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From Girls Life Magazine.
Who is
Emma Watson?
Emma is a bit more chatty than Daniel,
which we like. Shes open and upbeat----- a totally normal 13-year-old, who wishes she had an invisibility cloak to sneak into
a Red Hot Chili Peppers Concert at the London Arena.
Besides rocking out, Emma likes to read-----
and shes excited about recommending her favorites. The last good book I read, and Ive been raving about it everywhere,
was Malorie Blackman, Noughts and Crosses. Best book in the world! But so sad at the ending. Anyway, the other
two, Knife Edge and An Eve for An Eye, theyre so good, the Malorie Blackman series.
And, yes, she reads the Harry Potter
books, The Prisoner of Azkaban, of course, being the one on which the most recent movie is based. I was already halfway
through it when I began filming, so I was a massive fan even before we started. I was really excited about the third
one----- its my favorite book, its my favorite script, its my favorite part for Hermione. I think its going to be the best
one.
The first two Harry Potter films----
The Sorcerers Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets---- raked in nearly $2 billion at box offices
around the world, and instant acclaim and fame for its young stars. Emma is getting used to the recognition and fast adjusting
to her celebrity status. I suppose the best thing thats ever happened to me was, um, this is completely stunned me, a guy
asked me to sing a 50 pound note. I was absolutely flabbergasted, I couldnt believe it. I was like, You know I can
put this on a paper if youd like, and he was like, Nope, no. I was like, Whoaaah!
The most glamorous thing thats happened
to me ever, I was doing the Jay Leno show, and we were late for the [Harry Potter] premiere in Los Angeles.
So a helicopter picked me up and took me to the premiere. You should have seen my face----- I was over the moon! Perhaps not
as over the moon as she was when she met Brad Pitt, who was at the Londons Chapman Studios, where HP is shot. I was,
aw God, you shoulda seen me. I was just a wreck. It was amazing.
Besides bumping into leading men and getting
flown in by helicopter for red-carpet events, being a star also means having a dressing room---- and Emmas is the most elaborately
decorated on the HP set. When I first came into it, it wasnt the nicest thing Id ever seen. It was just like big white
walls, um, plain carpet. I had to do something about it, so I asked if I could paint it. So I painted one of the walls in
a massive painting of everything I like. So Ive got on it, Ive got fashion bags, Ive got my favorite cat, which is a Mini,
Ive got ice cream, Ive got chocolate, its just covered. Its really big and really colorful and really happy, so thats cool.
And I bought lots of posters and yeah, its a really bright room. And on my door, Ive got a Massive Star, which is really cool.
Emma is far from being a demanding celeb,
but there are certain items she doesnt like to be without during filming. Im really picky about my shampoo and conditioner,
and I must have a hair dryer with me cause it really annoys me when I have my hair wet. Oh, I have to have my mobile phone-----
I feel lost without it------- Lip gloss, definitely, hmm, what else? Oh, my teddy bear, definitely. Its actually a rabbit,
called Bunnykinds. Oh, I have a ridiculous eccentric pair of slippers I got for Christmas, by Roxy---- and theyre bright pink
and fluffy, just brilliant, and I love them!
The role of Hermione in The Sorcerers
Stone was Emmas first professional acting job, and she hasnt forgotten her humble beginnings before that big break. Shes
perfect example of what the payoff can be if you hone your acting chops by landing parts in school plays. My fist play, was
Arthur: The Young Years, which is a really play about the Knights of the Round table. I played Morgan la Faye, who
is, surprisingly enough, a witch. My first ever sort of dramatic thing I did was when I was at primary school. We had to recite
poems, and we did poetry a lot. I won something called the Daisy Pratt Poetry Competition, which at the time, I was really
pleased about. Not bad, moving up from the Daisy Pratt to winner of the AOL Award for Best Supporting Actress for Chamber
of Secrets.
Emmas somewhat of a star athlete, too.
She plays field hockey, tennis and rounders, which is kinda the English version of baseball. Field hockey is one of my favorites.
I love netball [basketball]. I love athletics! Emma rattles off her sporty aspirations and all the other things she
wants out of life: I have so many ambitions. I would like to play hockey for England---- that would be good. Id like to win
an Oscar, but I dunno when that will happen. I want to have seen the world, pretty much every country, just because I love
seeing different places. So many things I want, lost of things. Health, be happy, good jobs, nice marriage, kids.
Shes got it going on, right? But, as it
turns out, even international fame doesnt help when it comes to interfacing with the opposite sex. I try, but its so hard.
Guys are just, ugh, especially teen-age boys----its just one-word answers to every question you give them. Theyre annoying.
Its awful. Youd think that because Im an actress, I could get away with it, but no. If anyone think Im like that, no, especially
around boys. I get so stressed out. Im like any other teenager, I really am. Im far from perfect. I have massive spots in
the middle of my nose.
