Which 'Harry Potter' Star Wanted To Quit Due To The Pressure Of Fame?

One "Harry Potter" star wanted to step out of the spotlight before the franchise had finished filming!

The "Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts" anniversary special is set to hit HBO Max on January 1, 2022. During the reunion special, the cast and crew of the eight films will be sharing stories and talking about the influence that the films had on their lives.

The films thrust child actors Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), EmmaWatson (Hermione Granger), and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) into international fame, where they grew up under the public eye.

Now, not one, but two of the show's stars are revealing that they thought about quitting the franchise when the fame became too much for them to handle.

In a clip from ET Canada, the pair - which end up romantically linked at the end of the books and films - can be seen talking about the drawbacks of fame.

"You were considering pulling out, I've never really spoken to you about that," Grint said.

"Yeah, I think I was scared," Watson replied. "I don't know if you ever felt like it got to a tipping point where you were like, this is kind of forever now."

"The fame thing had finally hit home in a big way," Watson added.

Later on, Grint reveals that he had moments "all the way through" the franchise where he found himself "contemplating what life would be like if I called it a day."

Daniel Radcliffe admitted that, although he shared the same concerns as his castmates, it was not something that was openly discussed.

"We never really spoke about it," he revealed. "I guess we were just going through it at our own pace, we were kind of in the moment at the time. It just didn't really occur to us that we were all probably kind of having similar feelings."

Fans don't even want to think about what "Harry Potter" would look like without Hermione, but director David Yates, who directed the last four films in the "Harry Potter" franchise, revealed that almost happened.

He revealed that one thing series producer David Hayman "and the studio spoke to me about was, Emma is not sure she wants to come back to do another Potter."

Watson, who played the sole female lead in the franchise, often faced unique pressures of her own in the spotlight.

"People definitely forget what she took on and how gracefully she did it," Tom Felton added. "Dan and Rupert, they had each other. I had my cronies, whereas Emma was not only younger, she was by herself."

However, Watson ultimately decided that "no one had to convince" her to finish out the eight films in the series. She said that the support of her costars and the love of the fan gave her all the encouragement to see Hermione's role all the way through to the end.

"The fans genuinely wanted you to succeed, and we all genuinely have each other's backs. How great is that?" she asked.

"Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts" special aired on HBO Max on January 1, 2022.