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AUGUST 20, 2003 at 12:35 AM
Posted by SANO ORBIS
Source: scotsman.com via Wizard News
Rising star Shirley Henderson
gives an interview in The Scotsman about her many and varied film roles. The article discusses her role in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets specifically.
Yet, as I sit down beside the pony-tailed actress in the hotel's Queen’s Suite, I can't help seeing Moaning Myrtle, lisping and wisping her way around the confines of Hogwarts. And, while Shirley is far prettier in the flesh than she is in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, her girlish appearance makes it easy to see why she was cast as the schoolgirl ghost.
"I loved Harry Potter - but I thought it was crazy me getting a part in it," she says. "I didn't think I'd get it because she's a schoolgirl. It was great fun - when you're a ghost, you're flying through the air in a harness and it's quite physical. I'd never done any special-effects before."
Henderson was quite surprised to be playing the role of a schoolgirl, as she is 37 years old. She is currently picking up rave reviews for her part in the film Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself.
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Witch
Points: 750
siriusgurl says:
Thats cool I remember another movies she's in so I was kindda surprised when she was chosen for Myrtle but she was good at it.
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 1:35 AM EST
Prefect
Points: 393
HermioneLovesRon says:
LOL I think she was really good as Murtle...couldn't have been better. She made her really Moaning Murtle...But Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself? Nice movie title. LOL
And this just proves that Dan, Emma, and Rupert can play the kids for all the movies...she is 37, and playing a teenager. And look at the Power Rangers(who were all in their late 20s) and all the teen horror films(most of THEM were in their late 20s). The kids are growing, but they haven't got THAT old.
~Stephanie
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 4:45 AM EST
Chief Brain Washer
Points: 2881
Chogiiiirl says:
Wow! It's great to hear from Moaning Myrtle. She is one of my favorite characters. I wonder if she will be back in GoF movie, since she was helpful to Harry in the book?
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 6:21 AM EST
Transfiguration Professor
Points: 2990
Choralee says:
As Moaning Myrtle I could not have picked a better actress! I love Shirley's work and have seen all of her films. Iam glad to hear she is doing work on a new film! Does anyone know if she is in the cast for the next Bridget Jones?
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 7:02 AM EST
Student
Points: 231
Libby Potter says:
I thought Moaning Myrtle would also be a lot more like Snape w/greasy hair and such. But it was a delightful suprise to find out she was a lot like me or so I delude myself to think! :D
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 11:14 AM EST
Order of Merlin, 1st Class
Points: 1990
HarrysGran says:
She was a good Moaning Myrtle! But that she's 37 astonishes me. But, maybe a good sign to let the trio go on until book 7. I think it doesn't matter if they are acting at the age of 18 pretending to be 15...
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 11:23 AM EST
Order of Merlin, 2nd Class
Points: 1645
morgana witch says:
Wow! She's so old for the part of Moaning Myrtle. Myrtle was like in her teens when she died. But she still does it really well! This proves that Rupert, Dan, and Emma will be able to play their parts no matter how old they get!
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 11:26 AM EST
Points: 927
ChelCho says:
I thought it was so funny to see her in Bridget Jones's Diary after I'd seen Chamber. It seemed to me that she was typecast, "...spending all her time in the ladies' toilet, crying..."
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 11:54 AM EST
Head Girl
Points: 421
parvatiPatil89 says:
Yea that's pretty cool. I rememered that she was in Bridgette Jones's diary, so I knew she had to be old.
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 11:59 AM EST
Metamorphmagus
Points: 37949
tonks black says:
Ooo. id love to be a ghost.i wonder they need a new moaning myrtle. :)
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 12:42 PM EST
Witch
Points: 917
Slytherin_Punk says:
Yeah she was a really good Moaning Myrtle but i had no idea she was 37!!
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 12:56 PM EST
Student
Points: 233
magic_cat111587 says:
Wow! I didn"t even know that she was 37! To tell you the truth I thought she was 10 or something!