Emma fares much better, at least conversationally,
with her female pals------ a close-knit group of four or five she kicks it with when filming wraps. If were outside school,
we go to the center of Oxford and watch a film. We hang out in Starbucks. We go and choose CDs, talk, go to each others houses,
normal girly stuff.
Her favorite pig-out food is McCoys Salt
& Malt Vinegar chips. One of my bad things is a craving for crumpets. Crumpets and muffins, with chocolate spread. Thats
my favorite.
Oh, and one more thing. I make great pancakes.
Behind
the Magic
We got the HP cast to spill about
some of the stuff that happened during filming.
EVEN EMMA FORGETS HER LINES. The
Prisoner of Azkaban has really hard lines to say, complicated words. Emma has a favorite line, one after Hermione and
Ron get into an argument and she says, Do you think you can come up with another clever way to get us killed? before slamming
the door.
THE KIDS DO SOME OF THEIR OWN STUNTS. I get thrown around by the Womping Willow tree. Chased by Werewolves, Dementors,
the lot, Emma tells us.
EMMA HAS AN ON-SET EMBARRASSING MOMENT. The kids have those Hollywood chairs with their names on them. Theyre kind of
flimsy and mine had one of its legs on an electrical wire. I sat down, and it fell backward. My legs were up in the air like
a chicken, and everyone was laughing at me. It took me ages to get out of the chair. Really, really embarrassing!
Teen People Magazine - Dic. 2002
It's not easy being the only female in a roomful og teenagers wizards , but 12-year-old Emma Watson seems to handle it
just fine. "I stay on my toes", says Emma, who plays Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second
movie based on the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling. "Daniel and Rupert make funny faces when I'm shooting. But I keep them
in line. I'm very bossy"
That's the only thing Emma has in common with her Harry Potter alter ego. For starters, she doesn't
suck up to her teachers. "I'm not obsesse with my schoolwork", says the Oxford, England, native (wrong : Emma was born in
France!), who enjoys English class but despises Latin. "And I hang out with girls more than Hermione does."
While shooting
throughout the UK, Emma - who had only acted in school plays before beating out thousans of girls for the role - keeps in
touch with her pals by e-mail and phone. "I love talking, as you can propbably tell", she says.
One subject that's come
up among Emma's friends is who hermione might hook up with the road. "Their prediction is Ron", says Emma, "I was like
'Of all the people!'" Who should it be? "That", says Emma, sounding flustered for the first time, "is a big question mark".
May 2004 - Article from Unknown Magazine
It's been almost three years since J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" characters moved beyond the literary phenomenon and
became part of a hugely successful movie franchise. In that time, the primary image associated with the films has been Daniel
Radcliffe, playing the wholesome teen wizard Harry, with his trademark round glasses and his perpetual _expression of faint
surprise.
Well, things are about to change. Now it's time for Harry's sidekicks to grab a piece of the action. The third film in
the series, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (it opens June 4), spreads the story much more evenly among Harry and
his Hogwarts school pals Hermione Granger, played by Emma Watson, and Ron Weasley, portrayed by Rupert Grint.
Alfonso Cuarón, the Mexican director of "Prisoner of Azkaban" (he succeeded Chris Columbus, who directed the first two),
notes: "Ron and Hermione are companions in adventure in this film, and they effectively drive the third act. It's pretty amazing
to see."
There's no question Watson is pleased with her contribution to "Prison of Azkaban," even before she has seen it. She
strolls into a room near the production offices, sits upright on a sofa with three embroidered cushions with a likeness of
Harry Potter and an owl, and starts chatting.
"The third book is definitely my favorite, and it's a good script for Hermione," she says. "She has some great scenes."
There's a split second in the trailer for the new film when Watson as Hermione apparently punches someone, then says: "That
felt good!" And did it? "You're very right about that," she giggles. "Yes, I loved it. My first screen punch! It was fantastic!"
So who was on the receiving end? Wouldn't you know, it was Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), the rather odious Hogwarts pupil
who is a constant thorn in the sides of Harry and his two friends.
"It's been building up for ages through the first three films," Watson says, flailing her arms wildly. "He's been insulting,
rude and really hateful. Harry's going, 'Ignore him, don't say anything,' and suddenly Hermione gets so angry she ends up
punching the guts out of him. It's fantastic! Very girl power!"
Even apart from this scene, Watson thinks Hermione is finally coming into her own: "She's had two films of being put
down by teachers and rudely insulted by Malfoy. In this film, she thinks, 'Right, that's it, I'm not having any more of this.'
She storms out on a teacher, punches Malfoy, fights with Ron. She's really fired up. She's not taking nonsense from anyone."
Watson is disarmingly articulate in explaining this. Slim, petite, with a sparkle in her eyes, she wears a pale green
cable knit sweater over a T-shirt, flared jeans and cream sneakers with a gold trim. She looks like many English girls of
14 and reveals a bristling intelligence when she speaks. She also has a finely tuned sense of humor. Since landing the role
of Hermione, she has constantly stressed how little she has in common with her character. Now she feels less sure.
