The Reason Rupert Grint Didn't Want To Kiss Emma Watson In Harry Potter
Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger might've lived magically ever after in the final Harry Potter film, but in reality co-stars Rupert Grint and Emma Watson were more like brother and sister. That's why, when it came to kissing one another in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, it wasn't exactly either actor's dream scenario. "I never look back at that scene," Grint told People in 2016.
The pair grew up on and off screen together — he was 11 and she was nine when they first started filming — so despite fans' love of Ron and Hermione together, it was totally awkward for them to smooch in front of the cameras — or anyone for that matter.
"I've known Emma since she was literally 9 years old and we had this very brother-sister relationship and it just felt very surreal," he explained about their famous kiss. "I have a memory of her face getting closer and closer. Like, 'Oh my God.' I can't really remember anything apart from that." Despite not being able to remember the moment when he had to kiss his longtime friend, he did recall how much pressure the two were under at the time.
"One take was enough," the red-haired actor said, looking back at the moment. "It was such a huge moment and there was so much expectation. Quite a lot of pressure actually."
Magic was not in the air during Rupert Grint and Emma Watson's kiss
The feeling of awkwardness was completely mutual when it comes to how Rupert Grint's kissing counterpart remembers their scene. "It's purely the fact that he's like my brother and we were both totally in the same boat. I'm sure he will tell you exactly the same thing. It was very strange and very weird," Emma Watson told Movies Ireland when discussing the infamous kiss. "Believe me, we both wanted it to be over equally as much as the other. It's honestly like kissing my brother. It was weird."
If you still ship Ron and Hermione, don't fret. The actors' feelings about kissing their co-stars wasn't personal. Watson also had to kiss Daniel Radcliffe (who played Harry Potter, of course) and it was just as uncomfortable. "I'm proud of it," Watson said in regards to her kiss with Radcliffe (via J-14). "And considering how bloody awkward it was [...] I'm really impressed that we managed to make it look anything other than awkward. Dan and I are like brother and sister, so it was tough making it look passionate, believe me."
The kiss with Radcliffe was Watson's first in the franchise, and it was strange for all three of the main actors. So much so, that Watson reportedly made Grint leave the set because they were all laughing. "When they were there actually filming that kiss, they did actually want me there to kind of play off something, but I just found that too funny," Grint said. "Emma sent me out because I kept laughing. It just looked really strange."
The 'Harry Potter' cast definitely kisses and tells
Although the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I kiss with Emma Watson wasn't Daniel Radcliffe's first in the franchise, it was a little more intense than he bargained for. In fact, his experience snogging his longtime friend and his description of the events got him into hot water with the actress at the time.
"I've just been getting into so much trouble with Emma about this, because apparently I said in an interview that she was like an animal," Radcliffe told MTV News. "I thought it was going to be a kind of a slow, sensual thing, and Emma really went for it."
During the pair's kissing scene, Harry and Hermione are naked and covered in silver paint and glitter — all part of depicting a terrifying vision for Ron — which didn't help the levels of awkwardness on either side. "It was kind of weird. It is a bit like kissing your sister," Radcliffe revealed when looking back at the make-out scene. "I'm not complaining! It was good. It was vigorous." He added, "For me, I wasn't too freaked out. But it's a bigger deal for Emma. I think it generally is a bigger deal for girls."
Emma Watson wasn't exactly spellbound by either on-screen smooch
When all is said and done, the franchise's lead characters kissed numerous other people making all three actors pros at the on-screen smooch. But in the end, who was the best kisser? Was it Ron or Harry — aka Rupert Grint or Daniel Radcliffe, respectively? According to Emma Watson, it wasn't exactly easy to choose between the two — or pleasant with either. "This is really difficult. I've got to try and be diplomatic," Watson told reporters at a Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II press conference (via The Telegraph) in 2011 about which of her co-stars was better at locking lips.
"With Harry, I was half naked and covered in silver paint, so that was pretty awkward," she said. "Kissing Rupert was also awkward. We had just been soaked by an enormous bucket of water, which we had to pretend we didn't know was going to hit us."
She concluded, "They were both strange situations to be in, but both were complete gentlemen. It's obviously hard to put our personal history to one side considering we grew up together. But once you've done it four or five times, it gets quite boring. So it definitely got easier."