<P> Lynch credits her being cast in the Harry Potter films to the obsession she had with the Harry Potter book series . At age 11, during the release of the fifth book Order of the Phoenix in June 2003, she was hospitalised and her family consulted with the book's publisher and the hospital . Lynch then was allowed to leave for an hour and collect a signed copy of the book . While some have stated that her prior correspondence with J.K. Rowling was a major contributing factor behind the casting decision, but this theory has been debunked by both Lynch and Rowling, confirming that Rowling was unaware of Lynch being cast in the role of Luna Lovegood until the producers mentioned Lynch's name . Lynch got the role by reading about the casting call on one of the many Harry Potter fan sites and going to the open audition . </P> <P> In January 2006, Lynch auditioned at a casting call in London for the role of Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth film in the series adapted from the books . After auditioning against 15,000 other girls, and a subsequent screen test with lead actor Daniel Radcliffe, she was cast at the age of 14 . Producers were impressed with her affinity for the character; David Heyman said: "The others could play Luna; Evanna Lynch is Luna ." Although uninvolved in the casting process, Rowling believed that Lynch was perfect for the role . She had never acted professionally before the Harry Potter series, her experience having been limited to school plays . Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was Lynch's debut screen performance in 2007 . The film was a box office hit, taking US $938 million worldwide, and garnered generally favourable reviews . Critics praised the performances of the supporting cast, often singling out Lynch for particular acclaim; A.O. Scott of The New York Times called her performance "spellbinding", and Jane Watkins of Country Life said she "(brought) an appealing sweetness to her character that's not so developed in the book". She reprised her role as Luna in the film's tie - in video game . </P> <P> Two years later, Lynch again starred as Luna in Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince, the sixth installment in the series . The film was critically and financially successful . Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe wrote that Lynch as Luna "combats the movie's occasional sluggishness with a hilarious sluggishness of her own", and Michael Dwyer of The Irish Times called her the best Irish actress of 2009 for her work on the film . Her performance earned her Scream Award and Young Artist Award nominations, and she reprised her role in the film's tie - in video game . </P> <P> Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--Part 1, the first of two films adapted from the seventh and final Harry Potter book, was released in 2010 . The film was a success at the box office and drew generally favourable reviews from critics . James Verniere of The Boston Herald commented that Luna "is still delightfully lunar," while Simon Miraudo of Quickflix criticised the film commenting that "the delightful Evanna Lynch is brutally underutilized as the loopy Luna Lovegood". She reprised her role in the film's tie - in video game . </P>

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