After the "Harry Potter" books became a sensation, it was only a matter of time before the studios noticed how beloved they were and brought them to the big screen. Among the most successful film franchises of all time, there is no doubt that the Harry Potter movies mean the world to an entire generation of moviegoers.
Given the affection that so many people have for the Harry Potter films, it is understandable that there can be strong emotions when they feel the franchise is under attack. For example, many fans feel that some statements that J.K. Rowling has made about the Harry Potter books and movies in recent years took away from them and were upsetting.
Definitely not a stranger to upsetting Harry Potter fans, some of J.K. Rowling’s statements from many years ago also upset some fans of her work. For example, Rowling once made statements that made many Potter fans feel like she was criticizing Emma Watson and they were not well received by some.
Beloved In The Role
When the world found out that there were going to be movies based on the "Harry Potter" books, many fans were concerned about the kids that would be cast in the most notable roles. To the relief of practically everyone, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Daniel Radcliffe were cast as the main Potter trio and they were great in the films.
Of the three main Harry Potter actors, it could be argued that Emma Watson’s performance as Hermione Granger received the most praise. After all, Watson’s portrayal helped to make Granger a truly beloved character among moviegoers and Hermione was a difficult character to play. Obsessed with learning and grades, it would have been very easy to make Granger feel cartoonish. Thankfully, Watson portrayed Hermione as a much more believable and nuanced person. In fact, Emma Watson was so great in the role that seeing images of her from her time playing Hermione Granger makes many fans miss that era.
J.K. Rowling’s Take On Emma Watson
Several years ago, J.K. Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe sat down for a one on one conversation about the Harry Potter movies and their conversation was interesting. Of course, many observers had one main takeaway from the entire conversation, Rowling was critical of Emma Watson portraying Hermione Granger. In reality, however, Rowling obviously had a lot of affection for Watson but most observers didn’t pay attention to that.
“Do you know what, it was really lucky I spoke to Emma first on the phone before I met her. Because I fell absolutely in love with her. She said to me: "I've only ever acted in school drama plays and oh my God I'm so nervous I can't believe I got the part" and then she spoke for, like, 60 seconds at least without drawing breath and I just said, ‘Emma, you're perfect.’”
Of course, a more cynical person could wonder if she told that story in hopes that it would detract from the more controversial thing she was about to say about Emma Watson’s casting. However, in recent years, J.K. Rowling has made several highly controversial statements and in the face of an extremely sizable backlash, she has not backed down. With that in mind, it seems clear that we can take that anecdote about the first time she spoke to Emma Watson at face value.
Questioning Emma Watson’s Casting
After speaking about why she thought the young actor was a good fit to play Hermione Granger, J.K. Rowling was frank about her one problem with Emma Watson’s casting. “And then when I met her and she was this very beautiful - which she still is, of course - beautiful girl, I just kind of had to go "Oh, okay." It's a film, you know, deal with it. I'm going to still see my gawky, geeky, ugly duckling Hermione in my mind.”
For his part, Daniel Radcliffe responded to J.K. Rowling’s statement by questioning whether or not Emma Watson’s natural beauty detracted from a memorable Harry Potter movie scene.
“Do you think that, in a way, we shot ourselves in the foot with things like that? Emma's reveal in the fourth film, where she comes down the stairs and there is supposed to have been this transformation...” “Because we're all looking and going "well she's already a beautiful girl."
Finally, J.K. Rowling agreed with Daniel Radcliffe’s take on that scene and then took things even further. “Yeah, big deal. Now she's a beautiful girl in a beautiful dress.” “And putting her in sweaters in the first film didn't make her ugly.” “Not that Hermione in the books is ever "ugly", but it was quite a big deal for me that I had written a strong female character who was primarily about the brain, and that she chose to become a little more groomed and glamorous, as we geeks do at a certain point in our lives. But I accepted it. Emma's a great actress and I loved her as a person. And I felt that there were so many connections between her and Hermione that, did it matter that she was beautiful? Come on.”
In response to J.K. Rowling’s remarks about Emma Watson during that conversation with Daniel Radcliffe, some fans got up in arms on behalf of the actor. However, it should be noted that Rowling had a similar take about the other child Potter actors, she just didn’t speak about them at length. “To be honest, you and Rupert and Emma are all too good looking, frankly. You are. You know, the characters were geeky, and you...”