When JK Rowling first signed on to make movies out of her 'Harry Potter' books, there were only a few stipulations for the actors who would play her favorite characters.

Essentially, the kids had to have British accents, but beyond that, they just needed to find children who were able to take direction and become the characters from the stories.

And to hear Emma herself tell it, she seemed to have wandered her way into the role of Hermione and then almost felt trapped by it. She even considered quitting at one point, but then decided she couldn't possibly let someone carry on Hermione's legacy in her absence.

And in fact, it was Emma's theater teacher who suggested the then-9-year-old audition for 'Harry Potter,' says Biography. Young Emma was a talented stage actress, so her teacher thought it only made sense to get her into films.

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The young stage actress wasn't too invested in the outcome of the role, as she didn't really think it was possible for her to outshine the other actresses. But she did give the audition her all, and it paid off.

As Biography notes, Emma "sufficiently impressed" the casting agents and producers, even though thousands of other girls auditioned for the role.

Of course, critics would later say that she was "too attractive" to play Hermione, and even JK had some reservations about the cute little actress. Though Emma herself wasn't entirely happy with how frumpy the producers made her look.

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger in 'Harry Potter'

Looking back, young Emma didn't like that she had to look nerdy or homely, with her hair frizzy and her clothes a bit dull. She'd later outgrow that complaint, though, realizing that she was more like Hermione than she had previously thought.

And yet, Emma's Hermione was so spot-on that JK Rowling herself gave approval with very little knowledge of the actress's abilities or background.

Accio Quote recapped an interview that JK Rowling gave where she answered the question of whether the actors were what she'd envisioned when deciding to do the films. Rowling responded that "Emma Watson in particular was very, very like Hermione when I first spoke to her, I knew she was perfect from that first phone call."

As for the rest of the cast, JK may not have been sold at first. In fact, Kate Winslet was the casting crew's top pick for Helena Ravenclaw. And though Daniel Radcliffe was a pretty quick casting call (the director sort of tracked him down after meeting him once), some of the other roles were tougher to fill.

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