English actress and activist Emma Watson has been a cinema darling since her film debut in the great 2001 smash hit Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The brilliant star would go on to appear as the marvelously magical Hermione Granger in all eight installments of the billion dollar franchise, cementing her status as a beloved heroine and gifted performer.
Watson would go on to find continued success on the big screen, with diverse roles such as the free-spirited Sam in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, celebrity burglar Alexis Neiers in Sofia Coppola’s crime satire The Bling Ring, and as iconic literary heroine Belle in the live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. She most recently appeared as Margaret “Meg” March in Greta Gerwig’s critically-acclaimed picture Little Women, and has since reportedly retired from acting at the young age of 31.
Outside her acting career, Watson serves as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and helped launch the UN Women campaign HeForShe, which advocates for gender equality. To the delight of fans across the world, the actress reunited with her Harry Potter cast members in 2022 for HBO Max’s Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts. These are the best Emma Watson movies.
8 This Is the End
Comedy dream team Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote, directed, and produced the hilarious 2013 apocalyptic movie This Is the End featuring some of cinema’s most hilarious performers like Jonah Hill, James Franco, Danny McBride and Rogen himself. The flick depicts a fictionalized version of its cast playing themselves in the aftermath of a global biblical apocalypse as they take cover in Franco’s mansion and wait out the madness wreaking havoc around them.
A slew of Hollywood celebrities make amusing cameos in This is the End, including Emma Watson, who returns to the house following a wild party in order to find refuge. After overhearing the guys arguing passionately and misunderstanding their intentions, Watson grabs an ax and delivers a funny parting shot to Rogen before making her escape. Watson was excited to make her first comedy appearance and “work with some of the best comedians…in the world right now.” The actress memorably drops the f-bomb and showed audiences a more edgy yet playful side that they loved to see, though she wouldn't go to the lengths some actors did on the This is the End set.
7 My Week with Marilyn
In her first post-Harry Potter project, Emma Watson appeared in the 2011 drama My Week with Marilyn, following the iconic twentieth century bombshell Marilyn Monroe during the shooting of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl. In the picture Watson portrays Lucy Armstrong, a wardrobe assistant who briefly dates protagonist Colin Clarke, played by Eddie Redmayne. Clarke and Monroe (the dazzling Michelle Williams) develop a friendship that ultimately comes between his relationship with Lucy.
Coming off the massive success of the final magical Harry Potter installment, the star was eager to take on a role that was less high-profile than her epic character Hermione Granger, saying: “I loved it. It was less pressure, but at the same time it was an interesting role, although it was a small role. I loved the script and loved the story, and I’m very interested in Marilyn, so I really wanted to do it.” My Week with Marilyn was both a hit with audiences and critics, earning numerous accolades including a Golden Globe and Hollywood Film Award.
6 The Bling Ring
Based on the Vanity Fair article “The Suspects Wore Louboutins” by Nancy Jo Sales, the 2013 satirical crime film The Bling Ring was directed by Sofia Coppola and centers on a group of fame-obsessed teenagers who use the internet to track the locations of celebrities in order to burgle their homes. In the drama, Watson portrays Nicolette “Nicki” Moore, a fictionalized version of television personality Alexis Neiers who was involved in the robberies and would ultimately serve a 30-day jail sentence.
On her portrayal, Watson told GQ magazine, “It wasn’t like I needed to go out there and try to find the furthest part from Hermione so I could get away from her…What I’m trying to get towards is that I want to be a character actress. I want to play parts. I want to play roles that transform me.” Though the film itself garnered somewhat mixed reviews, the actress’ performance and range earned praise from critics, with The Independent stating that “She proved remarkable. Watson oozes casual disdain. Her sticky American vocal fry is clipped and monotone, as if she’s swallowed a Kardashian for breakfast.”
5 Noah
The renowned Darren Aronofsky directed the 2014 epic biblical drama Noah, starring an A-list cast including Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, and Anthony Hopkins, and was inspired by the story of Noah’s Ark from the Book of Genesis and the Book of Enoch. Aronofsky initially struggled with adapting the biblical tale into a feature-length film, as the story is only four chapters long; the director told The Guardian he saw Noah as “a dark, complicated character” who experiences “real survivors guilt” after the flood.
