Emma Watson feels lucky to have played Belle and Hermione, but we're the lucky ones

Meet Emma Watson, a typecast but blessed Hollywood bookworm. Watson recently spoke to the Irish Independent about the legacy of portraying both Hermione Granger and Beauty and the Beast's Belle, both of whom defy the expectations of their peers and seek grand adventure and knowledge.

"I've always said, stuff the engagement ring! Just build me a really big library," said Emma/Hermione/Belle.

"I just feel really lucky," Watson said in the interview. "For me, Belle was my childhood heroine; [the film] came out two days after I was born. And then, in my early teens, it was about idolizing Hermione. So to be given the chance to play my two childhood idols is probably a very unique and rare experience for an actress."

In the same interview, Watson described Belle as "fearlessly independent-minded, defiant" and a "heroine who went against the crowd." She might as well be describing Hermione Granger, another heroine who's "incredibly curious and learned and does things her own way."

"I think I came out of this with more confidence, with more skills," she added. "And more belief in myself. Because when I came off Potter and decided to go to university, that wasn't a career decision the people I worked with were pleased about. But I kind of… I try to stay true to whatever whisper I'm getting from myself and I hope that will see me through. That's all I can do really. Otherwise, if I don't listen to myself, I'd feel a bit lost in it all."

As a UN ambassador, vocal feminist and founder of her own book club, Watson herself is a personification of the character traits she so admires and loves to play on screen.