Noma Dumezweni, who plays Hermione Granger in the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, talked to BBC News about how the character has affected her life.
Noma was elected one of the BBC’s 2018 100 Women, which nominates and shares stories of influential and inspiring women. As 2018 was a memorable year in terms of women’s rights, the list reflected the work from women who used their “passion, indignation and anger” to provoke changes in the world.
“Hermione’s anger is a beautiful thing […] Like most women of my age, I was brought up not to be angry […] Until recently I didn’t understand what form, energy and shape my anger could take”, she wrote. As time went by, the actress says she started to understand herself better, allowing herself to feel angry. “I feel I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m finally trusting myself to know what my needs and wants are, and if those aren’t met, I trust the anger I feel. It’s honest”, she said.
She said she didn’t get involved with the prejudice that appeared when she was chosen to play Hermione. “And there seemed to be an expectation that I’d be angry about the backlash. But because my sense of self wasn’t in jeopardy, and the fact I was supported by those working with me, I could save my anger to use as a powerful and positive force”, she finalized.
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Translated into English by Nuara Costa
Edited by Aline Michel
