College Can be Difficult, Even For a Harry Potter Heroine May 27, 2010
Ian Welham on Emma Watson’s early struggles at Brown University.
When Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, decided to attend university, she didn’t select Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Instead she chose a school even harder to get in: Brown University.
The second oldest college in the Ivy League (behind Harvard), Brown has a history of well-known underclassmen, including John F. Kennedy, Jr., Thomas J. Watson, Jr., and Dhani Harrison, George Harrison’s son. One of the reasons famous persons are attracted to the Providence, RI school is because of its liberal and laidback college environment. Who others consider celebrities are often paid little mind at Brown—as Emma Watson discovered for herself.
According to Vanity Fair and the Providence Journal, Watson’s biggest worry when starting classes last fall was the fear she would have trouble fitting in and being considered a “regular” student. That concern was quickly dispelled when her freshman roommate announced that she found Harry Potter movies boring and knew little about Hollywood’s highest paid actress in 2009.
The non-star treatment continued in the classroom. In acting class, fellow students were hardly in awe, and professors disregarded her previous acting experience as irrelevant. “I think I’m actually the worst in the class,” offered Watson cheerily.
Emma Watson is majoring in European women’s history and acting. Now that she’s successfully completed her freshmen year, what’s next for the 20-year-old British actor? She was invited along with other Harry Potter cast members to Universal Orlando Resort, and a sneak peak of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, scheduled to open June 18.
