Evanna Lynch of Harry Potter fame has made it to the semi-finals in the US version of Dancing with the Stars. Joining Ryan Tubridy from Los Angeles, the actress spoke of being an introvert, dancing on television and her struggle with anorexia.
Dancing with the Stars
The twenty-seven-year-old told Ryan that people behind the scenes advised Evanna to come out of her shell in order to succeed in the competition but she insisted that 'introverts have their own strengths too'.
"I didn't have to change anything, I'm still here, I'm still in the semi-finals. There's something that resonates with some people of me being my normal, grounded, somewhat more quiet self."
Although she has embraced her quieter characteristics, the Louth woman says that being introverted doesn't equate to being a walk over. With the help of her pro-dance partner Keo, the actress pulled on some feline inspiration to impress the judges.
"There had been a point where I wasn't getting the best scores, we felt that we were being kind of under-scored, and then I just reached a point where I snapped and I felt really tired of trying to please everyone and trying to be really perfect and so Keo said 'let's bring out the cat in you'.
She continued: "What I admire about cats is that they don't look for permission or approval from people to be fabulous. They just go on and be it. So that's what we did and that was our real breakthrough week."
Recovery
Having spoken before of living with anorexia, Ryan asked her for some life lessons following an email the show received last week from a mother whose daughter has been making herself sick and self-harming.
In response to this, Evanna says that although it is possible to recover from an eating disorder, managing your mental health is a lifelong journey.
"That is a constant battle. People want to say, 'you've recovered' and that's it and they want to put a bow on it and be done but I would say that, really, it's a life-long battle.
"I think the reason it's so intense when you're a teenager is that you're not used to those feelings and you're not used to managing them."
The Louth woman says that by working on her own mental health, she has learned how to focus on the positives in her life rather than the negative.
"The most important thing, to me, is to know that it's a choice. Yes, you can absolutely believe those negative voices and just give in and say, 'I'm a failure and every doubt I have about myself is true' - but there's nowhere to go from there. You can also very deliberately say, 'I'm going to choose the positive way'."
Evanna's dad, Donal, joined Ryan on the line from Limerick to explain how he's contacting as many people as he can in the US to get people to vote for his daughter. Listen back to the interview in full below.
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