| Emma Watson |
Image:EmmawatsonNMA07.jpg
Emma Watson at the National Movie Awards Ceremony on September 28th. |
| Birth name |
Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson |
| Born |
April 15 1990 (1990--) (age 17)
Paris, France |
| Years active |
2001–present |
| Official site |
EmmaWatsonOfficial.com |
Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson[1] (born
15 April 1990) is an English
actress. She rose to prominence playing Hermione
Granger, one of three starring roles in the Harry Potter film
series. At the age of nine, having previously acted only in school plays, Watson outperformed thousands of other
candidates for the role of Hermione.[2] From
2001 to 2007, she starred in five Harry Potter film installments alongside Daniel
Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. She will return for the final two installments:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, due to be
released in 2008, and Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows.[3] Watson's
work in the Harry Potter series has earned her several awards and a salary of over £10 million.[4] In 2007 she announced her involvement in two non-Harry Potter
productions: a made-for-television adaptation of the novel
Ballet Shoes, and an animated film The Tale of Despereaux.[5][6]
Early life
Emma Watson was born in Paris, France, to
Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, English lawyers who
are now divorced.[7] She has a brother, Alexander, who is three years younger,[7] and is partly French by one grandmother.[8] She lived in Paris until the age of five, when she moved with her mother and brother to
Oxford, England, following her parents' divorce.[7]
From the age of three, Watson had expressed a desire to become an actress.[2] By age ten, she had starred in several school plays, including Arthur:
The Young Years and The Happy Prince.[7] She had never acted in any professional capacity prior to her casting to the Harry
Potter series. "I had no idea of the scale of the film [series]", she said in a 2007 interview with Parade magazine, "[if I had] I would have been completely overwhelmed".[9]
Career
Hermione Granger casting
In 1999, casting began for Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone (titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United
States), the film adaptation of British author Rowling's bestselling novel.[10] Of paramount importance to the casting directors was the lead role of Harry Potter and the two supporting roles of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, Harry's two best friends at school. All three characters are
11 at the start of the school year. Impressed with her school play performances, Watson's Oxford theatre teacher passed her name
to casting agents and she was taken into serious consideration.[10] The producers were impressed by Watson's self-confidence and she outperformed thousands of
other girls who had applied[2] – after eight
auditions, producer David Heyman told Watson and fellow applicants Daniel Radcliffe and
Rupert Grint that they had been cast for the roles of Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Rowling was said to be
supportive of Watson from her first screen test.[10]
Harry Potter (2001–present)
Philosopher's Stone
Watson was eleven years old when Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released. The film was an instant
blockbuster, breaking box-office records for both opening-day sales and opening weekend takings,[11] and was the highest-grossing film of 2001.[12] Critics praised the performances of the three leads, with Watson often singled
out for particular acclaim. The Daily Telegraph called her performance
"admirable"[13] with IGN even
claiming she "stole the show".[14] Watson was nominated for
five awards for her performance in Philosopher's Stone, winning the Young Artist
Award for Leading Young Actress.[15]
In her first major interview, with the BBC in 2001, Watson said she particularly enjoyed the
film's stunts, especially a scene when her character is attacked by a troll and has to dart under sinks and run through the legs of bigger actors.[16] Later, she added that her parents did their
best to make her feel comfortable and that her biggest thrill was getting to know her adult co-stars, including Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, and Robbie Coltrane.[17]
Chamber of Secrets
A year later, Watson again starred as Hermione in Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the film series' second installment. While the film received mixed reviews on
account of pace and direction, critics were generally positive about the performances. The Los Angeles Times remarked on how Watson and her peers had matured between the two films,[18] while The Times was
critical of director Chris Columbus for "under-employing" Watson's hugely
popular character.[19] Watson was awarded an Otto Award
from the German magazine Die Welt for her performance.[20]
Now twelve years old, she commented that while making the second film, she was relieved to be familiar with the filmmaking
process instead of being new to everything as she had been the first time.[21] In a 2007 interview, Watson added that during the production of both
