J.K. Rowling couldn’t be more wrong with her assessment of why Hermione wouldn’t be a hit among the male demographic.

Considering Hermione wasn’t the most obvious character, J.K. Rowling felt she wouldn’t be a hit among men.
Opposed to her comments, Hermione remains one of the most popular characters to rose from the series.
Emma Watson ensured to put a lot of effort for her Hermione audition.

J.K. Rowling has had some less-than-stellar stances in recent years. While responsible for penning the hugely popular Harry Potter books, whose influence was elevated by the success of its big-screen adaptations, Rowling on the other hand has become a pretty controversial figure among the Harry Potter fandom.

J.K. Rowling | Credit: BBC

One of her controversial remarks, regarding Hermione, dates back to the early 2010s. While she was arguably one of the best characters in both the books and the movies, Rowling initially thought she wouldn’t be a hit among the male demographic.

J.K. Rowling Thought Hermione’s Attributes Would Make Her Unpopular Among Men

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger | Credit: Warner Bros.

During a sitdown with Steve Kolves, J.K. Rowling was taken a bit by surprise after the director named Hermione as one of his favorite characters from the franchise. Considering the Muggle-born witch can be exasperating at times following her huge intelligence, Rowling shared that she wasn’t “always the easiest to like”. The author further stressed that her character attributes made it unusual for men to like her, stating:

You can see how that allayed to a lot of fears because she wasn’t the most obvious character perhaps for a person to like or say was their favorite character. And also for a man to like her best was arguably unusual.

Contrast to her viewpoint on the character’s impact on the male demographic, even years after her story’s conclusion, Hermione stands out as arguably the best from the original trio. Despite starting out as a know-it-all, which did irk some viewers at first glance, with each passing release, we were allowed to delve more into Hermione as a character and explore her deepest insecurities.

Even though she is the most intelligent among the golden trio, she initially struggles to fit in, and unlike Harry, who was the chosen one, Hermione allows us to relate with her, and her growth as a character hits the hardest. At the end of the day, Hermione was never failed by the writers in both the films and the adaptations, and it’s certainly not unusual for everyone to be a fan of one of the best characters from the franchise.

Emma Watson Was Hellbent on Landing the Role of Hermione

Emma Watson’s Hermione | Credit: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone/Warner Bros

It’s hard to imagine anyone else in the shoes of the characters other than the actors that were appointed for their respective gigs in the Harry Potter universe, and Emma Watson‘s case is no different. While she was pitted against a slightly older and more experienced actor for the role, a young Watson ensured to deliver her best for the audition tape, which took the actress and her mother hours to get it right.

I worked hard to get Hermione, and my mum has a video I did for the first audition and she has me doing the same takeover and over, like 27 times from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon and I was just relentless. I wasn’t sure I wanted to act, but I was sure I wanted this part.

With a Harry Potter reboot currently in the works at Warner Bros., it’ll be interesting to see if the next actress in line for the role of Hermione can live up to the huge standards set by the Noah star.