Inside Emma Watson’s life after Harry Potter – co-star crush, 'feud' and Hollywood snub

The established actress is possibly best known for her legendary role as Hermione Granger in the popular mystical movie franchise, Harry Potter.

Emma Watson was cast in the enviable role as the beloved bookworm at the age on just ten years old back in 2000 alongside her long-term cast mates Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint.

Over the next ten years, the trio went on to become some of the most well-known child actors in the acting industry as they embodied the lives of witches and wizards in the heart of Hogwarts.

But it’s not always been an easy life for the Hollywood actress after she almost dropped out of the film franchise due to the negative impact fame had on her growing up.

Now, more than 20 years after the first film premiered, the TV star has done wonders with her impressive Hollywood career in addition to complete university and even became a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.

As the actress prepares to celebrate 32nd birthday, Daily Star have taken a deep dive inside her life and career after her Harry Potter journey came to an end in 2011.

Tom Felton ‘crush’

Ahead of the 20th Harry Potter film reunion earlier this year, news resurfaced that Emma Watson revealed that she had a huge crush on her fellow co-star Tom Felton – who played the villainous Draco Malfoy.

Speaking when the final Harry Potter film came out, Emma admitted she’d had a crush on Draco Malfoy star Tom Felton during an apperance on The Jonathan Ross Show.

She confessed: “Between the ages of 10 and 12, I had a really terrible crush on Tom Felton.”

“We love a bad guy and he was a few years older and he had a skateboard, and that just did it really.

“He used to do tricks on it. He was so cool. He totally knew (I had a crush). And the thing is, he’d turn and go, ‘Oh, I see her in a younger, sisterly way’. And it just broke my heart, still does.”

Despite the feelings not being reciprocated, Emma and Tom are close friends, with Tom telling E! News: “It was very flattering for a 12-year-old boy, but it’s nice that we’ve become friends since then and we can kind of look back and have a laugh at it.”

He added: “I absolutely think the world of her.”

Love life to engagement rumours

Away from our cinema screens, Emma Watson has embarked on a number of romances – including being linked to entrepreneur Francis Boulle, financier Jay Barrymore, actor Rafael Cebrian and her Perks of Being a Wallflower co-star Johnny Simmons in the past decade.

She also dated Will Adamowicz between 2011-2013, after the couple met at the University of Oxford and tech entrepreneur William Knight between 2015-2017.

However the star prefers to keep her relationships away from the public eye and while dating William Knight, she told Vanity Fair: “I want to be consistent: I can’t talk about my boyfriend in an interview and then expect people not to take paparazzi pictures of me walking around outside my home.

“You can’t have it both ways. I’ve noticed, in Hollywood, who you’re dating gets tied up into your film promotion and becomes part of the performance and the circus. I would hate anyone that I were with to feel like they were in any way part of a show or an act.”

Ahead of her 30th birthday in 2019 though, the actress told Vogue Magazine that she was happy being single, saying: “I never believed the whole ‘I’m happy single’ spiel.

“I was like, ‘This is totally spiel.’ It took me a long time, but I’m very happy [being single]. I call it being self-partnered.”

Emma was not single for long however, as she has been dating businessman Leo Robinton since 2019, with the couple reported to be living together in his hometown of Los Angeles.

The actress has since dismissed rumours that the two are engaged though, taking to Twitter to address the reports saying: “If I have news – I promise I’ll share it with you.”

Ivy League education

After the Hollywood actress wrapped up filming the final instalment of the Harry Potter series, she focused all of her energy on completing her education.

And after much research as to which university to attend, the brunette beauty selected to study at Brown University and earn a bachelor’s degree in English Literature with the best and brightest.

The Ivy League institution in consistently ranked as one of the top universities in the world with an acceptance rate on only 7%, but that didn’t faze the star as quickly enrolled in the prestigious school and aced her way through the three-year course.

But it wasn’t all work and no play for the activist, as she briefly took a few months away from the books to pursue her acting career after she acquired roles in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Bling Ring and This Is The End.

Apart from attending the American University, Emma also attended the University of Oxford as part of her third year abroad before she graduated in 2014.

And it’s easy to see how the feminist has gone on to strive in other areas outside of acting as she continues to advocate for education with her enormous social media platform.

