14 DAY TRIAL // Neville Longbottom from the “Harry Potter” movies might not have been as cute as the titular character, but by the final installment in the franchise, he proved that he had just as much courage and a heart of gold.
The actor playing him, Matthew Lewis, grew up into a very handsome man, as it became clear on the last 2 films. Somehow, the Internet still can’t get over how much unlike Neville he looks today.
Matthew Lewis shows off ripped body, a la “Magic Mike”
The comparison might be a bit of a stretch, since there’s no dancing or actual stripping involved, but you get the idea: Matthew is now positively ripped. The actor had to get in top shape for a new movie that he’s working on right now, and he’s showing off the results of all that hard work in a stunning (and possibly not suitable for a working environment) spread in Attitude magazine.
The film is called “Me Before You” and also stars Emilia Clarke of “Game of Thrones” and the upcoming “Terminator: Genisys” and Sam Clafin of “The Hunger Games” franchise. Matthew plays a personal trainer.
He tells Attitude (quotes via the Daily Mail) that he went on a strict diet to understand the kind of commitment his character would have to display. It doesn’t sound like he’s having much fun with it.
“I spoke to the director and I said it’d be nice to get into the mindset of someone like Patrick, because he’s not drinking alcohol, he’s just eating salads all the time. So I sort of gave up alcohol - I say sort of, I have given up alcohol. It’s tough. I do the pub quiz every week, and I’m sitting there every Wednesday with a Diet Coke… I’m off sugar and I can’t really eat carbs. I really wanted to see if I could stick to such a strict regime, and to really understand what it’s like to have a goal like that and really 110% go for it,” he explains.
Even for a guy such as himself, who’s into sports and likes to keep active at all times, the change was drastic. Matthew estimates he’ll be downing a beer and enjoying a good pizza the day after shooting wraps, sometime this summer.
In the meantime, the Internet can admire and drool over his perfectly sculpted muscles.
Even J.K. Rowling is shocked
The tweets below are an adorable exchange between “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling and Matthew, with “Jo” admonishing him for not giving her a heads-up before the Attitude cover went to print.
She references Daniel Radcliffe’s complete transformation for the play “Equus,” which saw him buck naked both on stage and in all promotional material. When he agreed to do it, he knew what it would entail and he said he wanted to go ahead with it to shed the Harry Potter image.
He did just that, earning rave reviews for his performance in the process.
.@Mattdavelewis Not as bad as watching Dan in Equus, but close. Warn me next time, for God's sake. https://t.co/r8EUd1GKqT
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 21, 2015
Well, this is awkward. Sorry, Jo… 😔 https://t.co/ASSy3vo4d3
— Matthew Lewis (@Mattdavelewis) May 21, 2015