The Harry Potter franchise has been entertaining audiences for decades, on the page, screen, and stage. The young cast that director Chris Columbus found became household names as a result of their gigs, including Hermione actress Emma Watson. But it turns out that one iconic Hermione scene wasn’t actually played by the Little Women star.
Emma Watson starred as Hermione Granger in all eight Harry Potter movies, and has a special place in the heart of countless moviegoers. While it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the Gryffindor overachiever, it turns out that one iconic scene didn’t feature Watson. Namely, Hermione’s polyjuice potion snafu in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Body double Flick Miles recently revealed this fascinating tidbit, saying:
My biggest claim to fame is when, in the second film, she turns into a cat, and when she has the Polyjuice Potion and it’s a cat hair, that whole prosthetic makeup is actually on me. When they first put it onto Emma she had a bit of a reaction to the spirit glue that you’d use to stick the makeup down, so they just said, ‘Oh, why don’t we just try it with Flick?’ So I came in and then that whole bit, they used me with this amazing makeup. It looks like a mask you’d just put on, but it’s actually like hundreds of different pieces and it’s quite amazing.
Well, my mind is blown. It turns out that it wasn’t Emma Watson underneath all that makeup in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Instead, her body double stood in, and they dubbed her voice over the brief lines of dialogue. That’s movie magic for you.
Flick Miles’ comments come from a recent interview she did with Insider about her time in the Wizarding World. Miles was Emma Watson’s body double for three different Harry Potter movies, including that aforementioned first sequel. And it seems that she stepped in after Watson had an allergic reaction to the glue used to apply prosthetics.
The scene in question comes about halfway through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ runtime. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione expect Draco Malfoy of having information about the titular setting in Hogwarts, they disguise themselves as Slytherins thanks to the polyjuice potion. But Hermione’s goes wrong, and she ends up with the face (and tail) of a cat. As a reminder, you can check it out below,
Despite Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets releasing in theaters back in 2002, new information about the Chris Columbus blockbuster is still trickling down. The cast and crew recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Sorcerer’s Stone movie aka the one that started it all. Despite the decades that have passed, the movie is still rewatched by fans every year, and passed down across generations.
The Wizarding World continues to expand at a dizzying pace, with the Fantastic Beasts franchise currently occupying the big screen. There’s also theme parks and the Cursed Child plays, which fans are hoping turns into a movie with the original film cast. We’ll just have to keep our fingers (and wands) crossed.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is currently expected to arrive in theaters on April 15th, 2022. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.