Evanna Lynch names Luna scenes she wishes were in the Harry Potter films

Book-to-film adaptations are usually forced to cut some of the source material to fit their limited run times, and the Harry Potter movies were no exception. Fans will recall subplots and characters moments dropped for the movies, and it wasn’t just them: the actors noticed too.

Luna Lovegood actress Evanna Lynch — a longtime fan of the Wizarding World herself — recently revealed that a few of her own favorite moments from the novels didn’t make it into the films. Speaking with Insider, she dug into some of the scenes she’d have liked to see, especially those pertaining to her character.

In particular, the actress talked about Luna’s interactions with Harry and Ron, several of which never made their way to the screen. While these moments weren’t critical to the main plot, they did help characterize this eccentric character. Specifically, Lynch pointed to a conversation between Luna and Harry where Luna very bluntly tells the Chosen One that he’s expected to be seen with a cooler crowd than herself and Neville Longbottom:

"Luna says something like, ‘Oh, people don’t expect you to be friends with us, they expect you to have cooler friends.’ And Harry’s like, ‘You are cool,’ and she’s like ‘Oh, thank you, that’s really nice.’"

Part of the reason Lynch wanted to play this moment is because it demonstrates Luna’s awareness of who she is and what other people think about her, and highlights how unaffected she seems to be by the whole thing. “I think that was an important moment … she is someone who’s so at peace with herself and accepts herself no matter what, but she really cares about her friends,” Lynch explained. “She’s got a really tender heart.”

Meanwhile, in the books Ron constantly pokes fun at Luna, another aspect of the novels the Harry Potter films don’t spend as much time on. Lynch found their friendship “quite intriguing,” and was disappointed the movies didn’t get to explore it further.

Evanna Lynch fought for Dumbledore’s funeral

Another huge moment from J.K. Rowling’s books that was altered for the films was Dumbledore’s funeral. After the Hogwarts headmaster dies in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the school holds a huge burial for him, one befitting a character of such renown.

Unfortunately, the movies simply didn’t have the budget for such a gathering, so they had the core characters get together and raise their wands in honor of Dumbledore.

Lynch, who wanted to see the grandiose funeral with everyone from Merpeople to centaurs in attendance, actually offered to take a pay cut to make the scene happen. Unfortunately, even that wouldn’t cover the headmaster’s big farewell:

"I even went to David Heyman’s office, as a fan … I was like we really need, Dumbledore really needs to have a funeral. In the books he has mermaids, he has centaurs, everyone — the whole Wizarding community — unites and gives him a sendoff. And David Heyman was like, ‘It’s just too expensive.”"

Fortunately, not every big moment from the film adaptations felt as underwhelming to Lynch as this one. For example, Bill and Fleur’s wedding in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 stood out as one of her favorite events to film, if only because she got to see Luna interact with someone just as “weird” as her when Xenophilius Lovegood was introduced.

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