Final acting roles

Since Emma graduated from university, the star found herself pulling away from huge blockbuster films and gravitating towards smaller films that mean something to her personally.

The actress’ first movie role outside of the magical franchise was in the 2007 novel adaptation Ballet Shoes in which followed the lives of three orphans who went on to establish themselves as strong-headed and determined individuals.

This theme of ambitious female lead roles is a consistent theme throughout the actor’s career and something which she has been fighting to be more represented on the big screen.

When the Hollywood star was offered the role of Belle in the live Disney adaptation of Beauty and the Beast in 2017, Emma worked tirelessly with the creative director and wardrobe department to make sure her adaptation of the princess was just right.

From the beginning, she expressed how she wanted her commoner-turned-princess to have both brains and beauty which she showcased through her light and agile yellow dress which she specifically requested not to include a corset.

The Beauty and the Beast Costume Director Jacqueline Durran told Entertainment Weekly at the time: “For Emma, it was important that the dress was light and that it had a lot of movement.

“In Emma’s reinterpretation, Belle is an active princess. She did not want a dress that was corseted or that would impede her in any way.”

For her final role before she decided to step away from the movie set was through the iconic role of Meg March in Greta Gerwig’s interpretation of the classic tale Little Women.

One of the main reasons she took on the role as the eldest March sister was because the character embodied so many of her personal interests, including literature and feminism.

Speaking to Vogue UK in 2019, Emma explained what drew her to the role of Meg and what she wanted to convey on camera.

She told the outlet: “With Meg’s character, her way of being a feminist is making the choice – because that’s really, for me anyway, what feminism is about.

“Her choice is that she wants to be a full-time mother and wife,” which completely contrasts from her sister Jo’s impression of marriage.”

But during the global pandemic the academic decided to take a step back from the acting industry reportedly to spend more time with her doting fiancé Ler Robinton.

According to MailOnline, Emma has been secretly living in the heart of Ibiza until January 2020 but it is understood she is now retiring from the acting world completely in order to live out her days with her partner in LA.

Her publicist told tabloids at the time that her career is “dormant” and she is “not taking on new commitments”.

However, the actress – who is estimated to boast an eye-watering net worth of £57million – is yet to speak out about her retirement plans.

Directing

But it seems the activist couldn’t stay away from the film set as she made the natural step forward to directing her own movies.

After collaborating with the directorial team on many of her previous films including Beauty and the Beast, Little Women and throughout her years on the Harry Potter set, the brunette beauty decided to take an interest in the work behind the camera.

And it’s clear to see that she’s an absolute natural behind the camera after she turned her hand to the role and even debuted her first short film on Instagram.

The actress explained in her lengthy caption: “I didn’t actually set out to start making films” but couldn’t help but be inspired by the process as she grew up on the Harry Potter set.

Her two-minute movie features an evocative combination of still images and documentary-like footage of artist Emma Webster which focuses on some themes the star is passionate about: female empowerment and the importance of caring for the environment.

It appears as though the star really explored her passion for directing during the global pandemic as she teased her loyal legion of fans with behind-the-scenes snaps on social media.

J.K Rowling ‘feud’

Emma Watson has previously spoken out in support of trans women following tweets made by Harry Potter author J.K Rowling, in which the writer has been very vocal about her views on women’s rights, and whether or not they include the rights of trans women.

Emma seemed to take aim at JK as she took to the stage to present the award for Outstanding British Film at the BAFTA Awards 2022, after being introduced by host Rebel Wilson who said: “Here to present the next award is Emma Watson. She calls herself a feminist, but we all know she’s a witch.”

The actress then took to the stage and said before presenting the award: “I’m here for all of the witches, by the way.”

Viewers at home noticed the stress Emma placed upon “all”, and took it to mean she was once again showing her support for the transgender community.

Fans took to social media to praise Emma, with one saying: “Emma Watson’s ‘I’m here for *all* of the witches, by the way’ was a giant dig at JK and I love her for it.”

A second added: “I love that Emma Watson is here for all the witches,” with a third adding: “Emma Watson opening with ‘I’m here for all the witches…’ She’s here for trans rights #TransWomenAreWomen.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk