“He’s super nice”: Emma Watson Was Initially Terrified Of $16M Rich Harry Potter Star
The Harry Potter film franchise is known for its stellar casting. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint as the lead roles were just chef’s kiss. It is what set the standard for accurate casting in movies adapted from books. The films brought its actors a lot of success and stardom. Over the years, the films were made, the children grew up and the adults grew old. But all of the cast ensemble became a close-knit family and their bonds grew stronger with the passage of time.
One such bond was Emma Watson’s with Alan Rickman. But they didn’t start off strong as ten-year-old Watson was scared of Rickman.
Emma Watson Didn’t Exactly Start Out Strong in the Harry Potter Films
Emma Watson had just gotten to the age in double digits when she started as the brightest witch of her age in the Wizarding World. Her experiences on the set of the Harry Potter films shaped her as all her formative years were spent intricately involved with her character Hermoine Granger. The same goes for her co-stars.
But as a child who was just exposed to the world of acting and cinema, Watson had some perceptions. A fan of the books from the get-go, Watson wanted to land the part of Hermoine more than anything. She was excited and ready to take on any challenge. When she did get the part, she wasn’t prepared for how scary and intimidating her co-stars could be.
Emma Watson was Scared of Alan Rickman
The dread and apprehension Severus Snape, the potions professor at Hogwarts fills his students with is certainly not a foreign concept for people who grew up watching the films. Played by Alan Rickman, Snape is just a bully in the first two films.
Interestingly, the consensus on Rickman wasn’t much different in the young actors. He was far from being a bully but he certainly inspired the same emotions as Snape in the child actors. Watson in particular was quite fearful of him.
In an appearance on the British television show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, ahead of the film franchise’s sixth installment Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, Watson shared her initial impression of Rickman and how it changed with time. She said:
“I think when we were younger, we were just terrified of Alan Rickman, and now we sort of can have conversations.”
When the host asked if the Little Women actress was still scared of her black-cloaked co-star, Watson promptly denied saying:
“No, not anymore. He’s super nice.”
The actors share similarities with their characters to the extent that they develop similar relationships as their characters share just proves how immaculate the casting was. Just another one of those things that make the films that much more magical.
All Harry Potter films are available for streaming on Max.
Source: Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
