Emma Watson fit in the role of Hermione Granger as if J.K. Rowling had written it with her in mind. The young actress won hearts playing the little genius, muggle-born witch. Though the Harry Potter fans always noted that Emma Watson is one of the prettiest actresses, they were awestruck by how pretty she was, when she walked down the stairs at the Yule Ball.
The stairs scene is one of the most pivotal scenes for the character of Hermione, as in the scene her friends see her as more than just a best friend and accomplice in all their missions. This scene is also credited with laying the groundwork for Ron and Hermione’s romance that develops in future movies. Knowing the importance of the scene, shooting it made Emma Watson so nervous that she couldn’t walk down the stairs right.
Emma Watson could not climb down the stairs right
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the movie where we see Voldemort, the infamous villain, return to the Wizarding World. His followers devise an extensive plan and hack the Triwizard Cup so that Harry Potter can be transported to the graveyard, Little Hangleton, where the evil wizard is resurrected. In the movie, we also saw the first death of a character with whom Harry and the fans had connected, the young and talented Cedric Diggory.
After this, the tale of Harry Potter took a dark turn, so the Goblet of Fire is remembered for bringing a change to the theme of the franchise. But the movie starts on a lighter note, with the Triwizard Cup, and participants from different schools joining the students of Hogwarts for the same. But before the matches start, the four champions, along with others attend the Yule Ball.
For Emma Watson, despite having many important and pivotal scenes in the movie, as it turns, walking down the stairs at the Yule Ball was the hardest one to film. The actress shared in the reunion special, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, how hard she found filming the scene.
“I think for the first time, Harry and Ron, particularly Ron, see Hermione as a young woman, not just this kind of sidekick that they each have. I knew it was a big deal, and I was miserable…I just knew it was the duckling becomes a swan moment, I mean there was just all of this pressure suddenly.”
“Mike Newell coached me to walk down the stairs in the dress. ‘Your arms are swinging too much, you’re walking too quickly, you need to walk slower.’ He’s giving me a million different directions about how to walk down the stairs, and of course, I fell down the stairs.”
The actress recalled that apart from her nervousness, knowing the importance of the scene, a million instructions from Mike Newell overwhelmed her, and she ended up tripping and falling down the stairs. But in the end, she managed to ace the scene.
Emma Watson almost quit the Harry Potter franchise
Emma Watson embodied the role of Hermione so perfectly that whenever we read the books now, we just see her in our heads, and hear her voice saying the dialogues with her wit and charm. But the actress had once decided that she wanted to leave the Harry Potter franchise way before it was finished.
In the reunion special, she also recounted the instance where she found a journal entry talking about how she was overwhelmed and wanted to leave the franchise. She stated,
“I did find a diary entry that was kind of like…I could see that at times I was lonely. 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 forever now.”
It is understandable, as the actress was very young when she became a superstar and gained immense fame. Fame isn’t always a positive as it attracts unwarranted attention and that is what made the actress think about quitting.
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is streaming on Max.
Source: Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts
