'Fifty Shades of Grey:' Is Emma Watson the Perfect Anastasia Steele?

Fifty Shades of Grey is the new international obsession. In fact, some websites are predicting that the movie of the mommie porn novel will surpass the Twilight Saga as a fan fuelled money-making phenomenon. And who knows? Their predictions may come true. But first, the leads must be cast. Ryan Gosling is now the official bookies' 2/1 odds favorite to play Christian Grey. Casting the female lead hasn't garnered quite as much interest or publicity—possibly because the role is far more problematic. The actress who wins the coveted role of Anastasia must possess not only "the right look but the innocence for the character, and the acting chops to keep up with Christian Grey." Yikes. Where can such a paragon be found? Why in another blockbuster film franchise of course. Her name is Emma Watson.

No, that's not a misprint. Emma Watson. Whether or not La Watson has actually thrown her handcuffs—er—hat into the ring to compete for the part of Anastasia is unknown, and immaterial. The Harry Potter starlet's name is being bandied about with the likes of Mila Kunis, Nina Dobrev, the ridiculous Scarlett Johansson, the almost even more absurd Anne Hathaway, and of course, Kristen Stewart, the woman upon whose Twilight character Bella Swan originally inspired E. L. James' to create her submissive female protagonist.

With all due respect to Kristen Stewart, Emma Watson is perfect for the role. If she's serious about leaving her child star spawned virginal persona behind once and for all, Fifty Shades of Grey is her vehicle. Physically, Watson is a ringer for Anastasia whom the book describes as "an innocent 21-year-old college student: 'a pale, brown-haired girl with blue eyes too big for her face.' " Furthermore, Emma, like Anastasia, is, despite her youth, at a crossroads in her life. Steele is a clueless virgin "ushered into a strange world of sex when she meets Christian Grey, [who] beyond just yielding control of her body to this man...is also a woman navigating a crisis of identity." Watson is a woman reportedly eager to leave her childhood career behind her and emerge as an actress who can carry a "grown-up film." It would be difficult to imagine a film more "grown up" than Fifty Shades of Grey. And if ever there was a perfect image of a cerebral yet naïve virgin, it's Emma. And there's another thing. Emma Watson has a strange "6 degrees of separation" connection to the project by way of her Harry Potter link to Kristen Stewart's boyfriend Robert Pattinson whose Twilight Saga character, Edward Cullen, was the model for Christian Grey. Yikes. This is getting spooky.

Anyway, there you have it. Do you think Emma Watson could pull off the part of Anastasia Steele?

© Hope Carson 2012

Hope Carson is the author of 2 books: A Roaring Girl: An Interview with the Thinking Man's Hooker and A Thousand and One Night Stands: The Life of Jon Vincent. You can follow her on Twitter.

Join the Conversation	You are following this conversation | stop following follow this conversation by email