Bonnie Wright Talks Diversity and Returning to Ginny Potter!
For the first time in a long time, fans of Bonnie Wright, who portrayed the youngest Weasley, Ginny, are getting a chance to hear from the actress herself about her life post-Potter.
Speaking with the Telegraph, Wright describes the extent of how her part in the biggest movie franchise in current memory has helped shape whom she has become today.
I’m so respectful and understand those 10 years on Harry Potter were the foundation of my life. It was seminal to my growing up.
Director and head of her own film company, BonBonLumiere, Wright spends her time making independent films and tackling a role as an ambassador for FilmAid, a charity using the power of storytelling through film to raise funds and awareness to aid refugees.
Her awareness of the need within the film industry to be more inclusive is inspiring. She is one among many who do not shy away from expressing the frustration and disappointment at an industry that has afforded her so many opportunities while at the same time shutting away those same opportunities for people of color or women in film.
I have yet to come up to any sort of discrimination or lack of opportunity, because my work at this moment hasn’t really set foot in a very commercial world. But the minute you leave the independent arena, most of these crazy statistics start to crop up – if you were to direct a studio film that’s when the terrifyingly small of amount of female directors and diversity is a huge issue. For me – not yet.
Knowing that this is a real issue and that she will eventually come across it, Wright has prepared herself but remains hopeful for the future of diversity in film, saying,
I want to make sure we get to the point where your gender doesn’t have to come before your job title. It shouldn’t be a ‘female director’ – it should just be a ‘director’. It should transcend gender, race, time and language – all those things. My stories are coming from a female perspective, but from the beginning of time men have also told stories with female leads.
When Wright left the sets of Potter, she did so, ready to pursue her directing dreams.
I feel like the minute I really got into my directing work, it became a personal journey. It’s something I do for myself. Of course I want it to become a career – and bigger than that. But for a long time, since I graduated, it’s been very personal. So when things happen, I have my directing stuff that I’m doing for me and not for someone else’s opinion.
Along those lines, she makes choices with her films that represent her hopes for the future of film. She was thrilled at the diversity of Cursed Child, saying,
There’s always room for it to be more diversely cast. I think it was important and great they did so in the play.
Wright’s current project is a bit more than directing a film. She is helping refugee girls in Kenya to tell their stories through the magic of film.
As for Ginny Potter, hearts of fans all over the world can once more take flight like a Seeker on the Quidditch pitch. She hasn’t said yes, but she certainly hasn’t said no to returning to the role, saying,
With all things, never say never.
As Jo says, Bonnie – Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home. And so will the fans of the Potter series!
To follow Bonnie on her journey, check out her film company’s website here.
