How Hermione’s Infamous Cat Polyjuice Potion Scene Was Filmed (And No, It Wasn’t All Emma Watson)
It’s hard to forget the moment in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which you can stream with a Max subscription, when Hermione accidentally turned into a cat (sort of). After drinking Polyjuice Potion that was accidentally laced with cat fur instead of Millicent Bulstrode’s hair, Emma Watson’s face transformed into a cat, and it was quite a sight to see. Now, the performer who doubled Hermione shared the story behind filming that scene, and how it wasn’t all Watson on screen.
Flick Miles, who was Emma Watson’s body double in the first three Harry Potter movies, was typically called in when a shot was needed that didn’t involve Watson’s face, and she’d help choreograph scenes. However, on Chamber of Secrets, her face (kind of) wound up on camera when she was called in to film the infamous cat Polyjuice Potion scene.
Explaining that all this happened because Watson’s skin had reacted to the glue for the makeup, she told People:
They used me for that part, which was a bit different. Emma slightly reacted to the glue they used to fix the makeup on. I got an amazing experience working with the creature effects team, and filming that scene was fun.
Not only is this BTS moment a real-life example of a Harry Potter character coming in clutch, but Miles also got a great experience out of it.
She explained that she adored working with the makeup team as they tried different versions of the makeup and prosthetics. Then, she recalled what it was like showing off these versions of the cat to the movie’s director, Chris Columbus:
We had to do a few show-and-tells, and they had different colors of cats because initially, they had this most beautiful ginger cat that was red and gorgeous. Director Chris Columbus said, ‘No, that is a way too pretty cat. This character is going to have a gray cat, slightly like a less gorgeous look.’
Well, the cat is certainly “less gorgeous,” and it’s honestly quite scary. As Hermione says in Chamber of Secrets, the potion isn’t meant to be used with anything other than human hair. So, when she accidentally drank cat fur instead of Millicent’s hair, the reaction was bad.
While Harry and Ron seamlessly turned into Goyle and Crabbe, respectively, and seamlessly transformed back into themselves, poor Hermione had to go to the hospital wing. Overall, the kind of humorous moment proved that Polyjuice Potion is a magical reason to love the Wizarding World and a dangerous reason to be cautious in it.
Plus, it all turned out fine in the end, Hermione eventually returned to her human, Emma Watson, form, and the Harry Potter cast members both got a great experience because of it.
So, now, when you go rewatch the Harry Potter movies, see if you can spot Flick Miles in it, and the moment Hermione changes from Emma Watson to her double. I know I will.
