‘Harry Potter’: Emma Watson’s Surprising Reaction to Being Cast
Emma Watson always knew that she was destined to play Hermione Granger. Prior to being cast in the iconic Harry Potter movies, Watson had no clue if she wanted to make acting her career. While she’d done some theater in school (and loved it), she wasn’t sure if it was the right career path for her. But one thing that she was sure about was that she was the one who needed to bring “the brightest witch of the age” to life.
Why Emma Watson felt so connected to Hermione Granger
Like millions of fans, Watson first fell in love with Hermione on the pages of the Harry Potter books. The Noah alum credits her dad for reading the novels to her and her little brother on long car rides and thus introducing her to the character. As a young child, Watson felt a certain kind of kinship with Hermione. Both were avid readers, highly-intelligent, and fairly mature and serious-minded for their age. So when Watson learned about the casting call for the movies, she knew exactly who she was going out for.
The actor spent months of her life doing multiple rounds of auditions to play the witch
Of course, the odds of Watson getting the role of Hermione were pretty astronomical. Thousands of children were eager to audition for the part. But as fate would have it, the Harry Potter producers came to Watson’s school, hoping to scout talent. Watson stood out and was invited to audition for what would be a very long and arduous process. She went through multiple rounds of auditions that lasted for months. After spending hours on her tape, she’d wait around by the phone, just hoping for the elusive phone call to let her know she’d made the cut.
Watson didn’t initially understand that she’d earned a spot in the ‘Harry Potter’ cast
Of course, Watson did eventually land the highly-coveted part in the Harry Potter cast. But what exactly was her reaction after vying for the part for months? According to the Little Women actor, a lot of confusion. As Watson was just nine years old at the time, she didn’t understand the language that one of the producers used to let her know she’d gotten the part.
“They called me into the producer David Heyman’s very pristine white office, and he said, ‘We just wanted to tell you that you are the preferred candidate for the role of Hermoine,’ Watson recalled to W Magazine about the moment that changed her life. “And I kept thinking, ‘What does preferred candidate mean?'”
Watson’s life quickly changed after she got the part of Hermione
Naturally, that type of industry jargon would be enough to confuse any young child. However, Watson eventually put two and two together that she’d earned a spot in the Harry Potter cast. Things changed very quickly for the actor soon after. Once the media got wind of the cast announcement, things became a full frenzy for Watson and her fellow castmates.
“Within about half an hour, they’d taken a photograph of Dan [Radcliffe], Rupert [Grint], and I, which was then broadcast on the Internet that the three us had been cast,” Watson recalled about booking her role in Harry Potter. “We moved straight into a hotel. There were [sic] press outside our house. It was like this crazy whirlwind, like something from a movie.” We can only imagine just how much Watson’s life changed in a single instant, even if she wasn’t hip to what was happening for a bit.
