At the first British National Film Awards held in late September, the Harry Potter film scored a “hattrick” by winning the award for best family film, while also bringing home the award for best actress to Emma Watson (pictured) and the award for best actor to Daniel Radcliffe.
At the awards ceremony, Emma Watson could not hide her joy and surprise when she surpassed famous “seniors” such as Judi Dench, Eva Green, Kirsten Dunst and Keira Knightley.
Like her two close co-stars Daniel Radcliffe (as Harry Potter) and Rubert Grint (as Ron), the role of Hermione in the Harry Potter series helped Emma Watson become famous all over the world when she was only 11 years old. After six years of playing this role, Emma did not hide her admiration for Hermione: “She is truly a role model for modern girls. In the media, there are more and more girls who are either really naive or try to hide their intelligence. That is not good at all. Hermione is different, she is not afraid to show her intelligence. She also does not care about her appearance. Hermione is really… like a boy”.
Interestingly, Hermione and Emma Watson also have many similarities, especially their serious attitude towards studying. While many young stars often stop going to school after becoming famous, Emma still tries to balance her two lives: a famous actress and a normal schoolgirl like many other friends of the same age. “Many people don’t understand why I still go to school and don’t focus all my time on acting. But I like going to school to communicate with friends and life outside the screen. Studying helps me feel like I’m not falling behind. When I leave the studio, I want to be a normal girl. When I was a teenager, like many other girls, I also liked to be free and comfortable, even a little rebellious, but acting requires absolute seriousness. So sometimes I have difficulty balancing my two lives,” Emma shared.
Despite being in the top 100 most powerful stars in the world (as voted by Forbes magazine), it seems that Emma Watson is trying not to let fame and money ruin her peaceful life. She always talks about her family with pride: “My normal life is always protected by my parents and close friends. My parents are both lawyers and do not like to be involved in the entertainment industry. Thanks to the strictness of my family, I have avoided many of the pitfalls that famous child stars often fall into.” Even the fact that her parents completely manage her assets of approximately 10 million pounds from film and advertising fees does not make Emma uncomfortable: “From now until I am 21, all my assets are managed by my parents and I only receive a fixed monthly allowance. But this actually makes me feel more comfortable in my life.”
While Daniel Radcliffe and Rubert Grint are both determined to become professional actors, Emma Watson is still undecided about her future path. She once declared in Newsweek: “Although I love acting, I still have many other interests.” However, while waiting for the sixth Harry Potter film to start filming, Emma has just completed her role in the BBC TV series Ballet Shoes, and participated in voicing Princess Pea in the animated film The Tale of Despereaux. She also expressed her interest in participating in a historical film or trying her hand at singing in the musical genre, provided that the filming schedule does not conflict with her school schedule.