The Harry Potter movies are one of the most popular movie franchises of all time, and are regularly re-watched by those with a HBO Max subscription. The main members of the Harry Potter cast grew up before our eyes, but there were some who were adults while filming. I just found out that the actress who played Moaning Myrtle was in her 30s when filming her role in the Wizarding World, and she shared the story behind her memorable audition.
Myrtle is a memorable Harry Potter side character that debut in the first sequel, The Camber of Secrets. While the ghost was supposed to be eternally 14 years old, actress Shirley Henderson was actually in her 30s. In an interview with Radio Times she spoke about trying to land that gag, saying:
When I was first asked for an audition, I didn’t know who Harry Potter was. 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. But I spoke to the casting director Karen Lindsay-Stewart and she said, ‘I haven’t told them your age’.
At this point it’s hard to imagine anyone not knowing Harry Potter. After all, the Wizarding World has spanned movies, theme parks, video games, and even a stage play. But Henderson wasn’t in the loop when auditioning for Moaning Myrtle, and her real age was purposefully left out of the process.
Regardless, she would still look older than the young stars who were leading the Harry Potter cast. As such, she went in to audition for The Chamber of Secrets and dressed the part to help age her down. As she told it:
So I went to the audition dressed as a schoolgirl — white shirt, black skirt, ponytail — thinking, ‘This is ridiculous’. 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 celebs like Zendaya use method dressing when promoting their new projects, sometimes dressing for the role you want is important in the audition process. For Henderson this helped to show that she could still look young enough to play Myrtle in her 30s. Of course, fans will recall how much she ultimately nailed that role. The actress went on to share why she still succeeded, saying:
Myrtle is an old person in a young person’s body and because she’s ghosty, there’s a kind of mistiness. You’re not looking closely at my face so we could get away with it.
It should be interesting to see who plays Moaning Myrtle in the forthcoming Harry Potter TV show. The book to screen adaptation is expected to be more accurate to the books, so the ghostly character could end up with more screen time than the films. But whoever takes the role will have some big shoes to fill.
The Harry Potter movies are streaming on HBO Max and the show is expected to premiere sometime in 2027. Since it’s seemingly not going to be part of the 2026 TV schedule, fans are going to have to practice some patience.