If Emma Watson had ducked out after halfway through the “Harry Potter” series, as she considered doing, it might have taken an entirely different form.
In 2001, when they starred in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” Emma Watson shot to fame.
Although Watson and her co-stars have used their early success to launch successful careers in the film industry, it wasn’t an easy route for them.
31-year-old Emma Watson is set to appear in HBO Max’s “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” special, which will feature her and others from the franchise recollecting their experiences working together.
Following the release of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” director David Yates said that Watson considered quitting the franchise soon after signing on to helm “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”
In the special, Watson recalls a diary entry from her childhood in which she confesses to being lonely, according to People magazine.
“I’m not sure if you’ve ever felt like things have gotten to the point where you’re like, ‘This has kind of become for good now.'”
“It’s been a long road, but it appears to be coming to an end,” she continued. “The recognition has now hit me in a big way.”
Another star who appeared throughout the series, Tom Felton, praised Watson’s adaptation. “She definitely gets forgotten about,” he added.
According to him, however, Watson didn’t have anyone to turn to while filming the films because she was “not only younger but also alone.”
“We never spoke about it in the film because we were all just kids,” says actor Daniel Radcliffe, who played the title character.
“As a 14-year-old kid, I was never going to ask another 14-year-old how he was doing and be like, ‘Hey, good luck,’ because that is completely out of line,” he added.
Watson wasn’t the first actor to consider quitting the popular franchise, though, as Rupert Grint likewise considered departing at various stages.
On January 1, 2022, “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” will be available on HBO Max.