Harry Potter actress Evanna Lynch plans escape from being Luna Lovegood

'Sometimes life gives you an easy route that dulls your appetite for chasing your dreams'

(Warner Bros/Evanna Lynch)

Actress Evanna Lynch has explained how she feels “stuck” as her 18-year-old self, after spending seven years on the Harry Potter convention circuit.

In a heartfelt Instagram post she said the Harry Potter films had definitely been a blessing and provided her with security, but “I believe I need insecurity to light a fire under my scared little artist's ass.

“Artistically… I actually have a lot more to say,” she wrote, announcing that her next two Harry Potter commitments will be her last for the moment while she tries to reinvigorate her career.

Harry Potter’s lead child actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and particularly Emma Watson have gone on to great things, but many of the supporting cast members have struggled to escape their famous roles in the franchise.

Evanna Lynch’s post in full:

‘My @officialandel who is an actual fountain of joy, fun and wisdom and snarky comebacks. Thank you for keeping me spangly and reminding me why I'm here and inspiring some new intentions... I'm going to take a break from conventions after the other two I've committed to this year because I need to push myself as an artist more. Sometimes life gives you an easy route that dulls your appetite for chasing your dreams and you become inhibited by fear of what lays beyond comfort and safety. That for me has been living off the world I inhabited a decade ago. It's a blessing to have a safety net and while it's possible to maintain safety and chaos together I believe I need insecurity to light a fire under my scared little artist's ass. I'm different now and need to honour that and challenge myself to create something else, something from the person I am today. I feel like I'm stuck in my 18 year old self artistically when I actually have a lot more to say. I'm writing it down for myself to acknowledge and to remind myself to not be held back by fear of discovering my inabilities and inadequacies as an actor and human. What is there to lose anymore by being relentlessly optimistic about the future? I have run out of excuses and want to follow my heart wholeheartedly rather than my fear…’