How Emma went from nice to naughty
THE strain of being a world famous goody-goody has been weighing on Emma Watson’s fair shoulders for some time.
“One of the things about being a teenager is that you just do what you want, dye your hair funny colours, experiment and do crazy things. I’m not able to do that in the same way that my friends are.”
In fact, without risking worldwide disapproval, she can do almost nothing that an ordinary teenager would do. To Harry Potter fans she will always be industrious little Hermione Granger, frozen in time in her
perfectly pressed Hogwarts’ uniform.
So when 17-year-old Emma arrived at a London Fashion Week party on Monday with hellraiser Johnny Borrell, she must have had some inkling of the furore to come.
Wrapped in a flesh-coloured, curve-clinging halter-dress, arm in arm with the 27-year-old Razorlight rocker, she gave photographers a smile that seemed to say: “I don’t want to be a good girl any more.”
The actress, who once said her biggest fear was being stereotyped, recently signed a contract to complete the last two Harry Potter films. Her decision, which she delayed due to concerns that it would limit her career at a crucial time, assured her of a £2million payment for each movie and will bring her overall wealth to an estimated £10million.
However, she had to accept that, on screen at least, she will be Hermione Granger until she is 20. Having won the part at the age of nine, Emma will have been living in her shadow for more than half her life.
She starred in a TV version of Noel Streatfeild’s Ballet Shoes at Christmas but unlike her Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe, who has appeared naked in the West End production of Equus, Emma is yet to find a role that challenges public perceptions of her.
“Sometimes even I get muddled which one I am because I know Hermione so very well,” she said recently. “My little brother Toby, who’s three, gets very cross with me sometimes because when he sees me in Harry Potter he can’t understand how I can be Emma and Hermione at the same time.”
PR guru Mark Borkowski says Emma and Johnny’s photo opportunity was a smart move on her part. “You are incredibly lucky to be involved in a big hit and they don’t come much bigger than Harry Potter. But it can mean you’re saddled with an image that’s hard to shake. That’s the classic curse of the child star.
“For her own sanity and for the sake of her career, she has to show that she isn’t squeaky clean Hermione Granger. Her image needs a jump-start and this is where it starts. It’s a gentle nudge to say that she’s not who we think she is. A good publicist has a full bag of arrows and this is just the first shot fired.”
Gossips reported this week that Emma was introduced to Borrell by Pixie Geldof. A fellow guest said: “Emma and Johnny immediately hit it off. It was clear they had loads to talk about, even if they don’t look like they have much in common.”
Borkowski says: “Every actress with a clichéd image needs the perfect role to dislodge our preconceptions. Until she finds it, Emma can pull a few tricks like this – but nothing too risqué – to remind us and the bigwigs in
the industry that she is Emma Watson not Hermione Granger.”
But for a long time, being both wasn’t so difficult. Plucked from an audition at her Oxford school, she was in many ways just like JK Rowling’s creation.
“I think there were about 18 of us and we weren’t sure who we were auditioning for but I knew I wanted to be Hermione. I had no interest in any other part. I felt I really was Hermione,” she says.
Just as Hermione perfected a few spells at home before being accepted to Hogwarts, Emma was obsessed with becoming an actress at an early age: “I dreamt of it. I practised speeches in front of mirrors. Whenever there was a part at school, I went for it. I was probably a bit of a show-off in the sense that any chance to get up and be seen, I did it.”
But even though the Potter series allows its heroes to grow up, Emma and her co-stars were going to find their characters and fame increasingly constricting.
After a recent split from Wasps rugby star Tom Ducker, Emma said her love life had been scrutinised by the press to the point that younger brother Alex is now “about the only bloke I can go out with and not cause a stir”.
Her reputation, while hardly wild, has taken a lurch in that direction. In December Emma, a new face of Chanel, was photographed at a party with Kate Moss and Kelly Osbourne. And just last week her exit from London’s Amika nightclub in the small hours – under-age but apparently sober – was headline news. If this is as naughty as she gets then her fans, not to mention her parents, probably have little to worry about.
It was noted by reporters that Emma and Johnny had parted company by 2.30am when he and another female friend were ejected from the Dorchester Hotel. And straight A student Emma shows no sign of giving up her dream to study philosophy at Cambridge just yet. But child stars can crumble under the pressure of expectation in their teenage years.
Jonathan Shalit, showbusiness impresario and former manager of singer Charlotte Church, says: “Being 17 can be difficult, whether you’re famous or not. I worked with Charlotte, who at that age behaved like any normal teenager. She went out, got drunk, she argued with her parents and put up with the attention that it brought her.
“However, she has matured into a very impressive young woman because she always had the support
of her family. Britney Spears, meanwhile, seems to be surrounded by mad people who appear to advise her very badly. I get the impression Emma has a stable background and a good head on her shoulders. I’m sure she’s being well guided.”
According to Borkowski, Emma is unlikely to become a hellraiser. “While she is signed up to Harry Potter, it wouldn’t make sense to do anything to upset Warner Bros. They have invested in her and they might have a problem if she started acting like Amy Winehouse but this stunt is harmless enough.”
Emma says: “Not all child actors are doomed.” Let’s hope she’s right.
