“Beauty and the Beast” star Emma Watson revealed that she was offered to play the role of Cinderella in Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 film live-action remake but she turned it down because she felt the character does not suit her personality.
Watson, however, accepted another Disney film offer to play the role of Belle in “Beauty and the Beast,” which is this year’s most highly-anticipated live-action remake of another classic animation.
The 26-year-old “Harry Potter” star said in a recent interview that she was not aware that another offer to her from Disney will come after she declined Kenneth Branagh’s “Cinderella” live-action adaption of the Disney’s classic animated film.
Branagh was also Watson’s former co-star in “Harry Potter” films where he was recognized in portraying the role as Gilderoy Lockhart. But no particular personal issues were then reported between the two after Watson declined the Cinderella role as Branagh directed it.
Eventually, the role of “Cinderella” went to Lily James and the movie earned over US$1 billion, and became next only to Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” live-action remake shown in 2010, which was the highest-grossing live-action fantasy film.
According to Watson, she believed that Cinderella’s character was not a good fit for her personality, noting that she is actively supporting young girls of this generation to embody women empowerment.
Watson emphasized that Belle represents the character of a strong-willed and independent woman who really shows an understandable defiance of the tradition and the norm especially if it does not promote equality for women.
She also describes Belle as a brilliant role model for young girls as she remains to be a compassionate, curious, and a kind woman. She adds that the character has a core DNA of a feminist, who is not swayed by her fears and other people’s perspective of her.
It can be remembered that the “Perks of Being a Wallflower” star also raised her visions and served as a powerful voice for women and gender equality as she signed up to become the UN Ambassador, She believes that her role resonates Belle’s character too.
Indeed, Belle’s character in the Disney’s live-action film remake will be more compelling than its animated film version.
Meanwhile, part of the deal also to Watson was her collaboration with director Bill Condon to feature a slightly different version of Belle to really project the character as an independent woman.
In the original Disney animated film, Belle’s character is very active with getting knowledge and learning from stories to boost her passion for reading. She is also independent as shown in the fact that she lacks the interest to entertain suitors.
But in the live-action adaption film, Disney fans will be able to watch an even more active Belle. In the animated film, her father was an inventor. But in the movie, Belle will also become an inventor herself as will be able to invent the washing machine that saves her time and allows her to read more books even more.
Watson has been openly keen on choosing her career path as well as her roles in the film she agrees to do including her character’s wardrobes.
It was even reported that she had a say on how her gown was made. She wanted to make sure that the iconic Belle’s yellow ballgown was nothing but perfect.
Watson admitted that she had an opinion on making sure that the gown is utterly whimsical and magical in which she thinks has an important significance in the story.