The Harry Potter Scene Emma Watson Was Too Embarrassed To Film
It's safe to say that Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley have always been endgame in the "Harry Potter" universe. Both of these Gryffindors are beloved characters in the realm of the fantasy genre and are always favorably shipped together, despite their notable love/hate relationship throughout the "Harry Potter" book and film series. However, one particular scene revolving around the two characters' relationship in the second movie, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," made Hermione's actress, Emma Watson, quite nervous to film — not to mention apparently angry with the movie's director Chris Columbus for making her do it anyway.
As most fans know, the second film focuses on the Chamber of Secrets – a dungeon underneath Hogwarts housing a terrible creature – being reopened, as Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione do what they can to save the school. There's a particular scene at the end of the film in which Hermione has to run into the Great Hall and hug both Harry and Ron. However, the shy, then-11-year-old Watson was too embarrassed to hug both of the boys in front of the cast and crew. Here's how the scene played out, and what Columbus did in lieu of having the young actress do the scene as planned.
How the scene made sense for the future of Hermione and Ron's relationship
As explained by Seventeen, Chris Columbus tried to work around things by making Watson hug Radcliffe and shake Grint's hand instead. Watson was even embarrassed to hug Radcliffe for a long time, so their hug had to be frozen for a few seconds longer than it actually was for it to appear more realistic on-screen. The actress has since opened up on how nerve-wracking it was to film that scene with everybody on set watching. About quickly hugging Radcliffe, Watson said (via Instagram) that her arms "barely touched around his neck."
The result of the scene actually ended up working perfectly for the storyline of Ron and Hermione, since fans of the "Harry Potter" books and films well know of the underlying feelings that both characters have for each other. Hermione even ends up marrying the adorable, endearing redhead at the conclusion of the magical series. If you're a true Romione fan (via Screen Rant), you're up to speed on everything that happens throughout their relationship.
As we are well aware, adapting books into movies is extremely challenging and things are often altered in the process. Despite some of the major changes that had to be made to fit within the restrictions of filming the second "Harry Potter" movie, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" still holds up today, and rewatching that Great Hall scene brings us such joy.
Watson felt just as awkward filming kissing scenes in later films
While Watson, Grint, and Radcliffe definitely grew closer over the years as the movie franchise went on, it seems like the actress's attitude towards filming more intimate scenes with her co-stars never changed. In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1," one of the Horcruxes shows Ron a vision of one of his biggest fears, which just so happens to be Hermione and Harry kissing. The vision is strange and intense, and Watson and Radcliffe had to make it look really passionate.
Speaking with The Seattle Times, Watson said that the experience filming the kiss with Radcliffe was "bloody awkward ... because Dan and I are like brother and sister" but unlike her younger self, she put her all into the scene, following director David Yates's directions with the hope that it might help them finish filming more quickly. As the scene is supposed to be a vision seen by Ron, Grint was originally on set to watch them kiss and give accurate reactions. But apparently, Grint couldn't control his emotions at seeing his two best friends making out, and Grint said that "Emma sent me out because I kept laughing. It just looked really strange."
This scene is definitely more hands-on than the "Chamber of Secrets" hug, and Watson did a great job holding it all together to get the filming done. It wasn't even the only kissing scene she had to do for the franchise, as Ron and Hermione finally make their romance official with a kiss in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." Being as close to Grint as she is with Radcliffe, Watson told Movies Ireland, "Believe me, we both wanted it to be over equally as much as the other. It's honestly like kissing my brother. It was weird." Despite how they felt in real life, the kiss is a very important moment for Ron and Hermione's relationship on-screen, and the two actors successfully overcame the awkwardness to make it look realistic.