When Cuarón (who's noted for his work on 2002's "Y Tu Mamá También") met the three young actors, he asked them to write
an essay about their characters what they felt, what drove them, what they believed. The way the three responded fit their
characters perfectly: Radcliffe wrote one page and felt he had done rather well. Grint, in true Ron Weasley style, somehow
avoided doing it at all. Watson, reacting like Hermione to a set task, wrote some 16 pages which prompted much on-set teasing.
"Was it 16?" she says now, covering her face and blushing slightly. "Might it have been 12 or a little less? All right,
I enjoyed writing it. But my handwriting's big! I leave big spaces between words." In retrospect, she found it a useful exercise.
"It made me see Hermione in a completely different way. Alfonso made me think: Why does she do the things she does? Why is
she such an annoying bookworm? I thought maybe it's her mask, her front, so she doesn't have to show any emotions or feelings.
I'd never thought about that before, so for me she became a much deeper person."
At this point, Grint enters, having completed a tutoring session. (There is an unofficial Harry Potter school at this
studio, and all the young actors and their doubles have lessons for up to five hours a day.) His red hair is worn longer than
in the films, almost falling into his eyes. He is ultra-casual in T-shirt and baggy pants.
There's a telling teenage moment between him and Watson; he moves toward a chair next to the sofa but is then persuaded
to sit beside her. After much eye-rolling from them both, with Watson complaining he has forced her to move from a warm spot
on the sofa, they finally settle down.
Grint agrees that the new film offers more scope. "There's a story line developing between Ron and Hermione," he reflects.
"It's like a little thing going on between them, and there's a lot of awkward moments in this third one. A few hugs.
And we fall out a lot as well. Alfonso thought that was a replacement for our relationship."
What he enjoys most is being involved in stunt work. In one scene, Ron is pulled along the ground and through a hole
in a tree. "That was fun," he says with a smile. "I did swallow a lot of grass, though."
Grint, who will be 16 in August, admitted it was hard to adjust to another director after two films with Columbus. "But
Alfonso was great. He was into us having a say about things. He wanted us to customize our school uniforms. He thought it
would look different, for instance, if we all wore differently knotted ties.
"So I did mine a bit scruffy. I had my shirt half untucked, the top button of my shirt undone." He pauses for effect.
"A bit like I wear my real school uniform, actually. Dan was a bit tidier than me, but Emma being Hermione, everything was
perfectly done up."
He's an engaging young man, with sleepy eyes, a slow smile and an ability to stay quiet in conversation, then deliver
a funny line almost sotto voce. Grint is an intriguing contrast to Watson, who talks fast and energetically, in perfectly
formed, complete sentences.
Both want to continue acting. "I'd be up for doing all seven Harry Potter films," Grint says. "I really enjoy acting.
You meet new people, go to different locations." Another trademark pause. "It's quite easy as well."
Watson has learned she likes performing and expressing herself: "I love art. I love being on stage, singing, dancing.
So even if I don't end up acting, maybe I'll try screenwriting, whatever gets thrown at me." She wrinkles her nose. "I can't
really see myself in an office."
The adults around them think they can fulfill these ambitions. Cuarón says of Watson: "If she decided, she could have
a big career. She's growing up so beautifully. I'd love to work with her again, away from 'Harry Potter.' She listens intensely,
and there's an intelligence and warmth about her." As for Grint, he enthuses, "I've never seen a young actor with such a brilliant
timing for comedy. But that's Rupert in real life as well. Definitely there's a career there for both of them if they want
it."
An important neutral voice is also pushing Watson's claims. Jina Jay, one of Britain's leading casting agents, specializes
in finding child actors, including Jamie Bell for "Billy Elliot." "I feel Emma has enormous potential as a future leading
actress," she says. "I'd expect her to explore her abilities carefully beyond 'Harry Potter.' I also feel she's clever and
focused enough to only choose material and directors for whom she feels passionate."
It's striking how unspoiled and natural Watson and Grint seem. "They're not like stage kids at all," says David Heyman,
producer of the "Harry Potter" films. "They don't behave like stars, and we don't treat them as such. A lot of the cast and
crew are like family here. They've been on all three films. So the kids get gently teased, and treated like everyone else.
There's a mischievous air on set."
It helps that these unlovely studios, situated in the middle of nowhere about 20 miles north of London, lack glamour.
And they are hard to find. In the three years since filming started on the first "Harry Potter" film, only a handful of fans
have even made it as far as the security gates.
Watson and Grint are determined to remain levelheaded. "I still do normal things," Watson insists. "There's nothing I
can't do now which I could before the films. I hope I'm exactly the same person."
Grint echoes her sentiment: "My friends don't think I've changed. I've tried to stay pretty normal throughout all the
films, and my friends and family have helped in that. I've just kept living the same way."
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