FILM INTERVIEW: EMMA WATSON
It's Dark Times for Hermione Granger in 'Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows - Part 1'
Izumi Hasegawa: You're everywhere in the newspapers today.
Emma Watson: So I'm told! I just got out of bed, so I'm still processing it all.
IH: Can you talk about that awesome scene between Hermione and Bellatrix, when she's writing "mudblood" on your arm? It was really powerful.
EW: Thank you very much. It was very weirdly affecting to do that scene. It was quite horrible. I think even Helena [Bonham Carter] said to me afterwards, "I really didn't enjoy doing that." She usually gets very into it with that kind of evil stuff, but I think she felt quite uncomfortable. Actually, the mudblood idea wasn't something that was written in the script--it was something Helena and I came up with because, if she's just doing a spell on me, obviously I can make it look like it's painful, but I think it would be really powerful to have something that the audience can physically see. So we came up with "mudblood," and we sat there on set designing what Bellatrix's handwriting would look like for like 40 minutes. Like, "Do you think that's what she would write like?" We had a lot of fun with it.
IH: On the set a few months ago, you said that when you guys did that scene, the cast and crew felt very awkward because it felt so real.
EW: Everyone did feel very awkward. It was funny--Charlotte Hayward, who's my great friend and who did my hair and makeup for the whole movie--bolted for the door; she really wanted to come in and save me. I did one take, and David [Yates] let the camera roll for two minutes and just left me there screaming. I was like, "Well, fair enough. You're gonna have two minutes of me screaming." But I was like, "I did that a lot longer than it was actually shown!" I think it was quite disturbing for the crew, which I was pleased about, obviously, because it said I was doing a good job. But I think it wasn't a fun day for everyone on set.
IH: Was that a difficult scene for you to shoot?
EW: Actually, weirdly, I had been thinking about it for months, so when I finally came to it, it was like I'd built up all this stuff that I wanted to exercise. It was like an out-of-body experience--it was really weird. I just kind of did it, and David was like, "Okay, great. Done here."
IH: Is there any particular scene in any of the films that you'd like to go back and reshoot, even as a different character?
EW: Ooh. That's interesting--as a different character? Oh, wow. That's a sharp question! I actually had a really good time playing the evil Hermione in Ron's vision, so I'd quite like to go back and play a bad guy for once; I think that would be fun.
IH: As Dan [Radcliffe] commented on BBC, apparently you're quite a fiery kisser.
EW: So I hear! Journalists keep bringing this up with me. I don't really know what to say. I think, for the scene, obviously it had to be something that would disturb Ron, that would make him really jealous and that would make him upset, so I think the kiss had to be passionate from Hermione's end; I think I read "animal," even, in one interview. I guess I should just take it as a compliment?
IH: Obviously you've had a chance to talk to him since the publicity on that has started.
EW: I said to him last night, "You've been telling everyone I pounced on you!" He said, "I didn't use those words," and I was like, "Mmm-hmm. Whatever, Dan." [Laughs]
IH: But that could be a good thing.
EW: That's why I'm saying I'm taking it as a compliment. He's like, "No, no! I gave you a 10 for kissing." I was like, "All right. Well, as long as it's positive, I guess it's fine."
IH: How have you learned to take all this media gossip in stride?
EW: It's experience. I'm 20 years old now, and I was 9 or 10 when I went into my first press conference. It's not worth it. It takes too much emotional energy to get upset every time something's written that you don't want to see. You just have to let it go. I would be a crazy person... Maybe I am a crazy person. [Laughs] It took me a while to figure that one out, actually. I would be lying if I said I didn't still get upset. I do still get upset, but I just don't care quite so much, which is good. Things still get misquoted all the time, and there's so much information out there about me, I think it would be very easy to check facts, but...
IH: Can you talk about your first-person perspective about being at Brown now? How has your experience living in America been? You've been there for about a year or two--do you feel sort of American now, or do you still feel much like a foreigner there?
