Emma Watson took the responsibility of bringing an iconic character from the book world to life, Hermione Granger. Her portrayal of one-third of the Harry Potter trio will never be forgotten and no matter how many characters she plays in her career, she will forever be most well-known as one of the brave members of Gryffindor.
However, since Emma Watson was only a child when she started her Harry Potter journey, there were times when she wanted to draw the curtain on Hermione Granger. Luckily, the actress decided to see it through. Part of the reason why Emma Watson did not call it a day was because she was afraid of how the public would react to the news.
Why Emma Watson Decided to Stay
In a conversation with TIME, Emma Watson was asked about the time when she wanted to stop playing Hermione. The interviewer asked the actress how, how her life would have been changed if she had gone through with the decision.
Watson candidly replied that she would have been one of the most hated people in Hollywood and that she believes it would have been tough for her to watch the films with a new actress in her place.
“I think I probably would have been public enemy number one. I would not have been very popular. I think I would have found it very difficult watching the movies being made without me being a part of them. I grew up making them. Being part of that film franchise feels like part of my identity in a way. Things only would have been a little easier if we would have got a lot more sleep. She would have been maybe, less hectic.”
But don’t worry, Watson does not regret staying back to complete the eight films as she added, “I definitely made the right decision.” She definitely did, didn’t she? It would have been absurd watching someone else just swoop in and take over the role, especially since the fans fell so deeply in love with Watson’s portrayal.
Emma Watson Talks About Wanting to Leave Harry Potter
Fans were super excited and emotional after they found out that HBO Max would be coming out with the special, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts. However, they were in for a surprise when Watson revealed that she wanted to quit the role when the franchise was moving toward Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Adding to the shock, the rest of the trio, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe revealed that they, too, felt similar to Watson.
Watson spoke to Grint stating,
“[Order of the Phoenix] was when things started getting spicy for all of us. I think I was scared. I don’t know if you ever felt like it got to a tipping point where you were like, ‘This is kind of forever now.’”
To this, Grint replied with his own point of view which resonated with that of Watson’s. The actor stated,
“I had moments like that kind of all the way through. I also had similar feelings to Emma kind of contemplating what life would be like if I called it a day, but we never really spoke about it. I guess we were just kind of going through it at our own pace. We were kind of in the moment at the time. It just didn’t really occur to us that we were all having similar feelings.”
Adding to Grint’s point, Radcliffe stated, that they never talked about it on set since they were all kids and that, “As a 14-year-old boy, I was never going to turn around and be like, ‘Hey, how are you doing? Is everything okay?’” He’s not wrong. After all, the entire cast was majorly made up of kids who were just trying to navigate their way through. Watson even added that she once found her old diary from the time she considered quitting the franchise and stated that the entries felt like she was really lonely at the time.
As for why she decided to stay for all eight films, Watson credited the fans stating,
“No one had to convince me to see it through. The fans genuinely wanted you to succeed and like all genuinely had everyone’s backs. How great is that?”
Well, Watson couldn’t be more right. Harry Potter has some of the most loyal fans out there and why wouldn’t it? There has been nothing more magical than this franchise!
You can stream all Harry Potter films on Max or Peacock Premium.
Source: TIME
