--- title: Emma Watson in 'Beauty and the Beast': Belle and Hermione Similarities description: Belle and Hermione Granger have more in common than being bookish canonical: https://time.com/3682630/emma-watson-belle-beauty-and-the-beast/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-26T18:41:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T11:41:52.163Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 10 Things Belle and Hermione Have in Common og:description: Emma Watson's new role as Belle in 'Beauty and the Beast' has more in common with Hermione Granger than just being bookish og:url: https://time.com/3682630/emma-watson-belle-beauty-and-the-beast/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69f2e46232caff99/69877bea35ba6f6057c06b9d/hermione-belle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: MSDBEAN WD007 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Things Belle and Hermione Have in Common twitter:description: Emma Watson's new role as Belle in 'Beauty and the Beast' has more in common with Hermione Granger than just being bookish twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69f2e46232caff99/69877bea35ba6f6057c06b9d/hermione-belle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Things _Beauty and the Beast'_s Belle and _Harry Potter'_s Hermione Have in Common > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/) and [ashley Ross](https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/) Jan 26, 2015 6:41 PM UTC  From Left: 'Beauty And The Beast' and 'Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix' From Left: 'Beauty And The Beast' and 'Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix'Disney; Warner Brothers by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/) and [ashley Ross](https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/) Jan 26, 2015 6:41 PM UTC Emma Watson, best known for playing Hermione Granger in the _Harry Potter_ movies, has been [cast in Disney’s live-action version of ](http://time.com/3682451/emma-watson-disney-beauty-and-the-beast/)[_Beauty and the Beast_](http://time.com/3682451/emma-watson-disney-beauty-and-the-beast/)and thus is stepping into another role as a beloved nerdy girl. Hermione and Belle are probably the two most well-known bookworms in pop culture — and it turns out they have a lot more in common than their mutual love for the written word: **1\. They’re both bookworms** Obviously, the casting directors for _Beauty and the Beast_ wondered, “What other female character spends all her time with her nose in a book?” The best they could come up with was Hermione. **2\. Everyone thinks they’re strange** Because Belle and Hermione are both beautiful women who love to read, everyone thinks they’re weird — obviously. Hermione is ostracized by her peers (including her future husband Ron Weasley) in J.K. Rowling’s first _Harry Potter_ book for being a know-it-all, while the townspeople sing about Belle in the opening scene of _Beauty and the Beast_, “Look there she goes that girl is strange, no question. / Dazed and distracted, can’t you tell?” People are the worst. **3\. They love beastly things** While Belle shows her affection for the Beast, a creature who repels most, Hermione is kind to the gentle giant Grawp, half-brother of Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. Grawp, however, never turns into a handsome prince. **4\. They are humans that enter a magical world** When Belle comes to Beast’s castle, she finds an enchanted world where teacups and candelabras can sing and dance. Hermione is a muggle whose first major introduction to the magic is at Hogwarts where the ceiling can change from night to day and ghosts wander the halls. **5\. They both live in castles** The Beast’s home and Hogwarts? They’re both massive, old and awesome magical castles. Emma Watson will feel right at home on the _Beauty and the Beast_ set. **6\. They both have major dress moments** Remember when Belle appears at the top of the stairs in a billowing yellow dress before her dance with the Beast? Remember when the _exact same thing_ happens on top of another staircase as Hermione shows up in that gorgeous dress to the Yule Ball? They even have the same hairstyle! Here’s a reminder: **7\. They’re friendly to all creatures** Belle defends her beloved horse, while Hermione is always a helper to the house elves (RIP Dobby). She even launched a Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. **8\. They both get hit on by terrible men** Gaston, a detestable human being, is relentless as he hits on Belle. Hermione, too, must suffer through the amorous advances of Cormac McLaggen at Potions Professor Slughorn’s holiday party. Both are smart enough, of course, to run away from their loathsome suitors. **9\. They love wandering into restricted places** Don’t tell these ladies where they can and cannot go. Belle wanders into the forbidden west wing of the castle even though the Beast warns her not to do so. Hermione passes off an autograph from Professor Gilderoy Lockhart as a note that allows her to enter the restricted section of the library in Hogwarts. **10\. They’re judgey about table manners** Hermione makes fun of Ron for eating like a slob, just like Belle throws shade at the Beast for eating his oatmeal like, well, a beast. _Read next:_ [_How 7 Disney Princesses Could Change the World_](http://time.com/3680711/frozen-anna-elsa-disney-princesses/?xid=time%5Freadnext) Emma Watson in 'Beauty and the Beast': Belle and Hermione Similarities ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3682630/emma-watson-belle-beauty-and-the-beast/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3682630/emma-watson-belle-beauty-and-the-beast/"},"headline":"10 Things Beauty and the Beast's Belle and Harry Potter's Hermione Have in Common","datePublished":"2015-01-26T18:41:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T11:41:52.163Z","description":"Emma Watson's new role as Belle in Beauty and the Beast has more in common with Hermione Granger than just being bookish","url":"https://time.com/3682630/emma-watson-belle-beauty-and-the-beast/","keywords":["movies","Harry Potter","Emma Watson","Beauty and the Beast"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69f2e46232caff99/69877bea35ba6f6057c06b9d/hermione-belle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"ashley Ross","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69f2e46232caff99/69877bea35ba6f6057c06b9d/hermione-belle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"MSDBEAN WD007","caption":"From Left: 'Beauty And The Beast' and 'Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix'","creditText":"Disney; Warner Brothers","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/3682630/emma-watson-belle-beauty-and-the-beast/","name":"10 Things Beauty and the Beast's Belle and Harry Potter's Hermione Have in Common"}}]}] ```