Emma Watson Explained Why She Almost Left The "Harry Potter" Franchise And It's Pretty Understandable

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Sounds like there's a lot of revelations in HBO Max's upcoming Harry Potter reunion special, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts.

Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe, and Emma Watson stand next to each other in front of a fireplace
Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection

According to People, director David Yates — who directed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — reveals that Emma Watson was considering walking away from the franchise entirely due to the pressures of rising fame.

Watson looks with her chin resting on her hand and a watch around her wrist
Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection

Watson, for her part, discusses reading a diary entry from around that time where she felt especially isolated. "I think I was scared," she tells co-star Rupert Grint. "I don't know if you ever felt like it got to a tipping point where you were like, 'This is kind of forever now.' ... The fame thing had finally hit home in a big way."

Watson looks at a vial in front of a cauldron
Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection

And Grint said that he felt similarly, too. "I had moments like that kind of all the way through," he said. "I also had similar feelings to Emma kind of contemplating what life would be like if I called it a day, but we never really spoke about it."

Grint stands in front of a house
Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection

"I guess we were just kind of going through it at our own pace. We were kind of in the moment at the time. It just didn't really occur to us that we were all having similar feelings."

Grint peers behind a column with Radcliffe standing behind him
Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection

Harry Potter himself — Daniel Radcliffe, specifically — echoed Grint's words about how the young cast hadn't talked too much about how they were handling superstardom.

Radcliffe holds his arm outstretched with an owl on it
/ ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

"We never talked about it on the film because we were all just kids," he said. "As a 14-year-old boy, I was never going to turn around to another 14-year-old and be like, 'Hey, how are you doing? Is everything okay?'"

Radcliffe points a wand while on the ground
Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection

We'll see what else is revealed when Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts airs on January 1.