Emma Watson and her "Harry Potter" co-star Rupert Grint have revealed that they both considered quitting the franchise.
Watson and Grint's roles as Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in all eight "Harry Potter" films catapulted them into the limelight but the fame was too much for them, the pair revealed during an appearance on HBO Max's "Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts."
"I think I was scared," Watson admitted to Grint in a promotional video clip cited by Yahoo!. "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.'"
Grint later admitted he had moments when he would be "contemplating what life would be like if I called it a day."
"I had moments like that kind of all the way through," he replied to Watson.
"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."
Watson added, "The fame thing had finally hit home in a big way."
During the reunion, David Yates, who directed the final four "Harry Potter" films," confirmed he was informed that Watson was not sure she would return to do another film. Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the film series, admitted that while he had his friends, and Radcliffe and Grint had each other to lean on for support, Watson was "not only younger but she was by herself."
Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter, meanwhile admitted they were all experiencing the same unspoken emotions and anxieties.
"We never talked about it on the film because we were all just kids," Radcliffe said. "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 OK?"
This is not the first time it has emerged that Watson wanted to exit the franchise. Producer David Heyman told The Hollywood Reporter during a 2013 interview that the actress wanted to focus on school and came close to not reprising her role in the films.
"They were initially signed up to two films, but then we had to renegotiate each time," he said.
"Emma, in particular, was quite academic and was very keen in pursuit of schooling and was wrestling a little bit more than the others. So each time there was a negotiation, it was not about a financial [matter], it really was about, Do I want to be a part of this?
"We had to be sensitive to her needs and how important school was to her. And you have to listen. In our position, you’re not dictating, you’re listening. At the same time, it’s a tipping point, and it’s working within a framework. I deeply respected her, encouraged her. She’s very smart; always was, and fiercely intelligent."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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