Emma Watson says Harry Potter was tough for directors

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Harry Potter’ actress Emma Watson has claimed directing the movies was a “huge burden” for the filmmakers, and seeing it first-hand means she has sympathy for ‘Noah’ boss Darren Aronofsky.

Emma Watson says ‘Harry Potter’ was a “huge burden” for its directors. The actress played Hermione Granger in the wizard saga, and she admitted the filmmakers across the series – Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell and David Yates – all faced a huge amount of pressure.

She told the Mail on Sunday newspaper’s Event magazine: “I do know what it takes.

“Each of the ‘Harry Potter’ directors looked as if they had aged about 10 years by the time they’d finished. It’s a huge burden to carry.”

Her experiences working on the eight movies – adapted from J.K. Rowling’s seven-part book series – means she sympathised with the task facing ‘Noah’ director Darren Aronofsky on the biblical blockbuster.

She said: “Darren doesn’t shave during films, so there was this kind of dilapidation that happened throughout, where by the end of it he looked like this mad caveman.”

Watson – who stars in the film as Ila – admitted she wasn’t sure about taking on the role until Aronofsky laid out his vision for her.

She explained: “To be honest, the idea of making a film of Noah seemed really cheesy to me – the dove and the rainbow the two-by-two … Darren is the lord of darkness and grittiness.

“And then he explained it to me as this really interesting post-apocalyptic world – not set in the past, but not set in the future, and not a sandal in sight.”