Emma Watson’s full account of how a nine-year-old with zero professional experience won one of cinema’s most coveted child roles is charming a new wave of fans, as clips from her Jay Shetty interview flood social feeds.
“I ended up doing nine auditions over a period of over a year and a half, which for a nine-year-old is a massive commitment,” Watson revealed on the On Purpose podcast, her first in-depth interview in years. “But I loved her. I loved it. I really did.”
The Countrywide Search That Found Her
Watson explained she was no stage-school prodigy: “I did not go to a performing arts school. I’d never done anything. I never acted professionally, but they did a basically country-wide search to find Harry, Hermione, and Ron. They asked my school if they wanted to submit any students who love drama who wanted to audition.”
She was one of about 12 students her school put forward, and something clicked instantly:
“It was weird. I had this weird, weighted, fated sense of destiny pretty much from the moment that they mentioned the audition.”
Seven Beanie Babies and ‘Lucky Talismans’
Watson’s audition kit remains the story’s most adorable detail: “I remember I brought, I think, maybe seven different Beanie Babies with me along and all these different lucky talismans.”
Her devotion to the wizarding world predated any casting call. Her father had been reading her the books before bed and on long car journeys to France, making Hermione less a part to win than a self to claim: “I always felt like Hermione was… I knew I was never auditioning for anything else. I knew it was her. Something felt right about it.”
She spared a thought for her family’s nerves:
“My poor parents, because if I hadn’t have got it, I think they knew how crushed I would’ve been.”
The ‘Preferred Candidate’ Phone Call
Watson has previously described the agonizing wait between rounds, telling W Magazine she would “literally sit by the telephone in my house and wait for each call,” marveling when round nine arrived: “Wow, nine!”
The ending was a whirlwind: producer David Heyman told her she was the “preferred” candidate, and before she could parse the word, a photo of her with Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint was broadcast worldwide. “By the time I got back to my house, there was press waiting outside. We moved straight into a hotel.”
The Mother Who Fought for Normal
Watson used the interview to credit the person who kept the fairy tale from consuming her: her mother, “a warrior for my normalcy,” who battled to keep her in ordinary school throughout filming.
“She fought tooth and nail. She was, like, on the phone for hours saying she has to sit for her exams… she needs to have some parts of a normal childhood,” Watson recalled. “I will forever be in her debt. She somehow knew that me feeling part of the ordinary world… was going to be crucial.”
A quarter-century after those nine auditions, the clips’ virality proves the instinct of a nine-year-old with a bag of Beanie Babies was exactly right: it was always going to be her.
Emma Watson reveals she did nine auditions over 18 months to land Hermione in Harry Potter
“I never acted professionally but they did like a basically countrywide search to find Harry, Hermione, and Ron…they asked my school if they wanted to submit any students who love drama… pic.twitter.com/N3M7Tap7oY
— CreativeDude (@creativeburne) July 14, 2026
FAQ
How many auditions did Emma Watson do for Hermione?
Nine, spread over roughly 18 months, beginning when she was nine years old.
Did she have acting experience?
No professional experience at all; she was one of about 12 drama-loving students her school submitted to the countrywide search.
What did she bring to her audition?
Around seven Beanie Babies and assorted “lucky talismans,” reflecting her love of the books her father read to her.
How did she find out she got the role?
Producer David Heyman told her she was the “preferred candidate”, and the trio’s casting photo hit the internet before she even got home.
Where did Watson share this story?
On Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, her first in-depth interview in years, whose clips continue to go viral.
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