Actors - Emma Watson

Home > Listing Index > Actors > Emma Watson

	Actors - Emma Watson

This article is about the Harry Potter actress. For other people named Emma Watson, see Emma Watson (disambiguation).

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born April 15, 1990) is a British actress known for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series.

Biography

Early life

Watson's parents, Chris and Jacqueline Watson, are both lawyers, and are divorced. She has a younger brother named Alex. As a young girl, Watson attended The Dragon School, a renowned preparatory school in the city of Oxford. By 2003, she was attending the all-girls Headington School, also in Oxford.

Before being cast in the Harry Potter films, Watson's acting experience was limited, consisting only of leading roles in school plays, including Arthur: The Young Years and The Happy Prince. Other school activities included the Daisy Pratt Poetry Competition, in which at the age of seven she won first place for her year.

Career

Watson was cast to play Hermione Granger at age 10, and was 11 years old in 2001, when Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
(released in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), her first film, was released. She has since appeared in all Potter sequels: Chamber of Secrets
(2002), Prisoner of Azkaban
(2004), and Goblet of Fire
(2005).

Potter fans have expressed mixed opinions about Watson's portrayal of Granger: Some feel she is perfect for the role; others believe Watson fails to capture Hermione's insecurities and flaws, and complain that she is "too pretty" for the role — a sentiment shared by some film critics — since, in the book series, Granger was generally described as being very "plain" (neither "pretty" nor "ugly"). The screenplays for the films, however, have altered her character somewhat from the original treatment by J. K. Rowling, causing some fans to complain that it alters the chemistry and group dynamic of the three central characters.

At the age of fifteen, Watson was the youngest actress to appear on the cover of Teen Vogue magazine. She also served on a jury, along with Pierce Brosnan, Kenneth Branagh, and Samantha Morton, to select the 2004 teenaged filmmakers' "First Light Film Award" ceremony in Leicester Square in London.

In February 2006, Watson began principal photography on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
(set for release in Autumn, 2007), in which she reprises her role as "the brightest witch of age."

Although the Harry Potter film series comprises her only professional acting experience, she has expressed interest in expanding her film career into other works.

Personal life

An avid sports player, Watson enjoys field hockey, tennis and rounders. The family owns two cats, named Bubbles and Domino, which belong to her and her brother, respectively.

Awards

Nominated:

Best Young Actress: Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, 2005
Best Youth Performance: Phoenix Film Critics Society, 2002
Best Ensemble in a Feature Film: Young Artists Awards, 2002
Outstanding Supporting Actress: American Moviegoer Awards, 2002
Saturn Award: for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Empire Award: for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Won:

Best Female Film Star (Silver): Otto Awards, 2003
Leading Young Actress Feature Film: Young Artists Awards, March 2002
Best Female Child Artist: Phoenix Film Critics Society, for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Best Ensemble in Feature Film: Young Artist Awards, for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Best Performance in Feature Film: Young Artist Awards, for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Total Film Magazine "Child Performance of the Year", 2004

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Emma Watson ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Emma Watson; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.