‘Harry Potter’ Movie Drama: Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe Almost Quit J.K. Rowling Film Franchise, Says New Reports

Over the course of a decade, “Harry Potter” actors Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson always appeared more than pleased to promote the latest installment of the boy wizard series, but according to new reports, at times, the co-stars were less than happy about participating in the blockbuster film franchise.

Longtime “Harry Potter” producer David Heyman was the first to reveal the behind-the-scenes drama on the set of author J.K. Rowling’s films during a producers roundtable event with the Hollywood Reporter last week. According to Heyman, star Emma Watson, who played bookworm and muggle-born witch Hermione Granger in all eight of the films, continually struggled with the idea of quitting the franchise.

“[Emma] was quite academic and was very keen in pursuit of schooling and was wrestling a little bit more than the others,” said Heyman, adding, “Each time there was a negotiation, it was not about a financial [matter], it really was about, 'Do I want to be a part of this?' We had to be sensitive to her needs and how important school was to her,” he said, calling the actress “fiercely intelligent.”

Heyman’s comments Thursday came one day before fellow “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe, famous for his portrayal of lead boy wizard Harry Potter, admitted he almost quit the franchise after completing the series third film, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” in 2004. “For a while, I thought, if I do all of them, will I be able to move on to other stuff or should I start doing other stuff now?” Radcliffe said during an interview with The Guardian Friday, claiming he eventually decided to stay onboard despite his fears of typecasting because filming the series was “too much fun.”

Warner Bros., the studio behind the eight blockbuster films, is currently in the process of adapting Rowling’s 2001 short novel “Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them” into a feature film. The story, which will star a character named Newt Scamander, will reportedly be set in Harry Potter’s magical world 70 years before the original book, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s/Philosophers Stone,” takes place. Despite confirmation from Radcliffe that he will not be starring in the spin-off series, it is unconfirmed if Watson, or their fellow "Harry Potter" co-star, actor Rupert Grint (Ronald Weasley), will work on the film.