Emma Watson recalls considering leaving ‘Harry Potter’ franchise

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The “Harry Potter” franchise could have looked very differently if Emma Watson had ducked out about halfway through, as she considered doing. The actress, along with several of her co-stars, skyrocketed to fame at a young age in 2001 when they appeared in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

While Watson and her costars have parlayed their early stardom into successful careers in Hollywood, it wasn’t an easy go for them. Watson, now 31, appeared in HBO Max’s “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” special, which saw her and others involved with the franchise recall their time working together.

In the reunion special, director David Yates mentioned that Watson considered leaving the franchise shortly after he agreed to direct “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” the fifth film out of eight.

“I think I was scared,” Watson says in the special, recalling an old diary entry in which she mentioned feeling lonely, per People magazine. “I don’t know if you ever felt like it got to a tipping point where you were like, ‘This is kind of forever now.” She added : “The fame thing had finally hit home in a big way.”