films she lost several baby teeth and had to wear dentures to avoid continuity issues.[22]
Prisoner of Azkaban
In 2004, Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released; Watson was appreciative of the more assertive role Hermione played in
this film, calling her "charismatic" and "a fantastic role to play".[23] Among others, she enjoyed filming a scene where Hermione
punches Harry's nemesis Draco Malfoy (played by Tom
Felton) and another where she angrily storms out of class when she becomes frustrated with divination professor Sybill Trelawney (Emma Thompson).[23] She thought that Thompson's performance as Trelawney was "absolutely
hilarious".[23]
While critics largely turned away from Radcliffe's acting talent, increasingly labeling him as wooden, Watson continued to
receive critical praise; The New York Times lauded her performance, saying
"Luckily Mr. Radcliffe's blandness is offset by Ms. Watson's spiky impatience. Harry may show off his expanding wizardly
skills... but Hermione... earns the loudest applause with a decidedly unmagical punch to Draco Malfoy's deserving nose".[24] Although Prisoner of Azkaban remains the
lowest-grossing Harry Potter film to date, it was Watson's most successful, winning her two Otto Awards and the Child
Performance of the Year award from Total Film Magazine.[25][26][27]
Watson found comfort in the fact that she already knew many of the crew on Prisoner of Azkaban because they had also
worked on Philosopher's Stone. Later that year, Watson joined Pierce Brosnan,
Chamber of Secrets co-star Kenneth Branagh, and Samantha Morton on a panel in London to award the 2004 First
Light Film Awards to teenage filmmakers.[2]
Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released in
2005; Watson reprised her role as Hermione Granger. She called director Mike Newell "fantastic" and quickly shot down rumours that she and colleagues Radcliffe and Grint could be
replaced in the following movies.[28] For
Watson, much of the humour of the film sprung from the tension between the three lead characters as they matured. She said, "I
loved all the arguing ... I think it's much more realistic that they would argue and that there would be problems. So I
thought it was great fun. And it makes for a lot of humorous relief from this quite dark book."[29] The film shattered the records set by the previous installments in
the franchise, setting new records for a Harry Potter opening weekend, all-time non-May opening weekend in the
USA, and all-time opening weekend in the UK. Critics praised the increasing maturity of Watson and her teenage co-stars; the New York Times
thought her performance "touchingly earnest".[30] Watson
was nominated for three awards for Goblet of Fire, winning a bronze Otto Award.[31][32][33]
Watson counted herself amongst the many fans who predicted a relationship between Hermione and Ron Weasley in later Harry Potter books, saying
"Hermione and Ron just need to get it together! It just needs to happen and they just need to get on with it."[29] Later that year, Watson became the youngest
person to appear on the cover of Teen Vogue magazine, until the subsequent appearance
of American actress Willa Holland.[34] In 2006, Watson played Hermione in The Queen's Handbag, a special mini-episode of Harry Potter in celebration of
Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday.[35]
Order of the Phoenix
In the 2007 film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Watson returned as
Hermione Granger for the fifth time in seven years. She was appreciative of director David
Yates, saying he was "quiet, very calm, very thoughtful, very sensitive."[34] She said that her favourite scenes were the two Wizard duels in
which Hermione is a participant, especially when she practices combat magic with Grint's character Ron Weasley. When Ron
patronises her, her spell blows him backwards into a wall. Watson said, "It was a
real 'girl power' moment, of which there are many in this film."[34] She was impressed with newcomers Evanna Lynch and
Imelda Staunton, who play Luna Lovegood and the
villain Dolores Umbridge, and reinforced the notion that her character Hermione should
romance Ron Weasley.[34] The film
was an enormous financial success, setting a record worldwide opening-weekend gross of $333 million.[36] For her work in Order of the Phoenix, Watson won the inaugural
National Movie Award for Best Female Performance.[37]
Watson was a target of some friendly ridicule on set because of her straight-A GCSE exam results,[34] and was unnerved by the film's climax which features flashback clips from earlier Harry Potter movies: "It's just like having
your baby pictures blown up on a 20-foot screen and placed in 37 countries ... You see yourself and you say, 'God, who is
that girl?'"[8]
On July 9, 2007, Watson and fellow Harry Potter co-stars
Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint left imprints of their hands, feet, and wands in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.[38]
Future plans
Despite rumours alleging that she refused to appear in the last two Harry Potter installments,[8] her commitment to the final two
