Noma Dumezweni, who was cast as adult Hermione Granger in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Cursed Child plays, opened up about her absolute adoration toward the Muggle-born character who was previously portrayed by Emma Watson in the eight-part film series.
Dumezweni admitted on being an avid Harry Potter book reader and lover as they were released nearly ten years ago, and her pleasure and excitement to take on the role in the saga, beginning this June at the Palace Theatre in London.
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“The point is that I, Noma Dumezweni, am busting with pleasure that I’m going to be playing her.”
“Her” is Hermione Granger, bucktoothed and muggle-born. “I loved her when I read the books – and I’m an old reader, not one of the 13-year-olds who’s grown into their twenties. I didn’t grow up with these three from childhood, but I remember meeting them and going: ‘These guys are great.’ She’s great. She’s great, she’s great, she’s great.”
“She’s Hermione, isn’t she? She rocks. She’s the one who grounds them. She’s the one who says: ‘You can do better. You’ve got to own up to yourself.’ I’ve got to be careful how I say this, but we all aspire to be Hermione. She’s struggled, but she holds it all together.”
On fans' reaction on her casting:
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“I didn’t realise the emotional effect,” Dumezweni says. “Not on me, but on other people. That’s why I talk about it as a privilege and a responsibility.”
She’s talking both as an actor aware of setting a precedent, and as a Potterphile. “The reason those books are so powerful is because you find your own archetype within them. I’ve spoken too much already,” she says.
Will it be a good thing for theatre? “Oh my god, yes.”
Pre-order the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child hardcover text on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and WBShop now.