Shirley Henderson practically had to use witchcraft to get her famous role in Harry Potter.
The Scottish actress, who is known for playing "Moaning Myrtle" in the hit Harry Potter films, recently explained how she pulled off the ghostly role despite being 23 years older than the character was supposed to be.
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In a new interview with The Independent, Henderson opened up about how she landed the job on Harry Potterand the Chamber of Secrets, and what it was like auditioning to play a 14-year-old girl while in her late 30s.
In the films—adapted from J.K. Rowling's books—Moaning Myrtle is a former Hogwarts student who was killed while crying in the girls' bathroom, leaving her weeping ghost to haunt the bathroom for eternity.
But despite Myrtle having died at the age of 14, Henderson was 37 when she went out for the role, which is why one of the casting directors told her not to bring up her real age.
"The casting director said, 'Go for it—and don’t mention your age,'" she recalled to the publication, noting that she "wasn't convinced" at the time that she'd be able to pull it off.
Actor, Shirley Henderson on the set of the film 'Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire', London, England, 2004Murray Close/ Getty Images
"I went to the audition dressed as a schoolgirl—white shirt, black skirt, ponytail—thinking, 'This is ridiculous,'" the actress, now 60, recounted. "I did my wee bit for them and they thanked me. Months went by and I thought that was it, but then they phoned my agent, asked to see me again, and offered me the part."
In addition to keeping her real age on the down low, Henderson also credited her getting the role to the fact that Myrtle is a ghost. Her character would have died decades before Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his Hogwarts pals cross paths with her in the 2002 movie.
"Myrtle is an old person in a young person's body and because she’s ghosty, there's a kind of mistiness," she explained. "You're not looking closely at my face, so we could get away with it."
In fact, Henderson said she was even able to maintain her privacy and avoid the intense level fame that many of her Harry Potter co-stars were thrust into.
"I don’t think anybody recognized me at all," she said.
In addition to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second film in the series, Henderson also appeared in the fourth film in 2005, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
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