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 3:32 PM EST
Student
Points: 257
witch_hazel says:
I honestly thought she was a teenager! I'm guessing the bunches, freckles and big round glasses helped make her look a lot younger. Oh, and the voice. Do you think that's her real voice or did she have to put it on? morgana_witch I hope that's true but people age differently and I heard that Dan is shaving already...so they might not last all seven movies. They might stay looking young but they might not...only time will tell.
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 4:33 PM EST
Witch
Points: 979
Butterbeer says:
Dude, shes 37? OMG, i thought she was like 16! Ha! Thats so cool!
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 4:42 PM EST
Witch
Points: 658
ladywillow says:
I loved her portrayal on Moaning Myrtle! My favorite line from the CoS movie was "I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death ((sigh))". That's definitely her own voice too. I've seen her in a few other performances and she sounds the same - much more exaggerated as Myrtle, but definitely the same voice.
It makes sense for them to have cast a young looking adult for this role. Myrtle reappears in GoF -- hopefully in the film version as well. If the actress that played her in CoS was a young teen, she's have aged quite considerably by the time GoF is filmed, creating a noticible difference. While I think its quite normal and even desirable for the other actors on set to age along with their characters over the years, it would be a definite "no no" for a ghost to do so! (And I hope I look that good when I hit 37!)
Just my own two knuts here, but I don't believe any rubbish about the kids aging too fast for their parts, even if filming schedules put their true ages ahead of their HP counterparts. Warner Brothers certainly isn't going to do anything to fiddle with the casting gold they currently have. I think there is more of a danger of the kids getting tired of it and wanting to move on to other things. Let's hope Dan, Emma, Rupert and Tom can stay the full course!
Posted Aug 20, 2003 at 5:17 PM EST
Order of Merlin, 1st Class
Points: 1856
Rupert Baby says:
She is a pretty good myrtle i am satisfyied i think someone younger would have been abit better but i still think she did really good!
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 12:47 AM EST
Editor of the Squibbler
(Moderator)
Points: 2031
eudaemonia says:
Shirley Henderson's great, but I think of that of anyone who's been in Bridget Jones's Diary or Trainspotting. :)
ChelCho: It's funny because I saw Bridget before she was announced to have been cast and thought of that same scene. I wonder if the casting agents used that when deciding on her :) She was even using her squeaky voice and everything...
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 2:16 AM EST
Head Boy
Points: 423
ApplebyArrows says:
I never knew that she was 37! That's crazy, I thought she was like 19 or something!
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 4:25 PM EST
Student
Points: 257
witch_hazel says:
rupertbaby I don't agree with you. I think they cast the best person for the role. They could have picked someone younger but they picked her despite her age. Doesn't that show something?
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 6:15 PM EST
Witch
Points: 712
harryroxmysocks says:
I havent seen her in other films, but she's a great Moaning Myrtle!!
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 9:07 PM EST
Student
Points: 237
Ellia Black says:
I had no idea she was 37 and i had no idea she was in BJD i am so so so sooo oblivious as to the things around me .Now this was a nice little fact for me to learn today!!
And I love moaning Myrtel she is so hormoanal even thogh she is a ghost (hehehehe its great).
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 9:18 PM EST
Student
Points: 233
danfan89 says:
Cool! She must have had fun playing a ghost. If it's anything like suspension during rock climbing, it must've been amazing!
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 9:22 PM EST
Auror
Points: 2229
Ms.MikhailBlack says:
I didn't kknow she was that old!!!
I always thought she was like 14 too, i just don't see how. At first i thought it was the lady who does lisa on the simpsons
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 11:45 PM EST
Auror
Points: 2391
HPN4eveRon says:
WOW! She is a lot older than Myrtle. I would never guess she was that old. She looked so young with those Pig Tails and High Pitched voice. lol
Posted Aug 22, 2003 at 1:22 AM EST
Head Girl
Points: 463
Madam Hooch says:
I didn't realize she was 37! She looks really young in the movie though. It must've been fun to go flying around in the air!
Posted Aug 22, 2003 at 2:00 PM EST
Witch
Points: 676
Madame Rosmerta says:
They are worrying about the other actors aging too fast for GOF and Mertle was 37. Now I remember her in Bridget Jones Diary. What a difference!
Posted Aug 22, 2003 at 4:56 PM EST
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