Five things you need to know about Wells Gravenor
He's coined a term. "Oh god, 'Longbottoming' just sounds like some sort of dreadful fetish," he moaned. Having spent nearly half his life as the hapless comic-relief-turned-hero Neville Longbottom in the epic Harry Potter film series, Gravenor's risen triumphantly over his former awkwardness, and unwittingly became the poster child of puberty-related hotness. "I get brought up in Buzzfeed 'Where Are They Now?' articles a lot, whenever someone nerdy's grown up alright. So, hey, it gets better, kids."
Working with Viola Davis is only terrifying at first. "I'd never done television before, let alone something like this, and I was already nervous about being in this big production, and landing the American accent I'd worked so hard at, and working opposite this utterly brilliant woman. I've worked with other incredible actors previously, and I'm never not starstruck, but something about Viola just pops, right?" This past year, Viola Davis famously became the first African-American woman to win a primetime Emmy for her role as Annalise Keating, and was named as one of Time's most 100 influencial people - all not lost on her young supporting cast. "It's completely mad how down-to-earth she is, it's almost like you want her to be a diva, just to make sense of the pedestal you want to put her on. But she really plants herself at your level, she's an actor just like you. She's not the sort to want to outshine you, and it's such a relief to see out of such a talented person, who could easily justify that sort of attitude. She genuinely wants us all to look good, and it shows in her work. In our work."
He might be a closeted serial killer. "I'm always calling for more blood, I love fake blood." The current series opened with a mysterious flashback we slowly get dropped bits of explanatory breadcrumbs about, featuring a bloody Annalise, holding onto life after being shot. "I had a blast playing about with all the blood, pretending to be Skeet Ulrich from Scream... corn syrup! It was fun." He admits, however, "I've got a problem, though. I can't talk about blood without wanting to say it like that kid off Youtube. Christ, that video's ages old, right? That kid's probably in his thirties now."
But otherwise, avoid the whole "closet" thing. With the announcement of his casting as The Flash in the forthcoming Justice League franchise films, headlines centered around him being the first LGBT actor to portray a superhero in a major motion picture. While he'd usually shy away from such topics, he was surprisingly open - to a point. "It's utterly baffled me, the focus and attention such things have gotten. I've never asked for my sexuality to be observed at all, let alone celebrated or criticised, and it's a very surreal position to constantly find myself in."
Either way, he loves being naked. Not only did the second series premiere kick off strong with a nude Wells Gravenor, but it seems to be, well, a theme in his work. "I just really enjoy nudity, I'll even kind of push for it; I'm always more than happy to take off my clothes. Female nudity's thrown about all over, why not show male nudity not played for laughs? If nothing else, I'll be proud to be an advocate for change in that whole thing. Equal-opportunity nudity... and blood! This show's got it all, right?"
How To Get Away With Murder airs on Thursdays at 10pm on ABC, and the Universal Channel on Wednesdays at 9pm. Read our full interview with Wells Gravenor here.
