it's so bizarre and otherworldly, what happened to me." "And got the first part I ever auditioned for. It wasn't even an acting school," she said. "I was nine years old, and I got literally picked out of a lineup in my school gym. The actress went on to say that, as a child, it was truly impossible to know exactly what she was signing up for when producers picked her to play Hermoine. Of being, like, 'I should be enjoying this more, I should be more excited, and I'm actually really struggling.'" wrestled a lot with the guilt around that. "Like, why me? Somebody else would have enjoyed and wanted more than I did. " I've sat in therapy and felt really guilty about, to be honest," the star said.
In her conversation with Vogue, the actress said that she experienced a great deal of guilt over feeling burdened by said fame when the role could have gone to any number of other young actresses - perhaps one who would have handled the exposure better. Her droll delivery and adorably adult mannerisms suited Hermione perfectly, and as the series' cast grew into young adults over the course of eight films, it became clear that Watson's formidable talent was growing, as well.īut immediate worldwide fame can obviously be tough for any kid to handle, and Watson was no different. Watson was famously plucked from a crowd of would-be Hermiones during open auditions which took place at her school, and as soon as Potter fans were introduced to her in 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, they knew that the role had been perfectly cast.
It turns out that becoming an instant icon isn't always the greatest thing for a child's psyche.Įmma Watson, who was cast as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series at the tender age of nine, recently opened up to British Vogue about her years-long struggle with guilt over having landed the plum role.