At the age of 11, Emma Watson became one of the most famous child stars of the 2000s. After joining the cast of Harry Potter, Watson became a major celebrity and, even now, she's still remembered for her role as Hermione Granger. Today, over two decades after she was tapped to play the crafty Hogwarts student, Watson explains the story of how she landed the role and, if you can believe it, she even mentioned Beanie Babies and “lucky talismans” as part of the story.
Before the Harry Potter movies were made, Daniel Radcliffe starred in BBC One’s David Copperfield and had a small part in The Tailor of Panama. Meanwhile, Rupert Grint had a school theatre background. As for Emma Watson, she lacked formal acting experience at the time, as she explained on Jay Shetty's On Purpose Podcast. Nevertheless, she still found herself in a position to audition for one of the key roles in the Potter franchise:
So I did not go to a performing arts school. I never acted professionally. But they did like a, basically, country-wide search to find Harry, Hermione and Ron, and so they asked my school if they wanted to submit any students who loved drama, who wanted to audition. So I was one of, I think, about 12 students that was asked if I wanted to audition.
It’s interesting that Warner Bros. turned to U.K. schools for casting, compared to relying on a more formal process involving professional child stars. Of course, that same process was used when it came to casting the magical trio for HBO's upcoming Harry Potter TV series, as 32,000 audition tapes were reviewed. This shows how committed WB was (and remains) to discovering raw talent and giving opportunities to relative newcomers.
Although Watson, for her part, didn't have formal training as an actor, that didn't stop her from feeling optimistic about her chances of landing the part. She also prepared herself in a somewhat quirky, yet endearing way, based on the comments she shared on the podcast. The Perks of Being a Wallflower star continued to talk about the cute accessories she brought with her for her Harry Potter audition, and I love this so much:
It was weird. I had this weird, weighted, fated, sense of destiny pretty much from the moment that they mentioned the audition. I remember, I brought, I think, maybe like seven different Beanie Babies with me along and all these different lucky talismans.
Ah, the Beanie Babies days. I remember them well. As for the lucky talismans, why not? Considering how stressful and tough auditions are, any form of good luck an actor can bring with them certainly couldn't hurt. Considering just how much tedious preparation Emma Watson put into her audition, I would agree that she was destined to play Granger.
Just like Hermione, Emma Watson was a real bookworm herself, as she explained on the podcast that she loved the world of Harry Potter so much at a young age. She remembered how her dad would sweetly read the J.K. Rowling-authored series to her before bed and during long car rides. Needless to say, getting that opportunity was massive for a young Watson.
Even though Emma Watson wasn’t an actress before auditioning for Hermione, she recalled strongly feeling as though she was destined to play the brainy Hogwarts student. Watson also provided some thoughts about how she now feels about her tenure in the role:
I always felt like Hermione was — I knew I was never auditioning for anything else. I knew it was her. I don’t know how to explain it. Something felt right about it. My poor parents because, if I hadn’t have got it, I think they knew how crushed [I would’ve been]. I ended up doing nine auditions over a period of over a year and a half, which, for a nine-year-old, is a massive commitment. But I loved [Hermione]. I loved it, I really did.
Ultimately, people sometimes can't explain just why they feel like they're destined for something. It’s just an instinct that what’s meant to be will be. On the set of The Sorcerer’s Stone, Watson also had no problems proving she was the perfect person for the role. She knew her own lines but mouthed the lines of her co-stars, too! (Someone clearly did their homework like Hermione Granger would have done.)
Emma Watson's journey landing the big role of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter feels about as magical as the Wizarding World she's now linked to. With Beanie Babies and “lucky talismans” there to help her reach her dreams, she proved that a little faith and luck can change the course of a lifetime. Feel free to revisit the movies that made Watson a star, as they're all streaming with a HBO Max subscription, and Peacock subscription holders can access them as well.
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