Emma Watson: Her 5 Best & 5 Worst Roles (According To IMDb)
Despite being the stars of the biggest film franchise of all time, the Harry Potter stars have yet to move into careers full of major roles and hugely respected dramatic endeavors. Despite this, Emma Watson (who often mixes her acting with her political endeavors) has probably had more Hollywood success than her male counterparts.
We’ve used IMDb to rank the five best roles she has ever taken on (including those from the world of Harry Potter) and compared them to a few more ... questionable ... ones.
10 BEST: Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005): 7.7
The fourth installment of the Harry Potter franchise is frequently referred to as its most exciting. Full of drama and action and, of course, ending with the resurrection of Lord Voldemort, it’s a brilliant film.
Hermione is side-lined a little as Harry takes on a lot of solo adventures and his and Ron’s relationship becomes a main part of the story, but still is still important and her entrance to the Yule Ball remains iconic.
9 WORST: The Tales Of Despereaux (2008): 6.1
Lending her voice to an animated film for the first time, Emma Watson (then aged just 18) played the human Princess Pea who befriends Matthew Broderick’s anthropomorphic mouse, Despereaux Tilling.
Despite having the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Robbie Coltrane and Stanley Tucci involved, the film certainly didn’t attain rave reviews.
8 BEST: Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004): 7.9
It might be filled with a lot of time-travel based loopholes (and the overarching problem with the Time-Turner itself -- why does no one mention these incredible devices before or after a child uses one?), but The Prisoner Of Azkaban is probably the greatest film in the series.
Giving Hermione the Time-Turner made her almost as important as Harry himself in this film and Watson’s performance reflects this.
7 WORST: Noah (2014): 5.8
Noah unsurprisingly tells the story of Noah and his arc. Watson combined her talents with the likes of Russel Crowe and Anthony Hopkins, but the film ended up being both controversial and received rather divisively.
Its visuals have been praised and the occasional reviewer has decided it is exceptional, but it was generally given poor reviews, hence the 5.8 average.
6 BEST: Little Women (2019): 7.9
Emma Watson’s most recent film, Little Women, is one of the many adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 book. She stars as Meg in the coming of age story, with her naturally posh voice suiting the period-drama setting quite well.
Despite the book being turned into a film time and time again, this one was praised almost across the board for everything from acting to visuals.
5 WORST: Regression (2015): 5.7
The promotional poster may have Emma Watson looking like she has just seen someone tread on a snail, rather than seeing a ghost, but this film is anything but a joke.
The psychological thriller was Watson’s Woman In Black, but was just about as poorly received with her acting performance opposite Ethan Hawke’s unable to salvage a mediocre film.
4 BEST: The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012): 8.0
In her first starring role since the end of Harry Potter, Emma Watson took on the role of Sam in The Perks Of Being A Wallflower. The story follows Charlie as he uncovers repressed memories and works his way through high school life while falling in love with Watson’s character.
The film was universally praised for its handling of tough subjects, while everything from the comedic timing to the powerful acting performances were noted.
3 WORST: The Bling Ring (2013): 5.6
With a name as terrible as The Bling Ring, you can’t really expect big things. The crime parody (directed by Francis Ford Coppola's daughter, Sofia) just didn’t hit the mark in any way.
If you have the genes of someone who made the best crime epic of all time, maybe try making a crime epic, rather than satirizing the genre? Emma Watson stars as Nicki Moore, a role that she doesn’t have any of the depth of most roles she seems to go for.
2 BEST: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011): 8.1
The final entry of the franchise is pretty much a two-hour-long action sequence. It kicks off with something very interesting, though, which required Emma Watson to lend her voice to a version of her character played by Helena Bonham Carter (as Bellatrix) and it ended up working really well.
Ron and Hermione spend a lot of time off-screen, but still join Harry for that emotional farewell.
1 WORST: The Circle (2017): 5.3
Known as one of, if not the, worst film Tom Hanks has ever been involved in, The Circle doubles up as the worst film Emma Watson has ever been involved in.
Considering the fact that landing a lead pairing of this caliber should be a recipe for instant success, the cliché and boredom of this failed-thriller cannot be overstated.