Emma Watson and the Deathly Hallows (Interview!)

Keeping the series fresh and interesting for herself:

Emma Watson: That is definitely the hardest thing. The cool thing about this movie is that because we shot two back-to-back, there was this momentum that we picked up and there was this kind of chaos to flitting back and forth between two different movies, and we were trying to get so much done that we didn't have any option than to be fast and be on top of it. The pace picked up a notch, which really helped us as actors, because when it's that slow, it's very hard to give a fresh performance. When you've sat in the trailer for three hours, it's tough. 

Having more to play with in Deathly Hallows:

Emma Watson: Definitely, and I just had such a bigger role. It gave me such a better chance to really develop it and get into it, and I just felt like I had so much more room to give it a bit more. I had some really challenging stuff to do, which gave me a chance to show what I can do, which was lovely as well.

Tackling heavier, more challenging material with Director David Yates:

Emma Watson:  He was very good. He's very calm, which is great for me, because there are days when I just panicked, I mean really just... "David, I don't know how to do this!" I didn't know how to act...I've never been tortured before, I have no idea how to pull that off. I have no idea what it feels like to see your friend bleeding to death in your arms.

There was some really hard stuff to do, like what it's like to erase your parents' memories and walk out the door. I think for me, I have quite an academic, like a heady approach I guess to the way that I act, and us just talking through what it meant, what does it mean for her? How does it relate to her past? What does she think about this? Having the time to be very clear in my head about what exactly everything was allowed me to give a really good performance. He's very patient, which is so nice. I never felt like I was being hurried, so that was nice. He's very good like that, he's very gentle.

Jump to:

The lowdown [aka minor spoilers] on our favorite scenes from Deathly Hallows

Looking back at her co-stars and highlights of the Potter franchise