Bonnie Wright Says the Magnitude of “Harry Potter” 'Never Got Normal': 'Still a Pinch-Me Moment' (Exclusive)
The Ginny Weasley actress tells PEOPLE there is an "absolutely incredible level of fandom" in the 'Harry Potter' franchise
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Bonnie Wright in June 2024It's been more than 20 years since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was filmed, but Bonnie Wright is still living in a dream.
The actress, 33, who played Ginny Weasley in all eight movies, is grateful for her role in the franchise, and she still can't get over the magnitude of it all.
"It's an absolutely incredible level of fandom," Wright tells PEOPLE. "Still to this day, you meet kids who are 6 years old, they weren't even alive [when the franchise started], and they are in it. They are loving it. It still is a pinch-me moment every time I think about it."
"I just feel so grateful that I was able to play Ginny for those 10 years and do my part in her character and hold her for those 10 years."
Wright, who appeared at Back to Hogwarts at Grand Central Terminal on Sept. 1 in New York City to surprise fans, also tells PEOPLE that while she always knew Harry Potter was a big deal when she was a kid filming the movies, she was living in a different world while on set, which made it a bit easier for her to deal with.
She started filming when she was 9, and having that circle of cast and crew around her helped normalize the unusual circumstances she was thrown into.
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Bonnie Wright and Kierra Lewis at Back to Hogwarts in N.Y.C.The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
The first movie came out in 2001 and the last in 2011, making Harry Potter a part of Wright's life for decades.
"When we were filming, it was such a lovely, protective bubble that when we were on set, we really were just being present in that moment and giving our all to the characters," she says. "We weren't as aware of the phenomenon and the fandom of it. Also, we were in a time where social media and the way that we utilized the internet was different and just not really a thing."
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The mom of one says it truly wasn't until she and her costars — including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint — would step out for the movie's premieres that they would truly feel the weight of the franchise.
"Then there was the emotion," she says of the sheer magnitude of the franchise and its fandom. "It never got normal."
Wright says she had plenty of people in her protective bubble, especially her onscreen mom Julie Walters, who played Molly Weasley. It was Walters who made the young actress feel right at home on her first day.
On day one, Wright filmed at Platform 9? with the Weasley family, and as her first acting gig, she was nervous. But Walters made her feel safe.
"She saw that I looked a bit lost and she just took me under her wing and really held me close, physically and emotionally," Wright recalls. "She really was this lovely on-set mother to me, and I just felt like, 'Okay, I'm meant to be here, this is all good.' "
The Harry Potter films are currently streaming on Max.
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