films was confirmed in March 2007 by Warner Brothers. She said, "I could never let [the role of] Hermione go – she is my hero! I
love her too much and love what playing her has meant to me. I am excited and honoured to be finishing what I started and playing
her in all seven of the films."[3]
Later, she explained that people underestimated the scope of this decision, as she was aware that filming would dominate her life
for the next three to four years; in the end, "the pluses outweighed the minuses."[9]
On July 19, 2007, Watson announced her involvement in her first
non-Harry Potter project, The Tale of Despereaux, an
animated film to be released in 2008, in which she will
voice the character of Princess Pea.[5] In August
2007, it was announced that she would star in the BBC's adaptation of Ballet
Shoes,[6] playing
Pauline Fossil,[39] the eldest of
the three Fossil sisters around whom the story revolves – the role required Watson to bleach her hair white-blonde.[40]
Although Radcliffe and Grint have confirmed their commitment to an acting career, Watson has expressed uncertainty as to her
future plans. Speaking to Newsweek magazine in 2006, she said, "Daniel and Rupert seem
so sure... I love to perform, but there are so many things I love doing... Maybe that sounds ungrateful. I've been given such an
amazing opportunity, but I'll just have to go with the flow."[41] Commenting on Radcliffe's widely publicised nude scenes in the theatre piece Equus in 2007, she not did categorically rule out nude scenes herself in future films or stage works,
but added that "you will never see me naked without a good reason".[22] Watson affirmed this in a later interview with The Sydney Morning Herald saying, "If I
feel that nudity is essential to the story I'll do it ... But I'm not going to get my kit off for something that I don't
really believe in."[8]
Professional relationships
Over the years, Watson has formed a strong platonic bond with fellow Harry Potter
stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. She described it as an "unique support system" because "you can’t really explain to
someone [other than Radcliffe and Grint] what this experience is like";[9] whilst Radcliffe and Grint used to tease her when they were younger, they are now protective of
their female colleague. Watson maintains that there were never any romantic feelings involved.[9]
In an interview with German broadsheet newspaper Die Welt in 2007, Watson explained
her reaction to realising that she would have to kiss Grint's character in the seventh film.
Although she supported the idea of a relationship between the two fictional characters,[29][34] she said she "would rather not think about it now", adding that while Grint was "very
nice" and "many girls like him", he was definitely not her type.[22]
Beyond her peers Radcliffe and Grint, Watson greatly enjoyed working with the adult Harry Potter actors, including
Helena Bonham Carter (Death Eater
Bellatrix Lestrange) who was "so much fun", Emma Thompson (divination teacher Sybill Trelawney), Maggie Smith (transfiguration teacher Minerva McGonagall) "who always
gives me chocolates at Christmas", and Robbie Coltrane (gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid) who "is always telling us completely dirty and inappropriate jokes that we are far too
young to be hearing, but we love, of course." She added that in the end, all Harry Potter actors form "a bit of a family
for us as well".[42] In a 2007 interview with
YOU Magazine, Watson was appreciative of J. K. Rowling's contribution to the film series: "she has been really
lovely and very supportive of the films—she comes on set and she is in e-mail contact with a lot of us. She just said to me, 'You
are Hermione, you have completely become her,' which was just so nice and so generous of her [to say]".[42]
Personal life
In recent years, Watson's extended family has grown as both her parents have children by new partners after their divorce. Her
father has identical twin girls, Nina and Lucy,[43] and a four-year old son Toby. She also has two half-brothers from her mother's new
marriage who "regularly stay with [her]".[42]
Watson's full brother Alexander has appeared as an extra in two Harry Potter films,[43], and her sisters Nina and Lucy were cast as the young Pauline
Fossil in the BBC's Ballet Shoes adaptation.[43]
After moving to Oxford with her mother and brother, Watson attended The Dragon School,
a private preparatory school, until June 2003 and then moved to Headington School, a private all-girls school, also in Oxford.[7] In 2003, she described having "a good time as a teenager" despite all the stardom and did not
have the feeling of having lost her youth.[23] However, she says that getting spotted by tourists and being a regular target for
Internet impersonators gets on her nerves once in a while.[42] Watson admitted resenting some of her celebrity status in an October 2006 interview with The
Times, citing it as one reason for her being single: "Guys are either intimidated by me, or they have defences up, or they
like to take the piss out of me."[44]
Watson's work in the Harry Potter series has amassed her over £10 million;[4] Watson has acknowledged that she will never have to work again for money.
