Harry Potter movie actress Shirley Henderson has said she felt “ridiculous” auditioning for the role of Moaning Myrtle — a ghostly schoolgirl less than half the actresses’ actual age.
Henderson joined the cast of the Harry Potter movies for 2002’s Chamber of Secrets, when she was 37 years old. Now, speaking to The Independent, Henderson has recalled how she had auditioned for the role of the 14-year-old ghostly schoolgirl — and was encouraged by the film’s casting director to just not mention how old she really was.
“The casting director said, ‘Go for it — and don’t mention your age,'” Henderson said.
“When I was first asked for an audition, I didn’t know who Harry Potter was,” she continued. “But my sister, who was staying with me, had read the books. Still, I wasn’t convinced I could play a 14-year-old girl because I was in my 30s at the time.”
In the Harry Potter series, Myrtle is the unhappy ghost of a former Hogwarts students who is usually found haunting the school’s bathrooms. In Chamber of Secrets, she gives clues to the secret Slytherin lair’s hidden entrance. The character then returns in the fourth Harry Potter story, Goblet of Fire, where she observes Harry and other characters as they bathe.
“I went to the audition dressed as a schoolgirl — white shirt, black skirt, ponytail — thinking, ‘This is ridiculous,'” Henderson said. “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.”
While Moaning Myrtle is meant to be a former student, it’s also established that she died some time ago — back in 1943 — making her far older than her appearance. This, Henderson said, also helped with her casting — as well as the fact her ghostly special effects help hide some of her face.
“Myrtle is an old person in a young person’s body and because she’s ghosty, there’s a kind of mistiness,” the actress acknowledged. “You’re not looking closely at my face, so we could get away with it.”
Who will play Moaning Myrtle in HBO’s Harry Potter TV reboot? The production is currently still filming the series’ first book, so we may not find out for some time. This week, Henderson’s fellow Harry Potter star Rupert Grint said he would likely never leave the “shadow” of Ron Weasley behind.
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Image credit: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
