Miriam Margolyes finds Harry Potter fame ‘odd’

Miriam Margolyes, 81-year-old actress portrayed herbology professor Pomona Sprout in the wizarding franchise and despite having worked for decades before landing the part, it gave her far more fame than she ever thought possible.

The Harry Potter franchise has become a cultural phenomenon and has garnered a massive and devoted fan base. It is not uncommon for actors who are a part of such successful projects to feel a sense of surprise or even disbelief at the level of fame that they achieve as a result. Margolyes has had a long and distinguished career in film, television, and theater, and it is possible that the level of attention she has received for her role in Harry Potter may feel unusual to her compared to the other roles she has played.

She said: “It’s an odd feeling to know that, whatever else I do, I will go to my grave best known for playing Professor Pomona Sprout in two of the ‘Harry Potter’ movies.

“It made a great difference to my career, making me more famous than I ever thought possible.

“Fans follow me in the street, people ask to have their photographs taken – selfies as they call them – standing next to Professor Sprout.”

Despite its significance on her career, Miriam insisted playing Professor Sprout “wasn’t all that important” to her “development”.

She said: “In terms of my development as an artist, playing Professor Sprout wasn’t all that important because she was well within my capabilities as an actress.

“But in terms of marketability, it made an enormous difference.

Meanwhile, the ‘Age of Innocence’ actress admitted her biggest concern for her career now she’s getting older is if her memory starts to falter, making it harder to learn lines.: “My main fear about growing old as an actor is not losing the looks – I never had any to speak of, and what I had I’ve still got – but losing the memory is another matter.”