Jason Isaacs, who portrayed Lucius Malfoy. “It’s nice to come back around and have that time together,” Wright tells. “It’s kind of a strange and unique experience that we had and I think the only other people that understand it are the people who were in it as well, so when you do get to see them again and chat about it it’s kind of a nice homecoming feeling.”

"At the minute, directing is something I’m feeling really passionate about and enthusiastic to pursue.”

On top of acting in various other productions, Wright has garnered a fair amount of experience and praise writing and directing as of late and has even started her own production company, BonBonLumiere. One of her most recent directorial credits is another book-to-film adaptation, Medusa's Ankles, featuring Isaacs. “In the past year, I’ve tried to focus mainly on my writing and directing, just to see what form it would take on, if it would do well and how it would develop and I just love every minute of it.

“Medusa's Ankles was one of those experiences where I couldn’t really believe it was happening when it was happening because it was just such a big thing. At the minute, directing is something I’m feeling really passionate about and enthusiastic to pursue.”

The enormous Potterverse often sees its stars interacting with adoring fans on convention runs, and it wasn’t until Wright had circled the globe that she truly understood the impact the series had. “When you travel around – especially to so many different countries – it’s amazing to see how it transcends language and generation and age.

“I always see parents of young kids always so enthusiastic that they, being fans of the movies, then led them to read the books; love reading and read more books. I think that’s something that J.K. Rowling really managed to achieve; falling back in love back with storytelling.”

Five years after the final film Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows: Part Two was released, the fandom is as strong as ever, evident by the response to follow-up play and novel Harry Potter And the Cursed Child, which will be released in July.

“I am very interested to see what it’s like on stage,” Wright says. “There hasn’t been much told about what’s in it, so I’m as intrigued and in the dark as any other fan, to be honest.”