We’re celebrating the actress’ 26th birthday today with a list of our favorite Emma Watson movies
Emma Watson played the brainy and brave Hermione Granger in Warner Bros. Pictures‘ Harry Potter film series, which rocketed her to fame. However, she didn’t let that association stop her in her tracks. Watson studied at Brown University and Worcester College, Oxford, graduating from Brown with a bachelor’s degree in English literature in 2014. She has continued to act and model, and became the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador. She helped launch the UN for Women campaign HeForShe, which encourages men to become advocates for feminism and gender equality. Watson turns 26 today. We’ll see her next as Belle in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, hitting theaters March 17, 2017. Happy birthday Emma!
Watson played Hermione Granger in all eight films based on the Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling. (We’ll be listing more than one of them below.) Hermione was born from Muggle parents, but had the ability to do magic. She’s driven, scholarly, but also very brave. Watson studied acting, but this was her first big role (as well as the first big roles for Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe). She was instantly a household name and will forever be associated with the role.
Emma Watson Movies Spotlight: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
In this film, Watson dealt with a very different sort of director in Alfonso Cuarón. She and the other child stars had a difficult task ahead of them, with their characters growing up and the challenge of working with someone new. This is one of the Harry Potter films that people are decidedly split on. Some people love the slightly more “experimental feel” and some people feel it was heavy-handed. Either way, you can see the kids growing in their acting careers.
Emma Watson Movies Spotlight: The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
Watson, along with Matthew Broderick and fellow Harry Potter star Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), lent her voice to this 2008 animated film loosely based on the novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo. In the film, she plays Princess Pea, the daughter of a devastated king. The king has lost his wife and because of it, bans the one product that his country makes money off of. A little mouse named Despereaux befriends Pea to help save the kingdom.
Emma Watson Movies Spotlight: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2 (2010, 2011)
The final two films in the Harry Potter series were based on the final book and split into two parts. Watson’s Hermione proves that she is indeed “the brightest witch of her age” as she helps Harry and Ron battle Voldemort and solves most of the puzzles of the film. She and Radcliffe had a partially nude kissing scene that Watson claimed had them laughing the entire time. She and her co-stars proved that they’d come a long way from the first Harry Potter film.
Emma Watson Movies Spotlight: My Week With Marilyn (2011)
This film about a week an aspiring filmmaker named Colin (Eddie Redmayne) spent with Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) garnered critical acclaim, won a Golden Globe (Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical) and was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Actress). Watson plays the small role of Lucy, a wardrobe girl on Marilyn’s film who goes out on a date with Colin. Though it was small, it proved that Watson was more than just a young wizard who loved books.
Emma Watson Movies Spotlight: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Watson played Sam, one of the lead roles opposite Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller. Sam and her brother Patrick (Miller) are seniors in high school and sort of adopt Charlie (Lerman) when they realize he doesn’t have any friends. Sam becomes the object of his affection as the three navigate the torturous road to adulthood. The film is notable for the line which defines the story; “We accept the love we think we deserve,” as well as Watson’s performance in a stage version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Emma Watson Movies Spotlight: This is the End (2013)
This comedy starring Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson and Jay Baruchel features actors playing exaggerated versions of themselves. It’s the end of the world and the survivors of a Hollywood party are faced with demons and other disasters. Watson plays a party survivor and proves that she can handle comedy with the best of them.
Emma Watson Movies Spotlight: The Bling Ring (2013)
This film, directed by Sofia Coppola, is based on the story of a gang of high school kids who robbed celebrity houses, and the article written about them, ”The Suspects Wore Louboutins” by Nancy Jo Sales. Watson plays Nikii, an unrepentant member of the group who learns nothing from jail time other than how to get even more famous.
(Photo Credit: WENN.com)
