When Matthew Lewis started filming Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2000 at age 11, he quickly encountered life as a wizard, including flying on a broomstick. Speaking at an event celebrating new additions to the Harry Potter New York store, Lewis, now 34, recalled his first day on set, which involved flying.
“I was terrified because the scene was all about Neville, and it was literally just a broomstick that they sat me on and strapped me to,” Lewis told PEOPLE. “They stuck it on a crane, put the crane on the back of a pickup truck, and drove the truck around in circles at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland. Then, they used contraptions like a medieval trebuchet to rotate the broomstick like a corkscrew. Again, I was strapped to it, as was my poor stuntman [David Holmes].”
Fans remember Neville Longbottom’s chaotic first flying attempt in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001). Despite the chaotic filming methods, Lewis always felt safe. Over time, the Harry Potter films’ flying scenes became more technologically advanced.
“I think they were just making it up as they went along [early on],” Lewis said with a laugh. “Then, as the years went on, it all got very cool and much more sophisticated.”
Lewis recently returned to the broomstick at the Harry Potter New York store, which features new movie props and a greenscreen experience for customers to fly through London and Hogwarts. Though he avoided broomstick riding at other events, Lewis felt it was a “when in Rome” moment.
“It did take me back,” he said of the nostalgic experience. “But I’d much prefer sitting in these ones than the one they had me sitting in!”
Lewis starred in all eight Harry Potter films over a decade and continues to promote the franchise. Despite the magnitude of it all, he is still surprised by the enduring popularity of Harry Potter lore.
“I always thought that people would tire of it,” he admitted. “I thought people would get fatigued with it. We signed up for two movies, and I genuinely thought we’d do just those two. Not until I got the contract for Deathly Hallows did I think we’d go all the way.”
Meeting fans worldwide who cherish the books and movies is something Lewis never takes for granted. “It means so much to people. I feel very protective of it in that way.”
