Emma Watson recalls the moment she "fell in love" with fellow Harry Potter star, Tom Felton, during a sneak peek for the upcoming Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special. Watson was just 10 years old when she began filming her role as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Watson's character would go on to become one of the central figures in the Harry Potter saga, alongside her fellow co-stars, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. The young actress would eventually reach the age of 20 years old by the time she finished filming her role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Similarly, Watson's old crush, Felton, began filming his role as one of the chief antagonists of the Harry Potter franchise, Draco Malfoy, at the age of 12. Malfoy would go on to serve as the foil to the central story's main character, Harry Potter (Radcliffe), using his cunning knowledge of magic to bully his way into getting what he wanted in life. Two years older than Watson, Felton would end filming the final movie in the franchise at the age of 22. Despite Felton's character serving as a villain to the main protagonists, that didn't stop Watson from developing a crush on the actor.
As reported by ET Canada, during a sneak peek for the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts reunion special, Watson recalls the moment she "fell in love" with Felton. Watson reveals that one day during tutoring on set, the Harry Potter actors were given the task of drawing what they thought "God looked like." Apparently, Felton drew a "girl with a backwards cap on a skateboard," which resonated enough with Watson to make her fall "in love with [Felton]." View Watson's full quote recalling her crush on Felton below:
“I walked into the room where we were having tutoring. The assignment that had been given was to draw what you thought God looked like, and Tom had drawn a girl with a backward cap on a skateboard. And I just don’t know how to say it — I just fell in love with him.”
From that moment, Watson further explains that she used to "come in every day and look for his number on the call sheet." Her crush on the young Felton was so strong that she even remembers his call number, which was "number seven." If Felton's number appeared on the call sheet, Watson remembers it being "an extra exciting day." However, because of the two actors' age difference, Watson remembers Felton feeling she was "like [her] little sister." Nonetheless, Felton was apparently aware of Watson's crush on him, which made him feel "very protective over her." Although they never dated, Felton has always had a "soft spot" for Watson, and likens their relationship to something of "a kinship."
While nothing romantic ever happened between Watson and Felton, the pair did share a warm embrace while reuniting on camera for the Harry Potter reunion special. The Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts serves as the 20th anniversary of the release of the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Fans can look forward to learning more about Watson's crush on Felton, as well as other behind-the-scenes Harry Potter trivia once the reunion special airs on HBO Max on January 1, 2022.
Source: ET Canada