Sky’s Harry Potter celebration Return to Hogwarts addresses how Emma Watson once came close to quitting her role as Hermione Granger.
In the special, which airs on 1 January 2022, the cast and filmmakers go over their favourite memories of the beloved film franchise, to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
As the programme reaches the Order of the Phoenix film, director David Yates recalls how producer David Heyman and the studio warned him that Watson “wasn’t sure if she wants to come back”.
“People definitely forget what she took on and how gracefully she did it,” Draco Malfoy actor Tom Felton says. “Dan and Rupert had each other, I had my cronies, whereas Emma was not only younger, she was by herself.”
Watson recalls finding a diary entry in which she could see “I was lonely”, adding: “The fame thing had finally hit home in a big way.”
Speaking to her former co-star Rupert Grint, she says she felt “scared” as the fame the cast were experiencing reached “a tipping point”.
Grint admits to wondering what his life would be like if he “called it a day”.
Watson said ultimately no one had to convince her to see the franchise through.
“The fans genuinely wanted you to succeed and we all genuinely had each other’s backs,” she says. “How great is that?”
Elsewhere in the programme, Radcliffe recalls how he tried to “be cool” in front of his acting idol Gary Oldman, while the cast praise Harry Potter JK Rowling for the wizarding world she created.
The Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts airs on New Year’s Day exclusively on Sky and streaming service NOW.
