Emma Watson is known for both her successful acting career and her activism work. She has received a number of accolades, including a Young Artist Award and three MTV Movie Awards. Watson has been ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses by Forbes and Vanity Fair.
Watson rose to fame after landing her first professional acting role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series. After the final Harry Potter film, Watson took on a supporting role in My Week with Marilyn (2011). The year after she starred as Sam, a flirtatious, free-spirited student in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) to much critical success.
Watson received more critical acclaim for portraying Alexis Neiers in Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring (2013). The same year, Watson starred in This Is the End, a 2013 American apocalyptic comedy film written, directed and produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
The film was both a critical and commercial success, receiving positive reviews from critics and grossing $126 million worldwide on a budget of $32–41.9 million. But did the Emma Watson really leave the set of This Is The End when she realized her role had been changed?
Emma Watson Was Cast In 'Harry Potter' After Casting Directors Came To School
Despite not having any professional acting training, Watson, who was a huge fan of the Harry Potter books, was determined to play Hermione Granger in the film adaptation. Fortunately for the budding actress, Potter producers came to Watson’s school looking for people her age to audition for roles.
Although there were many roles to fill, Watson always knew that she wanted to play Hermione. She’d always felt connected to the fictional witch and was sure that she was the right person to play her. Fortunately, the producers saw something in Watson at her school and she was given the opportunity to audition for the role.
“I really believe that you have to earn things,” Watson explained to GQ UK. "I don’t feel comfortable unless I have worked really hard. I worked hard to get Hermione, and my mum has a video I did for the first audition, and she has me doing the same take over and over, like 27 times, from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon, and I was just relentless. I wasn’t sure I wanted to act, but I was sure I wanted this part."
Seth Rogen Explained Why Emma Watson 'Stormed Off Set' During Filming Of 'This Is The End'
Seth Rogen was forced to apologize over his comments about an on-set situation involving Emma Watson during the production of This Is The End. The Beauty and the Beast actress appeared in the 2013 apocalypse comedy as a version of herself.
Rumors have been circulating for years that Watson “stormed off the set” after refusing to act in a scene in which Channing Tatum cameos as a gimp on a leash.
Rogen appeared to clear up the rumor in an interview with GQ magazine, but then had to further clarify his comments in a tweet.
“I want to correct a story that has emerged from a recent interview I gave,” Rogen wrote on Twitter. “It misrepresents what actually happened. Emma Watson did not ‘storm off the set’ and it’s s***** that the perception is that she did. The scene was not what was originally scripted, it was getting improvised, changed drastically and was not what she agreed to."
"The narrative that she was in some way uncool or unprofessional is complete bulls***.”
Rogen continued, “I for sure should have communicated better and because I didn’t, she was put in an uncomfortable position. She and I spoke on the night; it was overall a s***** situation, and it must have been hard for her to say something, and I’m very happy and impressed that she did. I was thrilled for the opportunity to work with her and would be thrilled to get that opportunity again. I am very sorry and disappointed it happened, and I wish I had done more to prevent it.”
However, in the GQ magazine interview, Rogen did not correct the interviewer when it was mentioned that Watson “stormed off set.”
Rogen said, “I mean, I don’t look back on that and think, ‘How dare she do that?’ You know?” I think sometimes when you read something, when it comes to life it doesn’t seem to be what you thought it was." He added: "But it was not some terrible ending to our relationship. She came back the next day to say goodbye. She helped promote the film. No hard feelings and I couldn’t be happier with how the film turned out in the end.”
Emma Watson Could Not Believe Her 'Power' After Her Life-Changing Role In 'Harry Potter'
Despite her apparent disagreement with Seth Rogen, there is no denying Emma Watson's star power. In an interview with GQ UK, Watson recalled recognizing her power in Hollywood for the first time.
“It’s only after the [Harry Potter] films ended, and I remember taking a trip out to LA and my agent saying, ‘You should really take some meetings, you should go and meet people,'” the 32-year-old actor shared. “It was only then that it really dawned on me, and it was quite overwhelming when it did, but every single studio head of every big studio in Hollywood gave up their time and came and met me personally.”
Watson shared she didn’t truly realize how much influence she had from doing the Potter films. “I really didn’t understand that I had that kind of power,” she explained.
“I genuinely didn’t. I think my parents were very focused on keeping me down to earth. The biggest compliment I’ve ever had, getting ready for a premiere or whatever, is that I scrub up all right. I don’t know. I didn’t fully understand what it all meant. I really didn’t have any perspective of it. I was actually just incredibly naive about the whole thing.”
