Emma Watson

It’s hard to believe that when J.K. Rowling first conceived the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone that it would lead to four hit movies and six books that are found on every child’s bookshelf, not to mention many adults’ as well. She’s not alone in this success, of course, as the young actors playing the parts of Harry Potter and his friends in the movies have certainly received their share, and for Emma Watson, the success seems to have come from nowhere.

Watson was born April 15, 1990, in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, to Chris and Jacqueline Watson. Along with Oxford, she has also lived in Paris and France, and she attended the Dragon School, a private preparatory school, for her primary education. Along with winning first place in the Daisy Pratt Poetry Competition when she was just seven, Watson also began acting in school plays such as Arthur: The Young Years and The Happy Prince.

After the success of the first Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the decision was made to turn it into a movie. Author J.K. Rowling insisted that all characters be played by British actors in order to keep the original cultural integrity of the book. Auditions were held looking for the three principal kids in the movie, one of which was the part of Hermione Granger. Despite the fact that the only experience Watson had was acting in  plays back at the Dragon School, she beat out all the other much more experienced actresses for the part.

Just nine years old when cast for the movie, Watson was eleven by the time the movie was released, starring two other young actors, Daniel Radcliffe in the part of Harry Potter, and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley. The movie became a huge success earning $976 million in the worldwide box office, with that figure being the fourth highest of all time, and the movie earned three Academy Award nominations as well. Well-known film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie four stars.

Not everyone agrees with Watson playing the part of Hermione, feeling she is too pretty for the role. Hermione was written in the book as a plain Jane type, but the actress herself is quite beautiful and only gets more so as she approaches adulthood. Even Roger Ebert referred to her as “in the early stages of Babehood.” Nonetheless, the detractors remain, believing that Watson isn’t able to portray Hermione correctly as flawed and with insecurities. She dyes her hair for the role, as she is a natural blonde, and Hermione is a brunette.

Once the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was being prepared to be made into a movie as well, no one else was considered for the part of Hermione, except Watson. Many of the other actors remained for the second installment as well, including Radcliffe, Grint, Richard Harris, and Maggie Smith. When it came time to film the third and fourth books in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the principal actors, including Watson, again recreated their roles for the movies. J.K. Rowling has acknowledged that there will only be seven installments in the Harry Potter series, but with the success of each of the movies so far, it can be assumed that all of the books will be turned into movies eventually.

Watson has done a lot in her young life. She is the youngest person ever to grace the cover of Teen Vogue Magazine. She also served on a special jury to select the teenaged filmmakers for a Film Award ceremony along with Pierce Brosnan and Kenneth Branagh, and recreated the part of Hermione in a special performance for the Queen’s birthday. Young shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton has mentioned Watson’s name as a likely person to play her when her life story is turned into a movie. Despite the fact that Watson’s only professional experience has been playing Hermione, it is clearly just the beginning.

YUDDY