Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint Couldn’t Go Home After Being Cast in ‘Harry Potter’

For Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint, being cast in the Harry Potter movies was akin to winning the lottery. Thousands of other children were competing for a chance to portray Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley. However, Grint, Radcliffe, and Watson managed to book the highly-competitive parts and cement their status as the golden trio.

Daniel Radcliffe initially wasn’t allowed to audition for the ‘Harry Potter’ movies

Of course, being cast in the Harry Potter movies was not a cakewalk for the actors. In fact, all three of them had to go through multiple rounds of auditions before they were offered their roles. And each of them had their fair share of obstacles along the way. Radcliffe, for example, initially wasn’t allowed to audition for the part. Since the movies were originally supposed to film in Los Angeles, his parents felt they would be too disruptive to his life. However, when the terms of the filming contract changed, they relented.

How Emma Watson and Rupert Grint fought for their roles in the cast

Talent was likely a huge part of why Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson were the ones chosen for the main cast of the Harry Potter movies. However, the actors’ tenacity likely helped too. Grint wrote an entire rap to help him stand out in his second audition tape after his first one went unnoticed. Meanwhile, Watson spent hours recording her audition, making sure she could get it perfect. Eventually, that determination paid off, and the young actors were told that they’d booked their roles.

Watson, Radcliffe, and Grint couldn’t go home after the news broke that they’d been cast in the ‘Harry Potter’ movies

Of course, being cast in the Harry Potter movies was just the beginning for Watson, Grint, and Radcliffe. The films would launch the three actors into global superstardom. In fact, the media was invested in the trio right away. While speaking with W Magazine, Watson got candid about the media storm that surrounded her and her fellow castmates immediately. Things were so crazy, that the trio couldn’t even return to their homes after the news broke that they’d been cast as the films’ leads.

“Within about half an hour, they’d taken a photograph of Dan, Rupert, and I, which was then broadcast on the Internet that the three of us had been cast,” Watson remembered. “We moved straight into a hotel. There were press outside our house. It was like this crazy whirlwind, like something from a movie.”

Watson didn’t realize that she’d been cast as Hermione right away

That day was particularly hectic for Watson, who was the youngest of the trio. For months, she’d been waiting on bated breath for news about whether or not she’d gotten the part of Hermione. However, when she was finally told she’d earned a place in the Harry Potter cast, she had no idea what was happening because of the terminology that was used.

“They called me into the producer David Heyman’s very pristine white office and he said, ‘We just wanted to tell you that you are the preferred candidate for the role of Hermoine.’ And I kept thinking, ‘What does preferred candidate mean?'” Watson shared. Eventually, Watson would come to understand what was happening and learn that she’d booked a role in the Harry Potter movies. And while it was a dream come true for her, it also must have been an overwhelming day for the actor.