‘Harry Potter’ actress says her favorite Luna Lovegood moments didn’t make it into the movies

• Insider spoke with Evanna Lynch about her favorite Luna Lovegood moments in "Harry Potter."
• The actress said there were a few book scenes she always loved that were cut from the movies.
• Lynch also fought to get a beloved book scene into the films, but she wasn't successful.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Before Evanna Lynch played Luna Lovegood in the "Harry Potter" movies, she was a die-hard fan of the books – and like many fans, she doesn't think the adaptations were perfect.

While promoting the Butterbeer Bar inside the new "Harry Potter" flagship store in New York City, Lynch spoke with Insider about her favorite scenes from the books and films and shared a few moments she wished had made it onto the big screen.

The actress' favorite Luna moment is on the Hogwarts Express, but she never got to play it out

Lynch told Insider that one of her favorite Luna scenes takes place in the "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" book when the character is talking to Harry on the Hogwarts Express.

"Luna says something like, 'Oh, people don't expect you to be friends with us, they expect you to have cooler friends,'" Lynch said. "And Harry's like, 'You are cool,' and she's like 'Oh, thank you, that's really nice.'"

The scene never made it into the movie, but the actress said she loved that the interaction showed Luna's vulnerability and awareness while also making it clear that she didn't care what others thought.

"I think that was an important moment ... she is someone who's so at peace with herself and accepts herself no matter what, but she really cares about her friends," she said. "She's got a really tender heart."

She also wishes Luna could've interacted more with Ron and commentated on quidditch matches in the movies

Lynch went on to highlight another Luna scene on the Hogwarts Express that never made it to the screen.

In the "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" book, Ron Weasley makes a joke about punishing Goyle by making him write the line, "I must not look like a baboon's backside," and Luna bursts out into hysterical laughter.

"Everyone's like 'What is wrong with this person?'" she said. "I very much relate to that, you know, about being awkward, and I just wish I got to do that. It would have been so fun."

She told Insider that, in general, she wished Ron and Luna's relationship got more screen time in the movies.

"Ron and Luna's relationship is quite intriguing cause he's like always making fun of her, but he has moments where he's like, 'Oh, she's not bad,'" she said. "And I think she just finds him fascinating and I just I wanted there to be more Ron-Luna moments."

Another one of Lynch's favorite Luna moments was in the original movie script, but it didn't make the final cut.

Lee Jordan commentates on the Hogwarts quidditch matches in the first five books, and once he finishes school, Luna takes over. But that never played out in the movies.

"I was very disappointed to not get to commentate quidditch," Lynch said. "I would have loved that ... I find sports quite boring so I loved Luna's commentary, I loved the color she brought to it."

Lynch also tried everything she could to get Dumbledore's funeral, a famous scene in the books, into the films

After Dumbledore dies in the "Half-Blood Prince" book, they hold a funeral for him at Hogwarts. But in the movie, the characters simply gather together and raise their wands in tribute to the headmaster.

"I'm really sad about Dumbledore's funeral," Lynch said. "I know we had the wands up in tribute. People were very attached to that, but I wanted a big funeral with the centaurs and the mermaids and everything."

During a February appearance on the "Normal Not Normal" podcast hosted by Fred and George Weasley actors James and Oliver Phelps, Lynch said that she even told producer David Heyman she'd take a pay cut to make the grand funeral scene happen.

"I even went to David Heyman's office, as a fan ... I was like we really need, Dumbledore really needs to have a funeral. In the books he has mermaids, he has centaurs, everyone - the whole Wizarding community - unites and gives him a sendoff," she said. "And David Heyman was like, 'It's just too expensive."

Lynch continued, "I actually was like, 'Take some of my paycheck because I think it's worth it.' And he was like, 'It wouldn't cover it.'"

But there were also some movie moments that Lynch loved filming, like Bill and Fleur's wedding

Some of the actress' favorite moments to film were with Luna's father, Xenophilius Lovegood - particularly the scenes at Bill and Fleur's wedding in the seventh movie.

"Until that point, Luna is the odd one out ... And I saw myself as a weird kid, too," she said.

"And then when he came onto it, there he was. He was dressed in these yellow robes and he had this sunshine-bright hair, and I remember just feeling like, 'Oh that's my people.' You know? There's two of us now," she continued. "We both stick out like sore thumbs and we're gonna enjoy it."

Lynch also said the scene was filmed on her birthday, so the production team brought out a cake and the whole "Harry Potter" crew sang to her.