Emma Watson featured in “Total Film” Magazine

Mar 12, 2015

Posted by: Catherine

News

In January, Emma Watson posted a sneak preview of her interview with Total Film magazine on her Facebook page. In the interview she talked of her upcoming role in the drama Colonia, singing for Beauty and the Beast, as well as producing (in addition to starring in) Queen of the Tearling with David Heyman (Harry Potter producer). In the preview that Emma posted, which can be seen below, Total Film called Colonia Emma’s “most adult role yet.” Colonia portrays Colonia Dignidad, a religious commune (full of underground torture chambers) set up by a low-ranking Nazi who was kicked out of Germany for child molestation. In the movie, Emma plays the role of a flight attendant who infiltrates the cult after her boyfriend was taken prisoner. Her co-star, Daniel Bruhl, commented that it was a big transition away from Harry Potter in her acting career. SnitchSeeker reported Emma’s comments on Colonia, saying:

‘It really challenged me. It really pushed me to the brink, this role.’

‘I got sent the script and my agent sent me the Wikipedia page on Colonia Dignidad.

‘I immediately went, “oh my God, I’m not sure!” it was really, really, really heavy and really awful subject matter but the script was such a page-turner and so well written and I’m really a big fan of Daniel Brühl.

‘I really liked the Director [Florian Gallenberger]. It all just kind of felt right: a really intelligent female leading role character. It felt like the right thing to do.’

Emma continued, talking of her film career, Potter and post-Potter, and how she never expected or anticipated becoming a famous actress. Vanity Fair reported on this part of the Total Film interview, writing:

“I never really thought necessarily I’d become an actress or become famous – it was something that happened to me – they came to my school,” she revealed, referring to the Harry Potter casting directors, who plucked her from obscurity to play Hermione Granger when she was 10 years old. “They saw me and they took photographs of me. I was taken up to London to audition. I just happened to be picked up and put in one of the biggest film franchises of all time.”

“I wanted to feel active in what happened to me in my life. I wanted to be able to move myself into a place where I felt like I was driving my career and my life, rather than just responding to things that happened to me,” she told Total Film. “I wanted to try and make it on my own.”

Building upon these comments, and building her portfolio, Emma also talked of taking on the role of a producer, in her upcoming role in Queen of the Tearling. The Telegraph reported on this, saying:

She is working with Harry Potter producer David Heyman, in an executive producer role on a multi­part adaptation of fantasy series Queen Of The Tearling in which she will also star.

“I really like it,” she told the magazine. “For me, to want to sign up to a series again, I wanted to have a certain amount of autonomy and control within that.

“Working with David’s been great. I’d love to direct something one day. I’d love to produce as well, so it’s quite a nice way to start learning about that. Yeah, just dipping my toes into that world.”

Watson added: “It feels like I was building a portfolio over the last five, six years.

“Now I feel like I’m ready to really be carrying films. I’m really just ready now to focus on my career full time and go full steam ahead. It’s exciting at the moment.”

The interview went on, explaining how a singing role, as Belle in Disney’s upcoming live-action Beauty and the Beast, was also diversifying Emma’s portfolio of acting roles. The Telegraph told of Emma’s fear of singing for a role from the interview with Total Film:

Emma Watson, the actress, has spoken of her fear of singing on screen for the first time, disclosing the prospect as “terrifying”.

Watson, the former Harry Potter star, is to play Belle in a forthcoming live action version of Beauty and the Beast.

In her first interview about the role, with Total Film magazine, she disclosed parts of her performance were already appearing to seem daunting.

“I sing, so that’s really unexpected,” she said. “I’ve never had to do that for a film role before, and I think people will be interested to see me do something very different like that.

“It gives me a different challenge, really. That’s terrifying in and of itself!”

This very extensive interview with Total Film will hit stands tomorrow, Friday, March 12.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.