Posted 31 minutes ago"It Was Pure Movie Magic": Georgie Henley Reflects On Filming "Narnia" And That First Step Through The WardrobeTwenty years later, Georgie Henley opens the wardrobe once more to share stories from set, her castmates, and the magic of The Chronicles of Narnia.by Andrew FirrioloBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink Few scenes are as iconic as Lucy walking into the world of Narnia for the first time. Walt Disney Co. / Via Everett Collection Two decades have passed since The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was released, and it remains a cherished film for millions of kids who grew up with the series.
Georgie Henley was only ten when she became known around the world as Lucy Pevensie. To celebrate the 20th anniversary, we sat down on Zoom to reflect on her first step into the snowy forests of Narnia, and the lifelong friendships she formed with her fellow castmates. Georgie had no clue her audition was for Narnia. Walt Disney Co. / Via Everett Collection Georgie: We read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in school, so I already knew the story. But when I went to my very first audition, I didn't know that's what it was for. It was kept very secret. I don't think I even knew I was auditioning for a movie until about six months into the process.
The casting director, Pippa Hall, came to my drama club. My drama teacher told us, "This woman is going to come in and ask you a couple of questions," and that's exactly what happened.
She asked me simple things, like what I'd had for breakfast and what book I was reading. They later told me that was one of the things that made them interested in me. When I responded I was reading a sad book, I glanced out the window and looked genuinely sad. That showed them something, because they're always looking for empathetic qualities in kids. Georgie was seven when she auditioned, and the process took a year and a half. Jon Furniss / Via WireImage Georgie: The audition process became this pattern. I'd do an audition, then hear nothing for months and just go back to being a kid. I was seven when I did the first one, and the whole process went on for about a year and a half. My parents had never planned on me being a child actor, so they were thinking, "If she actually gets this, what do we do?"I remember going down to London for some of the later auditions and looking at all the other kids thinking, "Oh my god, they're proper actors - what am I doing here?" But I guess I must have been doing something right! William Moseley (Peter), Skandar Keynes (Edmund), and Anna Popplewell (Susan) felt like siblings to her in real life. Walt Disney Co. / Via Everett Collection Georgie: We got along so well. We filmed in New Zealand, which is literally the furthest place you can get from the UK. We were all far from home and our families. We all had siblings, and the way we each fit into our own families was the same dynamic as the Pevensie family.
Our final audition actually tested that chemistry. It was a screen test with costumes and a few scenes, but the real audition was happening in the green room. They told us later that someone from production was with us the whole time, just watching how we interacted. The four of us wandered off and started playing this little game together. It was our version of poker using colored pens as the chips - we were already acting like brothers and sisters.
It was the same on set. I'd never had brothers before, and suddenly I had two. Anna also felt like an older sister straight away. When my sisters would visit, we'd do sleepovers with Anna. Our families became friends too - we went on all the press tours together, and had these huge dinners with everyone's siblings. It really did feel like a big family. You can't predict that. You can't guarantee that a group of kids will get along but we, really, genuinely did. The Pevensie kids are all still great friends, and even have a group chat. Ferdaus Shamim / Via WireImage Georgie: We have a real bond and connection. There was a period when we were all spread out in different places, but now we're all back in the UK, which is amazing. We see each other regularly. When I turned 30 in July, I was doing a play, and Anna, Skandar, and Will all booked tickets to come on my birthday. It was so sweet. My sisters were there too, and I was thinking, "My family and my Narnia family are here."We've grown up and hit all these milestones, and we get to share them with each other. It's a real privilege; it's a gift. We do have a group chat, although I'm just realizing now, our chat doesn't have a fun name. We gotta pick a name! When Lucy walks through the wardrobe, that was also Georgie's first time seeing the Narnia set. Walt Disney Co. / Via Everett Collection Georgie: Most of that first take is actually what ended up in the film, because it's something that can't be replicated. Everything that works about the film is really because of [director] Andrew Adamson. He'd never worked wi