1. Emma as a person – overall impression
As a person, I think Emma is extremely studious and posh. She has worked and studied hard and finished school with straight A-s. She did all of this while being on set for Harry Potter and having a private tutor. She also went back to school as much as possible in between the films. She takes her education very seriously and it shows. She’s going to Brown University, which is an Ivy League school in America. She’s taking a break from acting so she can study. She has never given up on her dream to go to University and she is fulfilling that dream. I also think Emma is extremely high-class. She loves to do photo shoots modelling expensive clothing and accessories. She loves to wear high fashion. She is always dolled up and always wears make-up. Her parents are lawyers so I am sure she’s used to the upper class lifestyle.
2. Emma’s acting in Harry Potter – is she a good Hermione or not? And why? How important is canon in this respect? What did you think of her performance in Half-Blood Prince as opposed to other films?
I don’t think Emma is a very good Hermione, but the Warner Bros is also to blame. I think she was best in the first couple of Harry Potter movies. She was uptight, smart, brave, and very much like Hermione. But as Emma grew up and got prettier, I think Hollywood held on to that and made her less of what Hermione is supposed to be. Book!Hermione is extremely courageous and for the most part keeps her insecurities in. She looks out for Harry and Ron and she does not care – at least on the surface – about her physical appearance. Movie!Hermione is more sappy. She cries a lot, clings to Harry, and is so “beautiful.” While Emma is good at showing Hermione’s brave side and her feistiness, I think her way of showing Hermione the woman and how she presents herself is off. Emma is not as strong and does not show Hermione’s confidence well. Her voice is always shaky and she overreacts many times when the line is supposed to reflect Hermione’s calm and intellectual nature. Book!Hermione is quick-thinking and witty, but Emma often presents her as being the “save me Harry” kind of girl. It’s like Emma is dumbing down Hermione.
I think keeping Hermione canon no longer matters. From Prisoner of Azkaban onwards her character and demeanour has changed. She’s been too girly for so long that people who don’t read Harry Potter probably think Book!Hermione is like that. The book fans know that Hermione is not so shaky and dainty about things. However, with her being so dolled up in the movies, keeping Hermione in character no longer applies, because people are too used to how she is now. I think if Emma was to go back to playing Hermione how she should be, people wouldn’t like it so much. I say this because look wise I’m sure her straight blonde hair and pretty, tight clothes are much more pleasing to the eyes. The non-readers would be shocked to find out that Hermione has slightly large front teeth, bushy brown hair and even hunches over because of all the books she carries. Emma is far too pretty to be “reduced” to keeping cannon with Hermione’s looks.
I think her performance in Half-Blood Prince was better than I’d seen in previous movies. It is easy to say this because she wasn’t in the movie as much as in previous instalments. She was mostly there to ogle Ron, which I think Emma has always been good at. She was great with the comedy at the Christmas party and her troubles with Cormac. She was also brilliant with making the luck potion and I liked how she showed her pain after seeing Lavender kiss Ron. For once I felt something from her. The look she have Ron after sending the birds on him was powerful and the smile she gave Ron after he moaned Hermione’s name was very well done. However, there was still the same shaky breath/eyebrow dancing in there.
I also realized she is not good with laughing. In both Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, her laughter was overdone. When Ron said Dumbledore was 150 or so and they all laughed, it was painful to watch Emma’s mouth wide open and her screech blaring through the speakers in the cinema. I also think her talk with Harry at the end was weak. Her eyebrows were dancing and her delivery of a great line about being strong and Harry needing her and Ron was lost because she rather rushed it. She did better with the comedy than the drama. Therefore, overall, she was better but her same constant mistakes were obvious.
3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I have seen her in Ballet Shoes and, in general, she is not the strongest actress. I think she needs more coaching. Like in the Harry Potter movies, she rushed lines, she was stale in intense moments, and it almost seemed like she was reading from cards. There was no emotion in her role as Pauline. It was almost as if she did the movie just to say she did something else besides Harry Potter. There seemed to be no passion behind her. Though I have not seen Despereaux, I think it is fair to say I would not enjoy her performance. She said in an interview that while she would do her voice work, she would worry if she sounded like Hermione. I think that if she had to worry about speaking like a character she played in another movie, she must have struggled with it and I would probably hear the princess but visualise Emma playing Hermione.
4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
I think Emma not doing any roles outside of Harry Potter is a bad thing if she wants to take up acting as her career. She has to get experience. She is not a good actress and she has to learn and grow by taking up new and different roles. Both Rupert and Dan have done other things to grow as actors but Emma has not. She will always be seen as Hermione and will only know how to act as Hermione if she does not step out and do other projects. It seems obvious that her not acting in other roles has hurt her. She’s given statements saying she did try out for some roles and wasn’t picked. If nothing else, it will not look good to directors. They will see her portfolio and say “Hmm, you’ve done Harry Potter 1-7 playing Hermione Granger…what else do you have?”
5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
Emma is a very beautiful girl but her looks are very overrated. In my opinion, she is far too thin and her dyed blonde hair holds her back. She was much more original and pretty as a brunette. She was a bit curvier between the Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix as well, and she was even more beautiful then. But these days she’s a pretty, thin girl with blonde hair and she looks very young for her age.
