“Genre-less”: Seeing the Big Picture with Evanna Lynch
In a recent interview, The Italian Rêve captured two qualities that make former Harry Potter actress Evanna Lynch so extraordinary: her mindfulness and utter authenticity. These characteristics shouted their existence from the very first question, an inquiry regarding her earliest memory at the movie theater. Mulan was the decisive answer.
It was an example of a young woman stepping back from the noise and seeing the big picture, defying her authorities and choosing to honour her own instincts instead.
The memory could be called prophetic: Evanna Lynch follows her instincts with a determination nothing short of admirable.
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One thing Evanna Lynch is known for is doing a lot of things. She is an author and animal rights advocate. She hosts several podcasts, including Just Beings with Dr. Melanie Joy, and is a vegan activist. In short, she wears many hats, a concept she refers to as being “genre-less.”
Sometimes I think back to when I got the part in ‘Harry Potter’ and people immediately started identifying me as an ‘actress’. […] I was so flattered by that impressive[-]sounding label that I accepted it as my identity, but labels usually become cages after some time. So lately, I’m trying to just get back to that curious, creative child who liked exploring stories.
Her love of stories resurfaced as the conversation turned to her causes. While the small screen has helped inform people about animal exploitation in food, fashion, and entertainment, she hopes to see these issues in more fictional forms.
I feel the answer to breaking down these issues in a way that can affect people is to shrink it down to an individual’s story and to share their private pain and joy.
She uses as an example the film Okja, the story of a girl’s quest to save her pig.
There were no labels, no politics, no campaigns attached to it; it just told a heartbreaking story and gave people the space to feel what they felt about it.
For her part, Lynch cofounded a cruelty-free beauty brand with Daniella Monet and Andrew Bernstein called Kinder Beauty. Animal testing is still an extremely common practice in the industry, often hidden from consumers through misleading language and empty claims of taking a stand against animal cruelty. Kinder Beauty, and its monthly subscription plan, was created with the intent to help consumers make kinder, more informed choices.
We believe that beauty products should not have ugly origins and methods of production, and there is something sinister about pristine beauty advertisements that hide a very tragic and painful reality for vulnerable animals, and so we wanted to present an alternative, easily accessible option for compassionate beauty devotees.
When the interview turned to mental health, Lynch expressed the challenges of being open about her own struggles, citing her acting career as an obstacle to real connection. As Luna Lovegood became more beloved, Lynch felt the need to speak of her own experiences to recognize the incongruity between her character and herself. This openness did not always have the desired results, and she found that the media often fictionalized her story. Her resulting frustration gave birth to her memoir, The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting.
It wasn’t a story I was burning to write, but one I had to write. And finally writing it and being done with that particular story, that part of my life, was the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. Whatever anyone else wants to write about my journey after that book is fine because the original tale is told, in my words.
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It was, she went on to say, an act of rebellion, and one that has certainly rebuked those wishing to romanticize her journey to recovery. It’s another example of her unflagging commitment to authenticity, as well as a testament to her mindfulness and growth. When asked what advice she would give her younger self, Lynch had a ready answer.
I would have liked to tell her to trust her instincts; she had good instincts.
We couldn’t agree more.