Emma Watson Once Wondered if Her Starring Role in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Would Go Away
Emma Watson went from being a wizard to being a Disney princess after starring in the commercial hit Beauty and the Beast. But after a while, she was a little concerned that her opportunity to play the celebrated character would go away.
Emma Watson’s audition for Belle gave her a sense of ownership of the character
Despite Watson’s star-power fresh off the Harry Potter series, the young actor wasn’t simply handed the role of Belle. Watson had to earn the part by auditioning. But unlike some of her other auditions, Watson’s Beauty and the Beast screening also put her voice to the test.
“I think with Disney, it was about wanting to explore whether or not I could sing. I think, really, that was the major question mark, so I was to put out an audition tape. And I went away and then kind of did that classic thing of waiting on to get the call, and to hear whether or not it was up to standard. And it- thankfully it was, so I got offered the role which was just very, very exciting, really,” she once said in an interview with Mom Generations.
Earning the role this way proved to be gratifying for Watson, who preferred having to work for the part.
“It gave me a sense of ownership,” she once said in an interview with Total Film (via Tiger Beat). “I would have hated to have felt I got the part undeservedly. I had to prove I had the voice to do it.”
Emma Watson thought her role in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ would go away
Watson had been attached to Beauty and the Beast far before the film came out in 2017. As far back as 2012, Watson was linked to a Beauty and the Beast project. Although this was back when the project was going to be directed by Guillermo Del Toro instead of Bill Condon. The acclaimed director had already worked on sketch work for the film and brought his illustrations to Watson’s attention. This made Watson even more enthusiastic about the film.
“I was like, ‘Ah, this is killing me.’ I’m very excited,” she told MTV News in 2012.
But the actor had gone on to star in many other projects. So much so that she was slightly concerned her Beast role was in jeopardy.
“We [del Toro and I] met a week or two ago, and we started working on the script, and it’s going to go next summer,” Watson said. “It’s so funny, obviously I’ve been doing a lot of other work, and I was nervous. I was like, ‘Is this going to go away?’ And Guillermo is so psyched about it, and he’s like been thinking about it so much.”
Emma Watson once shared her nerve-racking moment in ‘Beauty and the Beast’
Shooting Beauty and the Beast didn’t come without a bit of anxiety. Speaking with E! News, Watson explained why wearing Belle’s iconic gown added pressure to her scene.
“It was kind of nerve-wracking. That yellow dress is beloved in the imagination of girls all over the world you want it to be perfect,” Watson confided.
