It’s Leviosaaa! The Magical Movie Career of Emma Watson: From Harry Potter to Beauty and the Beast
Honestly, what’s not to love about Hermione Granger, err, we mean Emma Watson?!
The British actress is celebrating her 29th birthday today and we can’t believe she’s already been in our lives as an actress for 18 years. Beginning in 2001, the birthday girl won us over and made us root for her as Hermione in the Harry Potter films.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was her first role ever and it was quite a big one. Eight films later, Watson’s muggle-born, wand-wielding character cemented herself as one of the most iconic and definitely most adorable characters in the franchise.
You can’t tell us you don’t instantly think of her saying, “You’re saying it wrong. It’s Leviosa, not Leviosar!” whenever Hermione’s brought up in conversation or her adorable face pops up in any of the films.
She was just the absolute cutest…and so sassy!
Once the Harry Potter films ended—we’re still sad there aren’t more chronicles of Harry, Ron and Hermione coming our way—Watson branched out and proved over and over again that acting was in her blood.
She has showed extreme range in her film career and based on how talented she’s always been it’s clear she isn’t stopping anytime soon. In fact, she is set to play Meg March in the upcoming film Little Woman and we are counting down until its release.
When it comes to her other work thus far there are a few major standouts that come to mind.
For starters, she slayed in the instant hit Perks of Being a Wallflower based on the best-selling novel by the same name. She also made us believe that she could be a stuck-up teen who liked to rob celebs in The Bling Ring and has had her fair share of horror and thriller tales hit the big screen.
Most recently she’s earned her place in Disney princess history as the memorable and beautiful Belle in the 2017 live-action version of Beauty in the Beast. Just when you thought you couldn’t love her anymore, she sang and read brilliant books and turned our childhood favorite into a classic.
While we have our own favorites when it comes to Watson’s roles over the past two decades, we want to hear which one is your favorite.
Vote for the Watson role that you can’t forget below and then celebrate her birthday by watching all these movies all week long…you know you want to.
Happy birthday, Emma! Cheers to 29, we can’t wait to see which character you perfectly embody next!
In 2001, Emma Watson won over audiences in her movie debut as Hermione Granger AKA one of Harry Potter’s (Daniel Radcliffe) best friends in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Hermione is a muggle-born wizard, which means her parents aren’t wizards (they’re dentists), who is really good at just about everything, which comes in handy when Harry, an orphaned boy who somehow lived through an attack that killed his wizard parents, enrolls at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry and quickly becomes the center of a lot of terrible things that happen there.
After a summer away from school, Harry (Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Watson) return to Hogwarts for another year of wizard school. When they return, Harry quickly sees that something is different when he starts to hear voices from the walls, muggle-born students are being attacked and blood drawings are happening all around campus…all revealing that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened!
Warner Bros.In the third Harry Potter installment, Watson reprises her role as the smartest wizard in school, Hermione. This time she and Ron (Grint) must help their BFF Harry (Radcliffe) figure out who is on his side as they get used to a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and prepare for the threat of convicted murderer Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who has escaped prison and is coming after him.
Warner Bros.As the trio of wizards begin their fourth year at Hogwarts they must learn to share their school thanks to The Triwizard Tournament, which is a magical tournament between Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Even though he didn’t enter himself, Harry (Radcliffe) finds himself a participant in the tournament after his name is magically chosen from the Goblet of Fire.
Warner Bros.After Harry (Radcliffe) claims that Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has returned both he and Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) become the enemies of the Wizard authorities who take over at Hogwarts. Once the students are no longer allowed to learn spells that would help them in case of an attack, Harry, Hermione (Watson) and Ron (Grint) get a secret group of student wizards together to start learning how to protect themselves on their own.
During Harry’s (Radcliffe) sixth year at Hogwarts the darkness is at an all-time high as Lord Voldemort’s (Fiennes) presence is apparent in both the wizard world and the muggle world. While at school, Harry discovers a book that was originally owned by the “Half Blood Prince,” which leads him to learn more about Voldemort and his past and excel in his Potions class. As he is preparing for a major battle with Dumbledore (Gambon), Ron (Grint) is finding love and Hermione (Watson) is realizing she has fallen for Ron.
Murray Close/Warner Bros. Pictures/ZUMA WireThe seventh book by J.K. Rowling was broken into two films and neither one disappointed. The first part follows Harry (Radcliffe), Ron (Grint) and Hermione (Watson) as they carry out Dumbledore’s work to find all of the Horcruxes that will help them defeat Voldemort (Fiennes) who now has control over the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts.
Warner Bros.In 2011, the final Harry Potter film hit theaters and it was intense. It continued to show the trio on their quest to find all of the Dark Lord’s Horcruxes, which if destroyed would weaken him and help Harry (Radcliffe) win a face-off battle. Of course Voldemort (Fiennes) figures out the best friends’ plan and it leads to the biggest battle in the wizarding world where there can only be one winner…the Dark One or the Chosen One!
Laurence Cendrowizc/The Weinstein CompanyMy Week With Marilyn shows an inside look at the tense interactions between Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) and Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams), as witness and documented by young employee Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) while Monroe was in London to film The Prince and the Showgirl in 1957. Watson portrays Lucy, one of the costume design team members on set.
Watson brought to life Sam, the first love of freshman Charlie (Logan Lerman) in the Perks of Being a Wallflower, which is based on the novel by Stephen Chbosky. In the film, Charlie is a wallflower, an outsider and an introvert until he meets two seniors, Sam and Patrick (Ezra Miller), who welcome him into their world and bring his to life.
American ZoetropeIn 2013, Watson played Nicki, one of the fame-obsessed teenagers who robbed celebrities’ homes by using the internet to know when they were out of town in this film inspired by actual event.
Niko Tavernise/Paramount PicturesThe English actress plays Ila in Noah, which is a drama about the biblical story of Noah (Russell Crowe) who after being chosen by God vows to build an arc before an apocalyptic flood hits.
Screen Media FilmsBased on true events of the Chilean military coup of 1973, The Colony tells the story of a young girl named Lena (Watson) who after her boyfriend is abducted in Chile joins the cult of Colonia Dignidad, which no one has every escaped from, in order to save him.
Walt Disney Motion PicturesIt’s a tale as old as time! The 29-year-old actress took on the iconic role of Disney princess Belle in the 2017 live-action version of Beauty and the Beast and she was perfect.
Frank Masi/STX EntertainmentWhen Mae (Watson) lands her dream job at a powerful tech company called the Circle, she couldn’t be happier. That however changes as she moves up the ranks in the company and learns that they are working on a project that invades her privacy, affects her family and ultimately all of humanity.
