(CNN) -- Actor Matthew Lewis, who spent the last 10 years portraying Neville Longbottom, the awkward, nerdy pal to the trio of students at the center of the Harry Potter films, is moving on. As the last of eight films based on the books by J.K. Rowling hits movie screens across America, Lewis spoke with CNN about his journey as Neville and how it has not just affected him, but prepared him for a career as an actor. CNN: Neville Longbottom starts out as a pretty psychologically wounded character, and you have been able to portray his journey of personal growth. Most people pay a lot of money to psychologists to make a journey like that. What life lessons have you learned from Neville?
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Matthew Lewis takes inspiration from his character Neville Longbottom
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J.K. Rowling said he portrayed the Longbottom character just as she imagined him
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According to Lewis, American fans of Harry Potter are louder than U.K. fans
J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling
the great thing about Neville -- what message he conveys that @placeholder wrote for him -- was that you can have any kind of disadvantage at the start of your life and it doesn't define you.
America
American
-- I guess @placeholder tend to be quite a lot louder.
Neville Longbottom
Neville
Neville Longbottom
Neville
Neville Longbottom
Longbottom
And really, it's the opportunity now for me to show that I'm not just @placeholder, there is more that I can do, and I really just want to sort of push myself.
J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling
To have @placeholder say that, it was just the most amazing feeling.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter
I want to take what I've learned in the theater and what I've learned on @placeholder in the last decade and really just take it to the next level.