The actress Shirley Hendersonwho brought the character to life Moaning Myrtle in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (2002)describes her audition as a slightly “ridiculous” situation, as she was more than twice her character’s age at the time she got the role.
“When they first called me to audition, I didn’t know who it was, but my sister, who was staying with me, had read the books. Still, I wasn’t convinced that I could play a 14-year-old girl, because I was already over 30 at the time,” said Henderson in an interview with The Independent.
“I went to the audition dressed like a schoolgirl, white shirt, black skirt, ponytail, thinking, ‘This is ridiculous,’” Henderson said. “I did my minimum and they thanked me. Months went by and I thought that was it, but then they called my agent, asked to see me again and offered me the role.”
According to the actress, the casting director who chose her also made one request: that she not reveal her age to the rest of the team.
“Myrtle is an old person in a young woman’s body, and because she’s ghostly, there’s a certain hazy aura. You don’t look too closely at my face, so we were able to disguise that,” she said.