To me, she has great fashion sense and looks absolutely gorgeous in her designer dresses but sometimes she tries to wear dresses that don’t fit her body and she wears so much makeup at all times. She should learn to be more natural and realize that she’s crossing over to “glamour and glitz” Hollywood. She’s beautiful but in a superficial way that is highly overrated and has been seen a dime a dozen.
6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
Emma as a style icon is good for the Harry Potter franchise in the sense that it will attract more males to the theatres. Sex sells and seeing Emma in magazines with her knickers showing and with tons of make-up will make blokes say, “Wow, I have to see her!” It will also make the series seem less kiddie and maybe more young adults, who know nothing about the books, will come to see it because they saw the “pretty girl in the pretty dress on TV or a magazine.” However, I don’t think Emma has to do a million photo shoots to help the franchise. There are millions of devoted fans there to see the film and all the characters and not just the pretty Emma.
7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
I think Emma is locked on University and modelling. Everyone knows how hard she worked to get her marks and she’s very serious and open about wanting to get her degree in Liberal Arts. She’s basically putting her acting career on hold for her education. Therefore, I think school is her number one priority. In addition, I think modelling is another very important area to Emma. She has done tons of photo shoots. She loves going to fashion shows and she’s learning so much about the fashion industry. She has the looks and the body and personality for modelling and I think she is taking advantage of it. I believe when work is minimal at University she will do more photo shoots talking about “life after Potter and how school is” or whatever. I certainly don’t think she will give it up. As for acting, I don’t think it’s something she loves. Her co-stars Rupert and Dan have said they are in love with acting. They want to continue acting after Harry Potter and have done lots of work outside the franchise. They both have said school is not an option for them, because they are actors and love what they do. Emma has done nothing but state how unsure she is about acting. She has stated several times that she never envisioned it as her career choice and there was even speculation that she would not return for Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows. I don’t think she cares as much for her acting as she does for University and modelling. She seems to put more effort into taking pictures and studying than into the character she plays.
8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
In my opinion, Emma adores Rupert. I think she admires him as a man and loves his personality. She always talks about how quiet and calm he is. She gets so ravelled up over how collected he is. I think she loves him as a big brother and it shows. She always gives him looks of encouragement and laughs and smiles when he speaks. She backs him up when he gives answers to questions; I think she realizes that he’s not the biggest talker and isn’t the most comfortable with interviews and such, so she tries to help him relax and laugh so they can get through it. I also believe she tries to pull more out of him. The Unscripted interview, the interview they did in Paris together, and the one for GMTV are great examples of her trying to bring more out of him and trying to make him laugh. She always pays close attention when he speaks and she deliberates thoughts with him. I think she respects him a lot and her total eye contact when he talks is great. It shows her respect for him. I think she really cares for him as a friend.
9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
Emma is a firm Ron/Hermione shipper. She has said from day one that Harry is not the one for Hermione and that Ron is. She has said countless times how she knew Ron and Hermione were going to get together and that it is a wonderful thing. She told Regis and Kelly that Hermione couldn’t marry Harry because she had to marry Ron and have beautiful redheaded babies. I don’t think she understands Ron and Hermione sometimes – though that could be because of how the Warner Bros had changed their relationship – but she certainly believes in R/Hr and even more importantly knows and doesn’t mind telling and showing her opposition to H/Hr. Emma being a R/Hr shipper really shows in her acting. Her best moments are when she’s either gushing/nagging or giving Ron looks. All the movies are great examples of these, especially Order of the Phoenix and all the gazes she gave him during the DA meetings and the smile of admiration at Christmas.
10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I don’t think she will show much growth in Deathly Hallows Part I and II. She will be a bit weak in emotional parts, she will have a shaky voice, she will rush lines, and she will not be as strong and fierce as Hermione should be. However, knowing how she did in Half-Blood Prince, I hope that when Ron leaves she will show how depressed Hermione was. Emma did a great job showing Hermione’s pain over Ron in Half-Blood Prince. She has always been good at showing Hermione smitten over Ron.
I also expect the kiss to be good, not only because Rupert is her snogging partner but she’s said countless times that she just had to get it right and wanted to get it right. I think she will bring enthusiasm and daze like in the book. It helps that Rupert is playing Ron. He’s inspiration enough.
I think post-Deathly Hallows she will stay in school and out of the headlines for a while. I’m sure she will make appearances like if she goes to movie premieres, shops, or does the occasional photo shoot, but I think for the next few years she will be devoted to her studies. After University, she will start acting again and will become an actress much like Keira Knightley. She won’t be the strongest actress but she will be beautiful and will work with great actors and directors that will make her movies successful. I see many photo shoots and magazine covers in her future as well. As an actress, she will probably do many period pieces like Kiera and romantic comedies; she will stick to the classic and simple movies. I cannot see her in heavy dramas, indie, or action films; I cannot see her really transforming for a role. She will be known as a fashion icon and beauty but I don’t think the role of Hermione Granger will ever leave her.
