Emma Watson is one of the most exciting young actresses around and is already one of Hollywood's biggest stars. However, she has worked sparingly since shooting to fame in the Harry Potter.
Emma Watson in The Colony
Over the last fifteen years, she has mixed and matched her roles, showing off her versatility as an actress. To celebrate the home release of The Colony, we take a look at some of her best performances to date. Do you have a favourite?
- Harry Potter Franchise (2001 - 2011)
It was the Harry Potter franchise and the role of Hermione Granger that kicked off Watson's acting career. Not only did the film series turn her into a global star, but, over the following decade, we saw her grow up in front of our eyes.
Yes, Watson will forever be synonymous with the role of Hermione and it was back in 2001 when she took on this now iconic role for the first time when Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone hit the big screen.
Alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint - who played Harry Potter and Ron Weasley - this trio of actors became the heart and soul of the Potter franchise as Harry, Hermione, and Ron battled all kinds of evil - including the villainous Voldemort.
While we all know that Harry Potter is a story about wizards and magic, it is also a tale of the power and importance of friendship and family.
From 2001 to 2011, Watson starred in eight Potter films that went on to gross over $7.7 billion at the box office - making it one of the most successful film series of all time.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 was the final film in 2011 and went on to be the most successful; it was the only film in the franchise to gross over $1 billion. Taking $1.342 billion, it surpassed the $974.8 million of The Philosopher's Stone, which had been the most successful film in the series.
- My Week with Marilyn (2011)
Watson's first post-Potter role came towards the end of 2011 when she took a small part in My Week with Marilyn. The movie was based on the book by Colin Clark and chronicled the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl and the friendship that blossomed between himself and the actress.
Watson was part of a wonderful ensemble cast as she took on the role of Lucy, Munroe's stylist. Eddie Redmayne, Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, and Judi Dench were just some of the names that were also on board. The film also saw Watson team up with filmmaker Simon Curtis for the first time.
While it's the performances of Redmayne and Williams that take centre stage, Watson delivers a charming performance as she starts to spread her wings as an actress.
This was a completely different role to what we had seen her tackle before as she started to move away from the character of Hermione.
My Week with Marilyn was met well by the critics upon release and went on to be nominated for two Oscars; Best Actress for Williams and Best Supporting Actor for Branagh.
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
A year later, Watson teamed up with Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller - two other young actors who were making a name for themselves - as they starred in the big screen adaptation of the book The Perks of Being A Wallflower.
The book was released back in 1999 and it was author Stephen Chbosky who adapted the book into a screenplay and took up the director's chair.
The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a movie that tackles heavy themes such as psychological health, sexual abuse, and homosexuality but, at the same time, there is charm, humour, and warmth to this story.
Lerman, Watson, and Miller take on the central roles of Charlie, Sam, and Patrick - all of whom are dealing with their own issues and problems. There is a wonderful chemistry between them in a story that is about friendship and relying and trusting those friends with your darkest problems.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower captures the dizzying highs and crushing lows of growing up with love, loss, fear and unforgettable friends in one of the best coming of age movies in recent years.
Again, this is a very different role for Watson and she gets under the skin of Sam and shows that she is an actress who explores and deals with interesting and tricky themes. It is this performance that really did help take her acting career in a different direction.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a sincere and moving film with Lerman, Watson, and Miller delivering terrific central performances.
- The Bling Ring (2013)
Watson has worked with some terrific directors during her career and The Bling Ring saw her team up with Sofia Coppola for the first time in 2013.
The movie was based on the true story of a group of fame-obsessed teenagers who robbed a string of celebrity homes. Coppola penned the screenplay, which was inspired by the Vanity Fair article The Suspect Wore Louboutins, as well as being in the director's chair.
Watson took on the central role of Nikki, who finds herself in over her head when the law closes in on her and her friends. She was joined on the cast list by Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, and Leslie Mann.
The Bling Ring is a movie that explores today's obsession with celebrity culture, which has led to a fame-obsessed society - especially in LA. The movie really does explore these specific types of people and, at times, character development and plot can suffer for it.
But Watson gives another terrific performance and really does nail her American accent. The movie also allows her to show off her comedic side for the first time. He comedic talent really did come as a bit of a surprise.
The movie premiered at the Cannes Film festival in 2013, where is screened as part of the Un Certain Regard programme.
- Noah (2014)
Watson teamed up with another great filmmaker in
2014 as she worked with Darren Aronofsky for the first time on Noah.
Aronofsky, who also penned the film's screenplay with Ari Handel, put his stamp on this well-known tale, which followed a man who was chosen to undertake a mission ahead of an apocalyptic flood that will cleanse the world.
Russell Crowe took on the title role while Jennifer Connelly. Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Logan Lerman, and Douglas Booth made up the impressive cast list.
The movie saw Watson take on the role of Ila, Noah's daughter in law, in what was a much darker and grittier film that we had seen her tackle before.
There's no denying that Noah is a film that has its flaws but, it is a film that does respect the original source material while building a story that will also appeal to a modern audience.
The film really is anchored by a string of terrific central performances and the chemistry and relationship between the cast is the heart of this film.
Noah was another critical hit for Watson and the film went on to gross over $362 million at the global box office.
- The Colony (2015)
The Colony is Watson's latest film as she stars alongside Daniel Bruhl and works with filmmaker Florian Gallenberger for the first time.
As well as being in the director's chair, Gallenberger has teamed up with Torsten Wenzel to pen the film's screenplay, which is set to the backdrop of the Chilean military coup of 1973.
The Colony sees Watson and Brühl take on the central roles of lovers Lena and Daniel and are joined on the cast list by Michael Nyqvist and Richenda Carey.
Playing the character of Lena, Watson embarks on a journey to liberate her lover (Brühl) from the infamous Colonia Dignidad cult, and it's leader Paul Schafer (Nyqvist).
This challenging role gives fans the chance to see an incendiary Emma as she's never been seen before, with her character showing extreme courage in the face of pure evil, attempting to expose the ugly truth about a religious cult with links to Chilean leader General Pinochet's unflinching regime.
The Colony is out now on digital download, Blu-Ray, and DVD.
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