Emma Watson Once Threatened to Leave ‘Harry Potter’ Over Her Education
Emma Watson was once very passionate about continuing her education while acting. But the young star confided that she eventually became a pain to deal with for Warner Bros. because of her school schedule.
Eventually, she gave the studio an ultimatum regarding her role in Harry Potter in an attempt to maintain her school pursuits.
Emma Watson had an addiction for knowledge
From a young age, Watson didn’t allow her celebrity to stand in the way of her education. Even after the Harry Potter series ended, she opted to continue her learning experience by attending Brown University. She likened her desire for learning to an addiction she enjoyed.
“I love learning. I’m just addicted to knowledge. It just like, makes me happy. It keeps me motivated,” she once said according to CBS News.
To Watson, just doing movies wouldn’t have been enough to satisfy her passion for knowledge.
“I don’t think that by doing these movies I know everything. I just feel like that’s the point of being alive, to try and understand the world that’s around you. And it just keeps me in touch with real life,” she added.
Emma Watson once threatened to leave ‘Harry Potter’ over her education
Emma Watson was already strongly considering leaving Harry Potter for the sake of her education. Harry Potter producer David Heyman once shared that Watson’s school pursuits would come up every time they negotiated with the actor.
“Emma, in particular, was quite academic and was very keen in pursuit of schooling and was wrestling a little bit more than the others,” Heyman once told The Hollywood Reporter (via Yahoo). “So each time there was a negotiation, it was not about a financial [matter], it really was about, ‘Do I want to be a part of this?'”
Her school work was already causing scheduling issues with her Harry Potter shoot, and was a pain for Warner Bros. to deal with.
“I have felt for the last ten years I have had this battle; I’ve been fighting so hard to have an education. It’s been this uphill struggle,” she confided to Vogue. “I was Warner Bros.’ pain in the butt. I was their scheduling conflict. I was the one who made life difficult.”
But soon Watson put her foot down and gave the studio behind Harry Potter a stern ultimatum. The actor announced that she wouldn’t renew her contract for the last two Harry Potter films if her educational needs weren’t met. The required changes would’ve made it easier for Watson to make her transition over to university.
Warner Bros. budged and did what they could to accommodate Watson’s requests.
“I just realized at one point that I can’t fight everything. I have to move in the direction of it—and go with it,” she said.
Emma Watson was worried about being an outsider at school
Although excited about attending Brown, Watson was slightly worried she wouldn’t be able to fit into her new surroundings. But her experience with that feeling taught the Beauty and the Beast star a valuable lesson. And it was a lesson she took the time to sharew with others.
“I remember feeling like, if I didn’t fit in at school, there was nothing else, and that’s a really difficult feeling,” she said in a 2017 interview with Collider. “I guess what I would say, for anyone that feels like an outsider in their environment, is that there is a big, wide world out there, with so many different people with diverse opinions and perspectives and interests, so go out there and find your tribe and your kindred spirits.”
