10 Questions for Emma Watson

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 premieres Nov. 19. Emma Watson will now take your questions

  • Joseph Chi Lin

    What do you like most and least about your character Hermione Granger? — Dyah Widiastuti, LONDON
    I love that she has an opinion, that she's intelligent, that she also has a heart. Things I dislike about her: she's a little bossy, a little mothering — which I'm sure could get very irritating.

    Are you afraid of always being seen as Hermione? — Martin Christ, MUNICH
    Maybe it's ignorance, naiveté, but I really am not. I don't have this intense fear or a desire to separate myself from the role. I'm really proud of the work I've done. I'm a geeky Harry Potter fan myself, so it would be stupid to try and fight it.

    Is it true that someone yelled "10 points to Gryffindor" after you answered a question correctly in a lecture hall at Brown, where you're a sophomore? — Brent Cronin, BOTHELL, WASH.
    No. Actually, I'm really glad that he asked. That has never happened to me. Maybe someone said it under their breath, but I've never, ever had anyone say that when I've been in a class.

    Would you consider a profession outside of acting? — Mairead Horton, CARY, N.C.
    The difficulty for me is that I'm interested in so many different things. I could never really imagine myself doing one thing, and I'm pretty sure that I'll end up doing four or five different things. I want to be a Renaissance woman. I want to paint, and I want to write, and I want to act, and I want to just do everything.

    Which Harry Potter movie has been your favorite to work on? — Kameelah Mateen, CLARKSTON, GA.
    I've enjoyed all of them in different ways. I think the first one was incredible, obviously, because everything was new, and everything being a novelty is very exciting. From an acting perspective, this last movie was amazing because I had such big parts, and it was really challenging and demanding. I did a lot of stunts and had a lot of very difficult scenes to do.

    You wrapped filming on the final movie in June. What was the last day like? — Tori Dailey, JACKSONVILLE, FLA.
    It was really emotional. It almost felt like an out-of-body experience because it's been coming for such a long time. I felt like I had spoken about it so much and thought about it so much, but when it actually arrived, it just didn't feel real. It was very hard to process.

    You look amazing with the new do! What made you cut it? — Tina Nguyen, LORTON, VA.
    I'd had my hair long for 10 years while I was playing Hermione. When I finished filming, I needed something different. I think I [waited] two or three weeks. You really have to be in a good frame of mind to do something so drastic to your appearance. When I was feeling very confident, I was like, I'm going to cut it off.

    What is your favorite book and why? — Geraldine Redfern, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA
    My dad read me The BFG by Roald Dahl when I was younger. I'm really fond of that book. Le Petit Prince [by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]. I like books that aren't just lovely but that have memories in themselves. Just like playing a song, picking up a book again that has memories can take you back to another place or another time.

    If you could run away from all the bother of being a celebrity for one day, where would you go and what would you do? — Alexander Clapton, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND
    I would go and stand in the middle of a mosh pit at a rock concert, because I usually can't get away with that.

    You had doubts about continuing to play Hermione after the fifth movie. How would your life have been altered if you had not returned to the role? — Erica Bode, ARLINGTON, TEXAS
    I probably would have been public enemy No. 1. I would have found it very difficult watching the movies being made without me as a part of them, because I grew up making them. Being a part of this film franchise feels like part of my identity in a way. I would have gotten a lot more sleep. But I definitely made the right decision.