For the most part, working on the Harry Potter movies sounds like a dream. Can you imagine being one of those kids who grew up making those movies? It must have felt like they were actually going to Hogwarts. Plus, the cast of professors and such were played by prestigious and acclaimed actors that must have been a joy to work alongside. But, that doesn’t mean everyone involved with the franchise treasures being asked about the experience.
In this instance, I’m talking about Emma Thompson, who played Professor Sybill Trelawney across three of the film adaptations. Here’s what the Oscar-winning actress said when recently asked about her role in the movies:
Well, it’s written in the books [that she has those glasses]…. I think she’s definitely nearly blind, can’t see anything, and obviously deeply neurotic, because she can see sometimes whether people are…. have the grim or not. I mean, honestly, in my quite long career, given the fact that I’m a good 10 years older than all of you guys, I have done many many parts, and I’ve spent about 30 days on Harry Potter in my whole life. So it’s kind of a strange thing to talk [about], because it’s become this huge phenomenon and that’s a lot of the time that’s what people are very sort of drawn to that.
Thompson’s Harry Potter is often thought of one of the underrated characters in the movies, but since they are so beloved and rewatched, of course she gets prompted about the role all the time. Most recently, she was on the Smartless podcast and host Sean Hayes pointed out how he’s a Potterhead, and loved her in the quirky role of Hogwart’s professors of Divination.
As she pointed out, she doesn’t share the same enthusiasm fans have for those films because she really didn’t spend much time working on them. 30 days, she says. That wouldn’t even be a full time gig on a single movie, much less spread across three of them.
And, this isn’t the first time she’s been honest about her feelings about the Harry Potter movies. Last year, she also made a comment about the fantasy films being “not really an important part” of her “creative endeavor” as an actress in her career. She’s also commented before on getting “bored” about signing merchandise connected to her role along with saying years ago that she hasn’t “enjoyed” being part of studio films like Harry Potter because they “could be described as formulaic for money”.
Emma Thompson may be very much beloved and recognized for her incredible depiction of the J.K. Rowling character, but she’d more likely be interested in talking about some of her other roles in the likes of Sense of Sensibility, Nanny McPhee or Saving Mr. Banks. As she she also summed up in a comment in the new interview, she’s “fatigued” about the topic, and hey, that’s totally her right.
Sure, you’d expect a Harry Potter story to flow out of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson or Rupert Grint since they were on those sets throughout their upbringing, but Emma Thompson had a different experience. Hey you gotta love and respect the honesty here!