Emma Watson reveals the real reason she turned down La La Land

And what she thinks of missing out on the Oscar

Words by Jadie Troy-Pryde

Over the last month, Emma Watson has been very busy indeed. Not only has she been hitting premieres all over the world for the live-action version of childhood classic, Beauty and the Beast, but she's also been opening up about her boyfriend, giving life advice to strangers at train stations and starting a brand new Instagram account to satisfy all your ethical sartorial choices.

But her sudden step back into the spotlight came at a time when all eyes were already on her. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling might have starred in La La Land, the modern day musical that swept up at every major awards ceremony this year, but it suddenly leaked that Emma Watson and Miles Teller were the original actors set to take on the lead roles.

Rumours of diva behaviour and demands for more money swirled as people were desperate to know why Emma turned down the job that could have landed her an Oscar.

However, Emma has finally addressed the issue and revealed exactly why she decided to say no to La La Land.

Talking to SiriusXM's Town Hall radio show, she said: 'It's one of those frustrating things where names get attached to projects very early on as a way to kind of build anticipation or excitement for something that's coming before anything is really actually agreed or set in stone.

'[Beauty and the Beast] wasn't a movie I could just sort of step into. I knew I had horse training, I knew I had dancing, I knew I had three months of singing ahead of me and I knew I had to be in London to really do that.

'This wasn't a movie I could just kind of parachute into. I knew I had to do the work, and I had to be where I had to be. So, you know, scheduling conflict-wise, it just didn't work out.'

And does she feel even the tiniest bit of regret that the film could have led her to her very own golden statue?

'I'm so thrilled that musicals are so celebrated at the moment. They seem to be back in the zeitgeist and people are kind of celebrating and loving music and singing and dancing again. I thought [La La Land] was wonderful. It's lovely,' she said.

So we'll take that as a no.