When discussing the approach to filming and setting of the picture, Watson said, “I think what Darren’s going for is a sense that it could be set in any time. It could be set like a thousand years in the future or a thousand years in the past…You shouldn’t be able to place it too much.” In the big-screen extravaganza, Watson plays IIa, an orphan who is raised by Noah and Naameh and has a romantic relationship with their eldest son Shem. Noah was a hit at the box office and the actress earned praise for her portrayal, with Vanity Fair writing, “Watson anchors the film’s rawest emotional scenes…Sitting on an Icelandic beach with Russell Crowe, her hair wild and eyes burning, Watson is quiet but ferocious.”
4 The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Based on the Stephen Chbosky novel of the same name, 2012’s coming-of-age drama The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows a teenager named Charlie who writes to an unnamed friend, chronicling his trials, tribulations and triumphs of his freshman year of high school; the film also depicts his anxiety and struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. The author also wrote the screenplay and directed the drama, drawing inspiration from a difficult period in his life in which he pondered the question, “Why do good people let themselves get treated so badly?” and coming to the conclusion that “we accept the love we think we deserve.”
Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower was well received by critics and audiences and earned praise for Chbosky’s direction and screenplay, top-notch performances by its leading trio of stars, and overall execution of its emotional and heavy topics. The moving coming-of-age drama won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film-Wide Release and nabbed Watson the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress.
3 Beauty and the Beast
Bill Condon’s 2017 musical romantic fantasy Beauty and the Beast brings the beloved Disney classic to life, telling the story of a selfish Prince who is cursed to become a monster all his life, unless he learns to fall in love with the beautiful young woman he’s keeping prisoner. The stunning spectacle stars Emma Watson and Dan Stevens as the eponymous Belle and Beast, and features an incredibly superb ensemble cast including Luke Evans, Kevin Kline and Ewan McGregor. Watson was the first and only choice of Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan F. Horn, and she was given autonomy within Belle’s portrayal; the actress re-characterized her as an assistant to her inventor father and incorporated bloomers and boots into her wardrobe.
Paige O’Hara, who voiced the character in the original animated film, felt that Watson’s casting was perfect, and she even offered to help the actress with her singing lessons. The star discussed taking on the adored role with Time, saying, “I think that I just feel really lucky. For me, Belle was my childhood heroine; [the animated original] came out two days after I was born…I think I came out of [Beauty and the Beast] with more confidence and more skills. And more belief in myself.”
2 Little Women
Based on the renowned Louisa May Alcott novel, Greta Gerwig’s 2019 coming-of-age period drama Little Women chronicles the lives of the March sisters — Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth — in Concord, Massachusetts during the 19th century. The picture stars an ensemble cast of Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Timothée Chalamet, with Watson taking on the esteemed role of Meg March. On appearing in such a revered adaptation, the star expressed, “I think Little Women was a good literary device to explain there’s no one way to be a feminist…Meg’s 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.”
The film debuted to critical acclaim, earning over $215 million at the box office and garnering six Academy Award nominations (winning Best Costume Design). Of Watson’s performance as Meg, Forbes stated that “Watson has perhaps the most challenging role, as the proverbial straight woman of the sisters who is put on the defensive when her dreams end up being the most conventional of the lot.”
1 Harry Potter Series
Undeniably Emma Watson’s most adored and iconic character thus far, the brilliant character Hermione Granger is one-third of the beloved magical trio from the groundbreaking Harry Potter series, a franchise the actress was part of for a decade. Watson made her big-screen debut in 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, portraying the studious and bright Granger; the actress took her audition seriously but “but never really thought she had any chance of getting the role.” The producers were extremely impressed by Watson’s self-confidence, and she outperformed the thousands of other girls who applied, and was awarded the part after eight auditions.
She would go on to appear in seven more installments of the J.K. Rowling series, or every Harry Potter movie, earning praise and accolades for her emotionally-driven and inspiring portrayal of the famous literary character. In HBO Max’s Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, Watson said, “Dan, Rupert, and I were kids when we got cast in this fairy-tale series, and what happened to us was kind of a fantasy story in itself. The story of my life has been of public interest, which is why I’ve been so passionate about having a private identity.” We may not see too much more of Watson, but we'll always have her excellent performances.