Anna Shaffer is a British model and actress who took part in the Harry Potter series as schoolgirl Romilda Wayne. She also starred in the popular soap opera Hollyox for over three years, where she played the bitchy girl Ruby Button.
Biography: early years and early career
Anna Shaffer was born on March 15, 1992 in London, although her parents are from South Africa. She grew up in the capital of Great Britain and lives to this day. The girl has a younger brother, Joshua. The future actress was named after a little-known Beatles song "Anna (go to him)".
Until the age of 16, she studied at Highgate Wood School, which focuses on the development of the creative abilities of students. The school is known for its drama and concert performances. The Faculty of Music also offers instruction in playing various instruments.
Anna had an early interest in the acting profession, so she gladly took part in school productions. The future actress performed her first role in a play for primary school graduates. She appeared on stage in the form of singer Elvis Presley.
Her parents supported her hobby. According to Anna, there was never any pressure or other methods of influence on the actions of children on their part. On the contrary, he and his brother were taught how important it is to do what is pleasant and interesting, and not what others expect of you. And the best advice she received from mom and dad was to go through life with a smile on her face.
In high school, Miss Schaffer transferred to the Camden Girls' School, which specializes in music education. There, the girl honed her flute skills. After graduation, she began attending a drama club that collaborated with the well-known Byron’s Management agency. Anna's photos were placed in the agency's acting base, and soon she was invited to the casting for the film "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
Debut role and shooting in "Harry Potter"
Ms. Shaffer originally auditioned for the role of Lavender Brown, Harry Potter's classmate and love interest of his friend Ron Weasley. She was invited to re-auditions a couple of times, where Anna met the director of the film David Yates and assistant on actors Fiona Weir. But waiting for an answer dragged on for four months. The girl was sure she had failed. And she was very surprised when she received a call with an invitation to the role of another character - Romilda Wayne. It took her a split second to agree.
Anna started filming for the first time in her life in 2009. She was to play a Gryffindor student who persistently sought Harry Potter's attention and tried to treat him to candy with a love potion. Then these sweets were accidentally eaten by Ron Weasley, which is why he quarreled with his girlfriend Lavender Brown and his best friend. Harry cured him of his love obsession with Romilda by obtaining an antidote from Professor Slughorn.
According to Anna, her character is still a very young, immature girl, she is too passionate about boys and is capable of crazy actions in order to achieve her goal. The actress admitted that it was difficult for her to understand this behavior of Romilda. However, Miss Schaffer found a resemblance to her heroine in an enthusiastic and slightly naive attitude to life, although she was three years older than her.
Of course, before being appointed to the role of Romilda, the aspiring actress read books about Harry Potter. Her favorite part is The Prisoner of Azkaban. Anna said that she was even a little in love with Sirius Black.
Miss Schaffer has fond memories of filming the Harry Potter films. She liked the atmosphere on the set, the easy communication between the actors, and she also learned a lot about making a movie. In total, the actress took part in three series of the film adaptation of the adventures of the young wizard:
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009);
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (2010);
- "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" (2011).
Actor career
In December 2010, Anna Shaffer was cast as Ruby Button in the British TV series Hollyox. As with her first acting experience, she auditioned for another character - Lynn Holiday, but the creators of the series saw in her the scheming Ruby. For the first time, her heroine appeared on the screens on January 3, 2011. During filming, Anna moved to Liverpool.
Hollyox is a British soap opera that has been shown on Channel 4 for over 20 years (since 1995). The action takes place in a fictional city that gave the name to the series. Spectators watch the intricacies of events, in which mainly young residents of the city aged 16-35 are involved. Over the long years of appearance on the screen in "Hollyox" the cast has changed many times: old characters fade into the background, new characters appeared. Ruby Button was watched by the audience during the period 2011-2014. This girl was one of the most disliked heroes. She was distinguished by bitchiness, loved to mock others, weave intrigues. She has had love trials, academic problems, attempted drug use, and even a heart attack. In early 2014, Anna Schaffer left the Holliox series, her character returned briefly in several episodes in 2017-2018. In total, the actress has 242 episodes of this soap opera.
After the end of long filming, Anna took part in other television projects:
- "Glue" (2014);
- "Class" (2016);
- Fearless (2017).
In 2018, filming began on the fantasy series The Witcher, based on the series of books of the same name by Andrzej Sapkowski. Anna Shaffer got the role of the sorceress Triss Merigold. The project is expected to air on Netflix in 2019.
Personal life and hobbies
The fans did not know about the young actress's personal life until Anna started a profile on Instagram. Judging by the publications, she is now in a relationship with a guy named Jimmy Stephenson. They recently celebrated another anniversary of their relationship. The pages of the lovers are filled with idyllic photographs and mutual declarations of love.
In her early interviews, Anna said that in her free time she likes to walk, go to the movies, meet friends and have lunch together. She called Brad Pitt and Carey Mulligan her favorite actors. As for her career, Ms. Schaffer is ambitious, but within reason. She hopes for interesting projects and roles, although she understands all the complexities of this industry, in which sometimes they achieve recognition and fame for years.
