Evanna foxtrots into the final as she pays tribute to Irish director
IRISH actress Evanna Lynch has hot-footed her way into the final of the US Dancing With The Stars with her partner Keo Motsepe.
Evanna and Keo were awarded a perfect score of 30 for their contemporary dance to Andra Day and Common’s song Stand Up For Something in the semi-final.
Before securing her place in the finale of the show, the 27year-old from Termonfeckin, Co. Louth paid a moving tribute to the late Irish director Simon Fitzmaurice.
Mr Fitzmaurice passed away in October 2017 after battling motor neurone disease for more than a decade.
Evanna starred in his 2015 mental health drama, My Name is Emily, during the production of which he could only communicate with the crew and cast using an iris-recognition programme due to his paralysis.
The dancing duo gestured to an empty director’s chair bearing his name before being awarded full marks for the performance.
They also performed a foxtrot to Zac Efron and Zendaya’s Rewrite The Stars, which saw them receive a score of 28.
Competition is nothing new for Evanna, who saw off nearly 15,000 other girls in an open audition to be part of the Harry Potter blockbuster series at just 14.
She shot to fame for her portrayal of Luna Lovegood before getting the call-up to dazzle us with her dance moves on the ABC series.
Chatting to Ryan Tubridy on RTÉ Radio One, Evanna revealed how the Harry Potter movies derailed her aspirations to be a dancer.
She was determined not to change her quiet personality to suit the glitzy show.
‘There’s something that resonates with some people of me being my normal, grounded, somewhat more quiet self,’ she said.
As she entered her teens Evanna struggled with anorexia but she looks stronger than ever now, commanding attention on the dance floor and votes from the American public.
When she’s not on the show, Evanna hosts a vegan podcast called the ChickPeeps and fawns over her fluffy cat companion, named Lil Puff.
The remaining four couples will face off in the final on Monday.
‘I’m just being my normal, quiet self’