Why Harry Potter's Bonnie Wright Was Constantly Frustrated With The Franchise
Bonnie Wright is part of one of the biggest movie franchises of all time, having portrayed Ginny Weasley in the eight movies that were adapted from J.K. Rowling's best-selling "Harry Potter" book series. But Ginny didn't have as much opportunity to shine on screen, as the character was often sidelined in order to service the limited time in which the filmmakers had to tell these stories. Now, more than 20 years after first playing the part, Wright has expressed her frustration with that fact.
The actor recently appeared on an episode of Michael Rosenbaum's "Inside of You" podcast and discussed her time working on the "Harry Potter" films, which dates back to 2002's "Chamber of Secrets" when she was just nine years old. During the conversation, Wright explained that she felt a good deal of anxiety about bringing a beloved character to life, particularly given the limitations the medium of cinema presents:
"I definitely feel there was anxiety towards performing and doing the best thing as my character built, for instance. Like, 'Oh gosh, will I do justice to this character that people love?' So that was always hard to do, especially when, inevitably, a lot of the scenes of every character were chopped down from the book to the film. So you didn't really have as much to show in the film. Sometimes that was a little disappointing because there were parts of the character that just didn't get to come through because there weren't the scenes to do that. That made me feel a bit anxious or just frustrated, I guess."
Undoubtedly, at that young age, an actor isn't going to understand what they're truly getting into. Even so, as time went on, it's clear that Wright knew that Ginny wasn't going to be as developed in the films as she was in the books.
'It wasn't really my fault, exactly'
It's always difficult adapting books into movies, as there is such a limited amount of time to do what needs to be done. That said, Ginny Weasley is a very important character, as she ultimately ends up marrying Harry Potter (who was played by Daniel Radcliffe in the films). Even so, the way things panned out, Ginny wasn't often at the forefront of those adaptations.
Speaking further on the subject, Wright explained that "there was no room for much change in those scripts," meaning it was difficult for her to advocate to get Ginny in on the action more. Wright was worried, understandably so, about being perceived by the fans as portraying the character poorly:
"There were a million executives going through them all. I think what I maybe took, which I don't take so much to heart now, is I kind of felt that maybe my anxiety was about, 'Oh, I'm going to be seen as badly portraying this character,' rather than later realizing that I wasn't really given the opportunity to do that. So it wasn't really my fault, exactly."
Luckily, it sounds like fans don't lay any misgivings on her shoulders. "When fans do share that disappointment and they do it in a way that is like, 'We know it wasn't you. We just wanted more of you,'" Wright added. At least she doesn't have to take on the wrath of "Harry Potter" fans, even if the experience wasn't altogether perfect.
Despite what happened in the movies, another actor is going to get the chance to put their stamp on Ginny Weasley as the Max streaming service is currently developing a "Harry Potter" TV show that will span an entire decade, allowing it to more faithfully adapt the books. Perhaps whoever that actor ends up being will have a better opportunity to flesh out the character.