Skip to main content

Though Emma Watson has been in a bevy of movies, her most memorable role is still that of Hermione Granger. The British actor spent a full decade portraying “the brightest witch of the age” in all eight Harry Potter movies.

From the moment Watson received the opportunity to audition for the first movie, she knew she’d be going out for Hermione. According to the actor, she felt a deep affinity with the young witch.

In many ways, Watson and Hermione are quite similar. Both are intelligent, voracious readers and have an appreciation for practicality. They both also adhere to rules pretty strictly. But just because Watson shared some similarities with her character doesn’t mean it was always easy for her to portray Hermione. Especially in the later movies, Watson had some more difficult scenes to navigate.

Harry Potter alum Emma Watson on the red carpet for the BAFTA awards as she looks over her shoulder
‘Harry Potter’ alum Emma Watson | TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images

Emma Watson had to kiss both Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe in the ‘Harry Potter’ movies

Two particularly challenging scenes for Watson involved her co-stars, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. Watson needed to kiss Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. Meanwhile, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, she was tasked with kissing Grint. This was particularly challenging for Watson because she grew up with her fellow actors and thought of them as brothers.

Watson might have felt uncomfortable with kissing Radcliffe and Grint, but she managed to make it work. In fact, she even surprised herself with how much she went for it. While speaking to MTV News at a press junket in London, Watson got candid about her kiss with Radcliffe.

“It is full-on,” the Harry Potter alum shared. “Actually, I forgot how full-on it was until I saw the movie, and I was like, ‘Blimey, where did that come from?’ It was really full-on.”

The movie star was topless for her memorable Horcrux scene

Another thing that made the kiss intense was the fact that both Watson and Radcliffe were topless when filming it. According to The Bling Ring star, she wasn’t told about that important detail until shortly before filming. “It was only the day before that they said, ‘Oh, by the way, we hope it’s all right, but we want you to be topless, and we’re going to cover you in silver paint.'”

Related

‘Harry Potter’: Emma Watson Had to Move Into a Hotel After She Was Cast

Fortunately, Watson was provided with a bit of coverage. She was allowed to wear a strapless bra for the scene. Ultimately, she felt the Horcrux smooch served its purpose. “It was awkward enough as it was without the silver paint and the strapless bra, but whatever,” she shared. “It works. It looks good for the story.”

Watson and Radcliffe laughed off their topless ‘Harry Potter’ scene

In a separate interview with JoBlo, Watson shared that while filming the kiss with Radcliffe was awkward, they could shake off their discomfort with a few giggles. “Luckily, Dan is very funny and talkative, and we could just have a laugh about it,” Watson shared. Clearly, the Harry Potter stars found a way to make an uncomfortable situation work.