Emma Watson Roles

The audience discovered Emma Watson when she was only 11 years old. The role of Hermione Granger didn't just launch Watson's acting career, but made it, as she spent a decade filming the eight-movie series. In the following decade, the young Brit then proved she could do more than play a teenage wizard, appearing in almost a dozen movies and trying her hand at different types of characters and genres, building on the reputation that Hermione gave her.

Acting isn't Watson's only passion, though. Activism and advocacy played a big part in Watson's life after she wrapped up the Harry Potter films. In 2014, Watson became a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and launched the HeForShe initiative. She's an outspoken feminist and uses her fame to advocate for the cause: She started a feminist book club called Our Shared Shelf, and was an outspoken supporter of the Time's Up movement. She also stood behind causes such as Black Lives Matter and climate change in recent years.

As an audience, we've seen Emma Watson grow up both on screen and in real life. While she may remain Hermione Granger in our hearts, she's accomplished far more than that one part. Let's take a look at all her roles over the years, and rank them from worst to best.

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Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar's Regression is a thriller that explores the Satanic cult scare of the 1980s, as well as the questionable practice of regression therapy, a widely debunked psychoanalytic technique focused on recovering repressed memories. Watson plays Angela Gray, a young 17-year-old whose father admits to sexually abusing her in what she describes as a black-mass-type satanic ritual. The thing is that her dad, John Gray (David Dencik), has no memory of the abuse. Cop Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) hires psychoanalyst Kenneth Raines (David Thewlis) to use regression therapy on John to uncover the truth.

While the movie starts to build a spooky plot, it fails to deliver the twists and turns it promises. Watson has little to do during the movie other than play the victim; her character, Angela, is built around her ability to look vulnerable. That's certainly well within Watson's abilities, but her overall performance suffers for it. Regression is not the only horror-adjacent thriller in which Watson fails to shine, so it's possible that this simply isn't her genre.

Based on a novel of the same name by Dave Eggers, The Circle is a techno-thriller about a fictional company that resembles Google. It follows new employee Mae Holland (Watson), who received some help from a friend (Karen Gillian) to get a foot in the door of the prestigious tech giant. She's handpicked by company leaders Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks) and Tom Stenton (Patton Oswalt) to lead an experiment around transparency called SeeChange. Mae's entire life is broadcast using cameras; soon, politicians start participating as well. Another Circle employee, Ty Latiffe (John Boyega), befriends Mae and tries to warn her about the consequences of the invasive tech as it starts negatively impacting her family and friends.

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If this plot sounds like a dystopian privacy nightmare, that's exactly the point. Unfortunately, The Circle doesn't deliver. What could have been a fully-fledged horror thriller gets bogged down by heavy dialogue, unnecessary exposition, and unbelievable relationships between the characters. Watson is not bad per se, but her character is gullible and flat. Watson isn't able to bring Mae to life and, in the end, neither the character nor the movie are engaging or satisfying.

Based on real-life events, Colonia is another ambitious thriller that doesn't quite deliver. Set in Chile in the '70s, the movie depicts the story of the colony-turned-cult Colonia Dignidad (via The Guardian), which was started by fugitive Nazis after World War II. It later became an internment camp for the Pinochet dictatorship, with activists and political enemies imprisoned and tortured on the colony's grounds.

Watson plays Lena, a stewardess for the German airline Lufthansa, who becomes involved with German activist Daniel (Daniel Brülh) while on a layover in Santiago. Things turn sour very quickly after Daniel is caught by the militia and sent to Colonia Dignidad. Lena finds out where he's being held captive and infiltrates the colony by fooling Colonia's intimidating and unforgiving leader, Paul Schäfer (Michael Nyqvist), to help Daniel escape. 

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Colonia tries to tackle too many things at once and gets lost along the way. A tragic romance, human rights abuses, cults, thrilling chase scenes, and daring escapes all become jumbled together by the end, along with Watson's performance.

My Week with Marilyn is based on a memoir by Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), who worked as an assistant to Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) back when he filmed The Prince and the Showgirl with Marylin Monroe (Michelle Williams). Clark was assigned to guide Monroe around London, and she took a liking to him, which led to her inviting him to a cottage for a week-long getaway while filming was paused. Watson plays Lucy, a wardrobe assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl whom Clark starts dating before meeting Monroe; she breaks up with him when she notices their connection.

Watson's role as Lucy in My Week with Marilyn was her first foray into a live-action feature film after the Harry Potter saga, although not her first project overall (she'd made a TV movie as well as an animated one, but more on those later). However, the role is a tiny one that doesn't make much of an impression, mostly because Watson is dwarfed by Oscar-nominated performances by Williams and Branagh.

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You read that right: One of Watson's movie roles is herself (or a romanticized, fictionalized version of herself, anyway). This Is the End, which was written and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, centers around Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen (also playing themselves), as Jay comes to Los Angeles to visit. They head to James Franco's mansion for a star-studded party, but the celebration is interrupted by the end of the world. Some bystanders are beamed up in blue light into Heaven, while others fall into fiery sinkholes to Hell. Seth and Jay manage to find their way back to James' place, where they hunker down with Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride.

Once again, Watson has a small role, but it's a pretty funny one. She shows up at the house with an ax, seeking refuge with the men until she overhears them arguing. She misunderstands them, thinking they're talking about sexually assaulting her, and promptly smashes Seth's face with the ax handle and runs off with their water supply. To see Watson in such a funny, unassuming movie is refreshing, and This Is the End is a hilarious movie for that same reason: It's full of Hollywood stars having fun and not taking themselves seriously.

A TV movie produced for the 2007 Christmas season by the BBC, Ballet Shoes is based on the classic 1936 children's novel of the same name by Noel Streatfeild. The film follows three young girls, Pauline (Watson), Petrova (Yasmin Paige), and Posy (Lucy Boynton), who were adopted by an eccentric paleontologist they call Great Uncle Matthew, or Gum for short. They're raised by Gum's niece Sylvia and her old nanny Nana while Gum goes on adventures around the world. After one of their lodgers, a dance teacher, notices Pauline and Posy's natural talent for the stage, all three girls enroll in the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training. There, they learn about more than mere theater and dance.

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While the movie isn't a great adaptation of the novel, which highlights the importance of determination and grit over beauty, talent, and wealth, it's not terrible, and boasts great art direction and production design. Watson is in her element here, with a role that feels quite close to both her public persona and the only other role she'd played thus far, Hermione Granger.

Based on a series of children's novels by Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux is an ambitious, even if uneven, animated feature featuring a star-studded cast. In the titular role is Matthew Broderick, with narration by Sigourney Weaver. Other characters are played by the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, and more. Watson plays the human Princess Pea, who befriends the courageous little mouse Despereaux.

In this world, rats have been banished from the kingdom after one accidentally fell in the queen's soup, killing her in the process. A society of mice also exists, although apart from Despereaux they keep to themselves; even if Despereaux is much smaller than the rest of his brethren, he has the spirit of a knight, which is why he decides to stand up to the fearsome rats after they kidnap the princess.

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The Tale of Desperaux is Watson's only animated film. While the animation is beautiful, the story is both contrived and hard to follow. As far as voice work goes, Watson manages to make the most out of the sweet and gentle Princess Pea. It must have been good practice for her bigger princess role, Belle, a decade later!

Watson's role as