--- ---  # Emma Watson to Star in Disney's Live Action _Beauty and the Beast_ by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Jan 26, 2015 4:33 PM CUT  Emma Watson attends the UK premiere of "Noah" at Odeon Leicester Square on March 31, 2014 in London. Emma Watson attends the UK premiere of "Noah" at Odeon Leicester Square on March 31, 2014 in London.Anthony Harvey&—Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Jan 26, 2015 4:33 PM CUT _Harry Potter_ star Emma Watson’s latest role will be another bookish heroine. “I will be playing Belle in Disney’s new live-action Beauty and the Beast!” the actress posted on her Facebook page. “My six year old self is on the ceiling – heart bursting. Time to start some singing lessons.” The movie will be directed by Bill Condon, who directed _The_ _Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn_, and produced by Mandeville Films’ David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman. According to a Disney press release, the film will begin filming later this year. _Read next:_ [_10 Things_ ](http://time.com/3682630/emma-watson-belle-beauty-and-the-beast/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined")[Beauty and the Beast_‘s Belle and_ Harry Potter_‘s Hermione Have in Common_](http://time.com/3682630/emma-watson-belle-beauty-and-the-beast/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") Emma Watson to Play Belle in Disney Live Action 'Beauty and the Beast' ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3682451/emma-watson-disney-beauty-and-the-beast/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3682451/emma-watson-disney-beauty-and-the-beast/"},"headline":"Emma Watson to Star in Disney's Live Action Beauty and the Beast","datePublished":"2015-01-26T16:33:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:39.479Z","description":"\"Time to start some singing lessons,\" the actress says about playing Belle","url":"https://time.com/3682451/emma-watson-disney-beauty-and-the-beast/","keywords":["movies","Living","film","Emma Watson","Beauty and the Beast"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc5a7b4d1c3e0898/69877bdda988cae2526ac196/emma-watson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc5a7b4d1c3e0898/69877bdda988cae2526ac196/emma-watson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Noah\" - UK Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals","caption":"\"Noah\" - UK Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals","creditText":"Anthony Harvey&—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3682451/emma-watson-disney-beauty-and-the-beast/","name":"Emma Watson to Star in Disney's Live Action Beauty and the Beast"}}]}] ```