Harry Potter: Emma Watson’s Double Recalls Filming Draco Punch Scene

Emma Watson’s body double for Hermione Granger, Flick Miles, reveals what it was like to ‘punch’ Tom Felton’s Draco Malfoy while filming Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Despite having come to an emotional end more than a decade ago, the Harry Potter franchise will always hold a special place in the hearts of many. Following the story of Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Watson), fans across the globe were immediately enchanted by the magic of the Wizarding World across Harry Potter‘s 8 films, so much so that it received its own spin-off in 2016, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, with its third installment Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore now just weeks away.

One of the three core protagonists of the films, Hermione Granger was a determined and loyal friend to both Harry and Ron, as well as being a fellow member of Gryffindor house. Her intelligence saw the trio out of a number of dire situations throughout the films, particularly within Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, whereby her knowledge of the Time Turner enabled her and Harry to save Hagrid’s hippogriff, Buckbeak, as well as Harry’s Godfather, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman). The popularity of the Harry Potter films saw Watson’s immediate rise to fame, with the 31-year-old having gone on to star in a number of huge projects since, including Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, as well as Greta Gerwig’s Little Women.

Now, one of Watson’s body doubles, Miles, has opened up about her experience shooting a particular scene in Prisoner of Azkaban that involved ‘punching’ Draco Malfoy. Speaking to the Scottish Daily Express, Miles, who appeared in the first three Potter films, shared that both she and Watson filmed the scene and that prior to filming it Miles had “never thrown a punch before in [her] life.” The star went on to say that no real contact was made between Miles’ fist and Felton’s face during filming, but that Felton was a “great sport” and that they found the scene very funny to film. Check out Miles’ full quote below.

It was probably cut because my punch was really rubbish and so not convincing so they just kept in Emma’s. I am a really non-athletic person. I have never thrown a punch before in my life and the team told me just go for it so you are like ‘oh okay’. It is such a great scene, isn’t it. I filmed the scene as well and so did Emma, so that happens all the time, we both film a scene and they just edit it together. Our hands did not connect with his face it was more like a pass to him and he did the reaction. Tom is a great sport so he found it funny as well. Malfoy is a great character, and completely different to what Tom is like in real life, he is such a lovely person [laughs] so I think he was slightly glad the character got put in his place a little bit too.

Miles continued, saying that shooting that scene, in particular, was fun because it was a key moment in which “Hermione is finally standing up for herself.” Miles also went on to say that she found it incredibly exciting to handle the props, which included Hermione’s wand and the Time Turner, and shared that the entire experience was “really fun.” For many, Hermione hitting Draco is one of the more memorable scenes within the franchise, as Miles says, it is the first time Hermione takes matters into her own hands and stands up to Draco.

It is certainly sweet to hear that Miles had such a positive experience while filming Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and that she got to be involved with such an impactful scene that many have since deemed as a somewhat iconic moment for Hermione’s character. Many of the franchise’s stars have spoken fondly of their time bringing the Wizarding World to life and being a fan herself, it seems Miles is grateful to have been involved with the magic. For now, audiences do not have long to wait before their next Wizarding World fix as Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore releases next month.

Source: Scottish Daily Express