Harry Potter’s Hogwarts saga continued for many years and produced eight fabulous movies, creating an exceptional fan base around the world. But can you imagine the world of Harry Potter without the main leads, especially Hermione Granger aka Emma Watson?
Well, the superstar once reached a point when she actually considered leaving the iconic role. During HBO’s Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special in 2021, director David Yates shared how Watson was thinking of leaving the franchise during the time he signed on to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
In one of the scenes, Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint discussed the fame they received with their roles when they played in their childhood. The actress even recalled rereading a diary entry from the time she was thinking about quitting, and she said it was clear she felt lonely. Watson told Grint at the time, “[Order of the Phoenix] was when things started getting spicy for all of us. I think I was scared. I don’t know if you ever felt like it got to a tipping point where you were like, ‘This is kind of forever now.’”
Not only Watson but even Grint shared his thoughts about leaving his role of Ron Weasley. He said, “I had moments like that kind of all the way through. I also had similar feelings to Emma kind of contemplating what life would be like if I called it a day, but we never really spoke about it. I guess we were just kind of going through it at our own pace. We were kind of in the moment at the time. It just didn’t really occur to us that we were all having similar feelings.”
She further added, “The fame thing had finally hit home in a big way.” The trio also remembered that even though they had similar feelings, they didn’t share their struggles with each other at the time. Radcliffe shared, “We never talked about it on the film because we were all just kids. As a 14-year-old boy, I was never going to turn around to another 14-year-old and be like, ‘Hey, how are you doing? Is everything okay?’”
The Beauty and the Beast actress also shared why she stayed in her role, admitting she decided on her own. She said, “No one had to convince me to see it through. The fans genuinely wanted you to succeed and like all genuinely had everyone’s backs. How great is that?”
Nonetheless, Harry Potter is returning with a seven-season TV adaptation, and we can all expect another trip to Hogwarts.
