WATSON. Wants to work with “great directors with a real vision.”
CANCUN, Mexico – As we promised, we are featuring longer excerpts from our recent London interview with Emma Watson. In our chat, Emma reveals her plans for the future now that “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” the last in the blockbuster series, is showing in moviehouses across the globe.
The actress already has two new films under her belt – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” with Paul Rudd and “My Week with Marilyn” with Dominic Cooper and Michelle Williams.
What are your plans, education-wise?
I only took a semester off (from Brown University). With my English A-Levels, you can use them to advance place you a semester. So I’m actually going into my third year. I’m no further behind than I would have been if I hadn’t taken time off. So it works out well.
Now that you have graduated from the “Harry Potter” university, what kind of projects are you looking for?
I want to work with really great directors with a real vision, who I can keep learning from and who have the generosity to keep teaching me as I go along. I want to make smaller films. I’m open – there isn’t a particular genre.
Many scripts
I read many scripts before I read “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and it felt right. I can’t explain how and why, but when you read something, I just felt that I had to make this film.
How different is your experience filming “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”?
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” has a miniscule budget compared to “Harry Potter.” We didn’t have a single special effect in the entire movie. It’s just dialogue between the characters. It’s about a group of teenagers on their last year of high school. So it’s really about all of us bonding and finding something real between each other. I get to be funny. Hermione can be funny but my character Sam is very witty. She’s a wordsmith. It was exciting for me. I did lots of ad-libbing for the first time ever, doing stuff spontaneously.
Can you talk about the “Harry Potter” directors and what you learned from them as an actress?
Chris Columbus had to direct me almost by the numbers. I’d never done any acting before so what was good about him was that he put me at ease. He was really kind and understanding of what it was like for me as a child to come into this. He really protected and took care of us.
With Alfonso Cuaron, I saw for the first time what it was like to work with a true visionary. He knew exactly what he wanted the film to look like before he started. It was exciting to take part in the fact that I was creating something specific. He gave Hermione a good part in that film. I really enjoyed working with him.
Sense of humor
Mike Newell has a wonderful British sense of humor. He was always creating stuff to give all the scenes life and humor.
With David Yates, Hermione became much more subtle, complex. You started to be more aware of her insecurities and fears. I found it much more challenging and interesting. He wanted every single performance that I gave to have something that was true in it. Through him, I discovered my own acting method.
How have these films helped you evolve as an actress?
The great thing about having done all of this is knowing that I’ve worked with animals and special effects. I’ve done serious stunts. I mean, the scale has been huge. I couldn’t have had a better training in film. I’ve worked with some of the best actors and actresses. The greatest thing about watching this film is feeling like I was graduating from the most difficult, hard-core film school of all time.
Which of the “Harry Potter” movies are closest to your heart? And the least dear to you?
That very first film will always be very close to my heart because it was just magic to walk into a film set for the first time and see how a film is made and to get to act. I will always look back on Parts 1 and 2 as my favorite of them all because we got stretched so much and really challenged. For the first time, I really felt like an actress.
Probably least dear to my heart is the second movie where my character is petrified for the last third of it. I was absent for so much of it.
Alternative resources
What are your views on protecting our environment?
The biggest thing is all of us are having more awareness that the earth’s resources are not infinite. They can run out. We can’t keep going the way we are forever. We have to find alternative fuel resources. We have to harness resources that are sustainable.
It frustrates me so much to hear, “It’s not going to make a difference if I didn’t switch this light off.” Or, “We’re way too far gone, so making an effort now is not going to change anything.” That drives me insane. If everyone did a little bit, the consequences would be enormous.
What piece of jewelry that you own is the most valuable to you?
The most precious piece of jewelry that I own is a diamond ring. My birth stone is diamond. My mother bought the ring on the day I was born in Paris from a French vintage jewelry shop. I love that jewelry can have a history like that. Whenever my mom sees me wearing it, it’s like a communication that I have with her.
If you can only take two movies with you for the rest of your life, which ones would you choose?
I would take “Giant” with Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean. I could watch that film a hundred times over. I think that’s truly great filmmaking. I would also take “Notting Hill” because it makes me happy every time I watch it.
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