However, she has declined quitting school and becoming a full-time actress, saying "People can’t understand why I don’t want
to... but school life keeps me in touch with my friends. It keeps me in touch with reality. It makes me feel normal. Let’s be
honest: I have enough money never to have to work again, but I would never want that. Learning keeps me motivated."[9] While on film sets, Watson and her peers were
tutored for about four hours of lessons per day;[2] despite the focus on filming, Watson's academic achievements were good. In June 2006, she took
GCSE examinations in 10 subjects, achieving eight A* and two
A grades.[45] The following year she received four
A grades in her AS levels in English,
Geography, Art and History of
Art.[46] The only one of
the Harry Potter trio to intend to study at university, Watson has entertained thoughts of applying to read
Philosophy at Cambridge or PPE at Oxford.[47][48]
On her official homepage, Watson states her interests as dancing, singing, field hockey, tennis and
art. She calls herself a feminist.[42][9] She has a cat called "Bubbles", admires Johnny Depp and
Julia Roberts, and lists France as her favourite holiday destination.[49] Watson says her greatest wish is "to
have two friends, which stay – people with you can always be together and who don't scoot, because you are a film star."[2]
Filmography
Awards
References
- ^ Warner Bros. Official
site. (Flash: click appropriate actor's image, click "Actor Bio").
harrypotter.warnerbros.co.uk. Retrieved on 28 March, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f Kulkani, Dhananjay (2004-06-23). Emma Watson, New Teenage
Sensation!!. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
- ^ a b c
Warner Bros. (2007-03-23). Daniel Radcliffe,
Rupert Grint and Emma Watson to Reprise Roles in the Final Two Installments of Warner Bros. Pictures' Harry Potter Film
Franchise. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
- ^ a b Stenzhorn, Stefan. "Potter star Watson "rich enough to
retire"", RTÉ.ie Entertainment, 2007-07-27.
Retrieved on 2007-07-27.
- ^ a b
- ^ a b
- ^ a b c d e
- ^ a b c
d
- ^ a b c d e f
- ^ a b c Watson, Emma.
Emma. Emma Watson's Official Website.
Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
- ^ ""Harry Potter" magically shatters records", Hollywood.com, 2001-11-18. Retrieved on
2007-09-21.
- ^ 2001
Worldwide Grosses. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-05-29.
- ^ "Magic is the
only word for it", The Daily Telegraph, 2007-11-04. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
- ^ Linder, Brian. "Review of Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone", IGN, 2001-11-17. Retrieved on
2007-09-23.
- ^ a b c
- ^ "Emma Watson: 'I have
the best lines'", Newsround, 2001-10-30. Retrieved on
2007-08-03.
- ^ Cawthorne, Alec. "Rupert
Grint and Emma Watson", BBC, 2007-11-07. Retrieved on
2007-08-03.
- ^ Kenneth Turan. "Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets", Los Angeles Times, 2002-11-15. Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
- ^ Ellen, Barbara. "Film of the week", The Times, 2002-11-14. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
- ^ a b
- ^ "Emma Watson: 'Success
hasn't changed me'", BBC News, 2002-11-11. Retrieved on
2007-08-04.
