Emma Watson’s Dad Once Told Her ‘You’re Not Audrey Hepburn Yet’
For Emma Watson, portraying Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies was something akin to destiny. The actor first fell in love with the bookish witch thanks to her dad. Watson’s father was fond of reading excerpts from the books to her on long car rides or as bedtime stories. So, when Watson learned that the books were being made into movies, she was eager to audition for Hermoine.
Of course, the odds of Watson actually booking a role in Harry Potter were astronomical. However, she felt strongly that the role was meant for her. Even though her mom and dad tried fervently to manage her expectations, the then nine-year-old Watson didn’t feel that losing out on the role was an option. And it turns out, the actor was right to have that confidence. Watson managed to beat out thousands of girls for the coveted role of Hermione.
Emma Watson considered quitting the ‘Harry Potter’ movies
While Watson was more than grateful for the opportunity to play Hermione, starring in the Harry Potter movies wasn’t always easy. For 10 years, Watson and her fellow castmates gave up their privacy and large chunks of their lives to film and promote the wildly popular movies. At one point, Waston even considered quitting the franchise because she felt that the structure they required was dominating her life.
Fortunately, for fans of Harry Potter, Watson stuck it out for all eight movies. However, when she finished filming, she decided to make a drastic change to her physical appearance and she cut off her hair. For a decade, Watson’s film contract dictated that she could not make major changes to her appearance so that she could accurately portray her character. So, as soon as Watson no longer had to be Hermione, she began rocking a short pixie cut.
The actor didn’t tell anyone that she was cutting her hair
But Watson didn’t tell anyone in her life that she was going to cut her hair. In an interview with Collider, the Noah actor revealed that she didn’t want anyone to try to talk her out of her decision. “I kind of knew I would get stick, and that’s why I didn’t tell anyone I was gonna do it,” Waston shared about her infamous haircut. “I didn’t tell anyone I was gonna do it. I just went and had it done and just kind of waited for people’s reactions.”
Funnily enough, Watson’s dad was one of the people who had one of the strongest reactions to her haircut before he even saw her. “Well the thing is, he was away when he first heard that I had it done and I got this phone call like, ‘Emma, why did you do this?'” Watson said, laughing about her dad. “Cause he hadn’t seen me in the flesh.”
Watson’s dad had a hilarious response to her wanting to cut her hair
Continuing on, the Harry Potter alum revealed that she actually approached her dad about cutting her hair way before she made the decision to chop it and his response was pretty priceless. “Actually, I think it was when I first told him I was thinking about doing it, like a long time ago,” Watson shared. “I was like ‘Dad I wanna cut it all off, I wanna just have short hair and do something different for a bit’ and he was like ‘Don’t get carried away, you’re not Audrey Hepburn yet.’ But he loves it now, so he’s eating his words.”