EW: It's really weird, actually. When the American press came in on day two, I suddenly perked up and felt quite at home. I was quite happy to hear some American accents. It was really weird, whereas normally that would feel really foreign. But I was like, "Ah, the American press. Hello!" It's funny. It has become a second home to me, and I do really love it. I'm very happy. I could very easily see myself splitting my time between New York and London.
IH: Why did you choose to go to university in the States as opposed to the UK? I'm sure you could get into any UK school you wanted...
EW: For a number of reasons. A friend of mine went over to university in the States, and when he was telling me about the fact that he was able to study more than one subject at a time and that it was much more open and broad, that really appealed to me, and also I'm much more anonymous in the States. I needed a change, I needed a fresh start--somewhere I could go and feel like I could really reinvent myself, and that's what Brown has been for me.
IH: Do you still want an acting career?
EW: Definitely. This film has given me a lot of confidence. I just did a movie called My Week With Marilyn, which is a Weinstein production with Eddie Redmayne and Michelle Williams, and that went really well. I think I will keep acting. I'd like to make maybe one movie a year or something, especially until I'm done with Brown, because it's really hard. It's really exhausting, trying to juggle the two. It takes a lot.
IH: Have you missed a lot of classes because of your filming schedule? How do you juggle school and work?
EW: I'm missing two weeks of school because I'm here doing this, but you just have to be really organized with your time. I tell professors in advance that I have to leave at this period of time, and I hope they'll understand. I have to work hard to earn that kind of trust and respect so they'll allow me to do that. I have to show them that I'm a hard worker and that I take my studies seriously, because otherwise they wouldn't let me do it. So the beginning of the semester is all about me getting good grades so they're like, "Okay, you can go off and do whatever it is you have to do."
IH: Have you declared a major?
EW: Yes, I've declared History as my major.
IH: American history?
EW: I'm not sure. I like modern history, but I don't know. I will have to choose a specific area at some point, but not for a little while yet.
IH: Can you talk about your dance sequence with Dan? Is he a naturally gifted dancer, or did you have to show him some moves? Was it all choreographed?
EW: As much as I love Dan, he's not a naturally gifted dancer. I think he knows, but it was perfect for the scene. It wasn't meant to look perfect--it was meant to look silly and spontaneous.
IH: You were good.
EW: Thanks! I love to dance.
IH: The three of you really showed your acting in this movie. What does Yates think of that?
EW: The thing about working with David Yates is that you always hear the word "truth" and finding the truth and being honest and real. He really hates anything false. He wants it to be from the heart, so I think that made me a better actress. Especially at the very beginning, I was playing such a character, and when I was playing Hermione I could really put on this act and become this big personality and use that to avoid being as truthful, and then he just said, "Just do it from here. Just forget all that stuff. Just be honest," and that's what I tried to do, and I think it made a difference.
IH: Your character spends most of this film with just Harry and Ron. Was that a different experience from the previous films?
EW: It was so nice not having the whole infrastructure of having the castle and the school year. As much as it's been amazing to work with all the talent, it can become quite stilted, having all of these barriers in place. It's nice for it just to be the three of us and for it to be about us and what we could give; I loved that.
IH: You've said you always wanted Ron and Hermione to end up together as a couple. Which of all the Ron and Hermione scenes was your favorite to film?
EW: There's the scene where we go off together to get the basilisk fang in Part 2, to destroy the horcrux, and we go off on this little adventure together. It's kind of like a comedy act because it's the first time you see Hermione and Ron in tune. We're usually so offbeat, we always miss each other and we kind of clash, and in this one scene, we're this real team and we're both so into it. There's a couple of very funny comedy moments, and I enjoyed working on it. Rupert is a great comedic actor, so we had a really good time bringing the humor out of everything we could.
IH: Did you get to revisit those old Chamber of Secrets sets?
EW: We did, which was very weird, actually, because those scenes haven't been built.
IH: Your opening scene with Hermione's parents was so emotional. Was that a challenge for you? It was so real.
EW: Thank you. It was a challenge. I don't want to get too heavy, but being from a family that's been split up, I know what it's like to walk away from coming in between two different families. It's hard. I guess I used some of that.
IH: When we see Hermione's baby pictures in the film, were those your baby pictures?
EW: They were actually my baby pictures. There's one with me–it's my favorite thing--I had this towel with bunny rabbit ears on it, and there's a picture of that. I didn't know which ones they were going to use. They just asked my dad if they could have some pictures of me when I was a kid, and he handed some over. It's very weird seeing those real pictures meshed in with these fake parents.
IH: Was it emotional when you wrapped the movie?
EW: It's hard for me to answer because I still don't really know how I feel about it. I'm still processing it, so to give you an answer is actually quite hard. I have days where I feel relieved and I have days where I feel very sad, and I have days where I'm so excited because this just took up my life, all of my time--everything revolved around Harry Potter--that was the focal point of my existence. It's exciting, now that I have this time and I can accept other things. The grass is always greener, but there were so many moments when I was making this when I thought, "God, I wish I could go do that..." or something would come up, and now I have time to do different things, so it's exciting. I swing like a pendulum, back and forth between all these different emotions.
IH: Will you miss your routine, like waiting for a call sheet in the morning?
EW: I'll miss those pieces of paper. We had a few of them. I will. It's very weird.
IH: Were there any changes in the dialogue, or did you always use the dialogue that was given?
EW: By the end, Dan, Rupert and I were rewriting our dialogue because I would read something and immediately say, "She wouldn't say that." Luckily enough, having played her for ten years, Steve Kloves and David trusted in me enough to give me the freedom to do that. I don't think I'll ever have that chance again, so it was nice.
IH: Even though the three of you preceded Twilight, I couldn't help but be reminded of it with the camping scene...
EW: I didn't think of that connection. Oh yes, there is that comparison. Oh no.
IH: It looks like you were looking at the headlines as you thought about that...
EW: [Laughs] Oh no, I am. I'm calculating the comparisons that will be made. It used to be comparisons to Lord of the Rings, and now Twilight has stepped into that breach of being compared.
IH: Is it kind of awkward, because these guys are like your brothers at this point, to have intimate scenes with them?
EW: It was horrible. I mean, really horrible. I felt incredibly awkward. We somehow managed to make it look realistic, so I was proud of myself that I managed to power through and be professional.
IH: Did you have fun at the premiere?
EW: I did have a lot of fun. It was really nice to hear positive reactions. Obviously everyone is going to be a little bit biased when they're speaking to me in person about whether they liked the movie or not, but generally people seem to like the movie.
IH: It stands alone, too, as a separate movie...
EW: I'm glad you said that. That was one thing I was worried about as I was watching it--that people wouldn't understand if they hadn't seen the six that came before.
IH: This one was a bit more indulgent with its pacing--more European...
EW: I know exactly what you mean. There were times when I felt like I was being sped through my lines a bit, like, "We've got so much to fit in. Can you talk faster, please?" It was nice to feel like I had space. You're right about that timing thing. The lovely thing about it as well was that shooting...I said the "lovely thing about it." It was ball-breaking, but the lovely thing about doing two back-to-back was that we picked up a momentum and rhythm and were really into the work and very in our characters. There was a real fluidity to what we were doing, so it made a good movie because the biggest thing we have on Potter is that we have so many special effects, we have animals, we have hundreds of actors and this huge cast, and it gets so slow. For us as actors, the biggest challenge is keeping each take fresh and real and new, because when it's moving that slow and you've been hanging around in your trailer for three hours and you've done it for some time, it's really hard to bring something fresh, so it was really nice to have that momentum and chaos of trying to shoot two in one time.
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - Part 1 is in theaters now
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