- ^ a b c Aust, Christan
(2007-06-30). Sie
werden mich nie grundlos nackt sehen! (german). Die Welt.
Retrieved on 2007-08-03. Relevant German passages translated by Onomatopoeia: "Ich weiß noch, dass mir während Teil 1 und 2 noch Milchzähne herausfielen. Man musste eine
Art Zahnprothese für mich anfertigen, damit man es nicht sah." — "I still know that some baby teeth fell out during films 1
and 2. They had to make dentures for me to cover it up"; "Im nächsten Teil müssen Sie Rupert Grint küssen / Rupert ist sehr
nett, und viele Mädchen finden ihn ganz toll. Aber er ist nun einmal nicht mein Typ." — "You have to kiss Rupert Grint in the
next part / Rupert is very nice, and many girls like him. But he is just not my type."; "Daniel Radcliffe hat sich für ein
Theaterstück ausgezogen. Würden Sie so etwas machen? / Wenn ich an die Geschichte glaube, würde ich mich ausziehen. Aber Sie
werden mich nie grundlos nackt sehen." — "Daniel Radcliffe was naked during a theatre play. Would you do it? / If I believe
in the story, I would take off my clothes. But you will never see me naked without reason."
- ^ a b c d
- ^ A. O. Scott. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Film review", The New York
Times, 2004-06-03. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
- ^ a b
- ^ a b
- ^ a b
- ^ Utichi, Joe (2005-03-15).
Emma Watson and Jason Isaacs
talk Potter. FilmFocus. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
- ^ a b c Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert
Grint. IGN (2005-11-15). Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla. "The Young
Wizard puts away childish things", The New York Times, 2005-11-17. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
- ^ a b
- ^ a b
- ^ a b
- ^ a b c
d e f Horn,
Steven (2007-06-26). Interview with Emma Watson. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
- ^ New Harry Potter scene for queen.
BBC News (2006-06-12). Retrieved on 2007-08-06.
- ^ All Time worldwide opening records. Box Office
Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ a b
- ^ "Hollywood Blvd Celebrates Potter's
'Wands Of Fame'", CBS2.com, 2007-07-09. Retrieved on
2007-07-10.
- ^ Watson, Emma. Emma Watson's official website. Emma
Watson's Official Website. Retrieved on 2007-08-27.
- ^ Walden, Celia. "Telegraph
Spy", Daily Telegraph, 2007-08-07. Retrieved on
2007-08-13.
- ^ "Will Harry Potter lose one of its stars?", Newsweek,
2006-10-02. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ a b c d e
- ^ a b c
Watson, Emma (2007-09-24). Emma's sisters in Ballet Shoes. Emma Watson's official website. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
- ^ Rifkind, Hugo. "Emma Watson; PS. (Home news)", The Times, 2006-09-28, p. 15. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- ^ "Pupils "sitting too many GCSEs"", BBC News, 2006-08-24. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
- ^ "Emma's A/S Results", Emma Watson's
Official Website, 2007-08-17. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
- ^ "Hermione to
take on muggles at Cambridge", The Daily Telegraph, 2007-06-27. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ Yaqoob, Tahira. "Emma Watson films her first role... as another schoolgirl", The
Daily Mail, 2007-08-31. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ Watson, Emma. emma-faq. Emma Watson's Official
Website. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
- ^ "Confirmed: HBP movie release date",
MuggleNet, 2006-08-04. Retrieved on 2007-07-13.
- ^ 2002 Saturn Awards. IMDB. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
- ^ 2002 Empire Awards. IMDB. Retrieved on
2007-09-13.
- ^ American Moviegoer Award
nominations. Time Warner. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
- ^ Prisoner of Azkaban awards. Broadcast
Film Critics Association. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
| Persondata |
| NAME |
Watson, Emma |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
Watson, Emma Charlotte Duerre (full name) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION |
Actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
April 15, 1990 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
Paris, France |
| DATE OF DEATH |
|
| PLACE OF DEATH |
|
bat-smg:Emma Watson
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