‘Harry Potter’: Emma Watson Recalled ‘Trying to Give a Good Performance’ When She Was ‘Miserable’
Though thousands of girls dreamed of playing Hermione Granger, it was Emma Watson who ultimately won the role. The actor would devote a decade of her life to bringing the highly-intelligent witch to life in the eight Harry Potter movies. But filming the movies wasn’t always a magical experience. In fact, Watson has shared that there were some moments that were particularly challenging for her.
Why the final two ‘Harry Potter’ movies were challenging for Emma Watson
Watson has been candid about the fact that filming the final two Harry Potter movies was, at times, very difficult. As the series became increasingly darker, Watson and her fellow co-stars had to deal with challenging subject matters. Watson’s character Hermoine had to deal with leaving home, erasing her parents’ memories, being tortured, and more in the final installments of the franchise. Watson has shared that she was occasionally overwhelmed by what the role was asking of her.
Watson recalls days on set when she was miserable and exhausted
Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2 were also very physically demanding for Watson. In fact, she has shared that nothing in her career will ever be as hard as those two movies. Part of what made things so taxing for the Noah star was that she spent so much of the films being wet, cold, and generally exhausted.
“There were days when I was in tears to David [Yates, director of the final four Harry Potter movies],” Watson revealed to Collider. “Cause more than anything being cold and wet all the time just takes so much energy out of you, it’s so draining. And trying to give a good performance when you just are miserable, and want to go to sleep.” Continuing on, Watson admits that she’d be begging Yates for a rest some days, but he felt that her exhaustion served her character’s journey.
Watson often slept between takes during the final two ‘Harry Potter’ movies
Watson may not have won the fight with Yates, but she managed to take naps whenever she could. In the aforementioned interview, the Little Women alum revealed that she was constantly napping on set in between takes. Her exhaustion was so extreme that she didn’t even need to make it to her trailer before she conked out.
“I was so tired, I would fall asleep anywhere,” Watson remembers about filming the last two Harry Potter movies. “They’ll never be released, but the onset photographer has pictures of me falling asleep everywhere. Like on chairs, on the floor, in the middle of a set, all curled up.”
It seems like making the Harry Potter movies wasn’t always a cakewalk for Watson. But despite the exhaustion and less-than-ideal weather conditions, she managed to power through. Clearly, acting isn’t as glamorous as some people may think. But at least Watson was earning millions for her discomfort.
