J.K. Rowling Didn’t Want Emma Watson As Hermione At First… & The Reason Might Leave You Surprised!
During the casting of the OG trio of the Harry Potter film series, the producers didn’t send Emma Watson’s pictures to J.K. Rowling. Do you know why? Read on.
J.K. Rowling Nearly Rejected Emma Watson For Hermione Because She Was “Too Pretty” For The Role (Photo Credit – Instagram/Facebook)
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Harry Potter has always been a huge part of almost all of our childhoods. We grew up watching and imagining that one day we would also get a letter from Hogwarts to learn wizardry. However, that never happened, but somewhere our childhood was much better because of this film series based on the novel series by J.K. Rowling. The original trio, Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, will always stay engraved in our hearts.
But did you know J.K. Rowling has played a huge role in the production of the movies? She was a part of the casting team as she wanted the actors to look somewhat similar to the characters she had penned. So, when it was time to cast Emma in Hermione’s role, the production team didn’t send her pictures; instead let her speak over the phone for a reason. Do you know why? Read on.
Emma Watson Almost Didn’t Make It As Hermione Granger
According to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Hermione wasn’t pretty, but she was nerdy and geeky. Whereas Emma Watson was and still is a very beautiful actress. So, the production team didn’t send her pictures and let her talk to Rowling over the phone. While describing the situation in a conversation with Daniel Radcliffe, she said, “To be honest, you, Rupert, and Emma are all too good-looking. You know the characters were geeky.”
When Daniel further asked if she knew they were going to get cast for the film series or not, the novelist shared, “It was really lucky that I spoke to Emma first on the phone before I met her. Because I fell absolutely in love with her. She said to me (in Emma’s tone), ‘I’ve only ever acted in school drama plays before and god oh my god I’m so nervous I can’t believe I got the part.’ And she spoke for like 60 seconds at least without drawing breath, and I just said, ‘Emma, you’re perfect.’”
J.K. Rowling continued, Then, when I met her, she was this very beautiful girl, I just kind of had to be like ‘Ok, it’s a film. Deal with it. I’m gonna still see my gawky, geeky, ugly duckling Hermione in my mind.’ I put her in a fairy isle sweater in the first film, and it still didn’t make her look ugly. It was actually quite a big deal for me as I had written a strong female character who was primarily about the brain, and in the fourth film, when she gets a little groomed and glamorous, like we geeks want to try at a certain point in our lives.”
Why J.K. Rowling Finally Decided To Keep Emma Watson As Hermione?
Well, J.K. Rowling accepted her being Hermione as Emma Watson is a great actress, and she adored her. The writer herself mentioned that there were so many connections between her and Hermione, it didn’t matter that she was so beautiful. The novelist could see Hermione in her in every way possible. The beauty didn’t affect how she portrayed the character in her books.
emma watson as hermione granger in harry potter and the deathly hallows part one (2011) pic.twitter.com/zHXcI3SPIx
