Emma Watson stars in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," out Wednesday.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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Rated PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality

Length: 153 minutes

Released: July 15, 2009 Nationwide

Score: 4.0

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter

Director: David Yates
Producer: David Heyman, David Barron
Writer: Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowling
Genre: SciFi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

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WATFORD, England — How many people get to meet their maker and live to tell the tale? Emma Watson, with a chuckle, said that’s how she has viewed the recent blossoming of her friendship with “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling.

During the filming of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which opens Wednesday, July 15, Watson contemplated the relationship she’s developed with Rowling as she sat one brisk afternoon in her dressing room (relentlessly pink in its decor). “We talk, we e-mail each other now,” she said, nodding toward her laptop and that morning’s missive from the woman who is arguably the world’s most famous living young-adult author.

“I must admit I still feel quite intimidated by her,” Watson said. “Not because she is actually intimidating, but because I admire her so much, and we have all been such mad fans of the books and her and everything.”

Rowling has said that Watson’s character, the sweet but swotty Hermione Granger, is based in part on her own persona as a child. That has led to a mutual fascination between the actress and the writer who, together, have shaped the character. In “Half-Blood Prince,” Hermione is the wounded heart of the film, dealing with her stirring feelings for childhood chum Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) as well as the dark threats gathering at Hogwarts.

“There are serious dangers brewing, but there is also a lot of romance and humor in this film,” Watson said, “which I enjoyed quite a lot.”

During the filming, Watson, who is now 19, had a certain famous pair of eyes looking over her shoulder far more often than in the past; Rowling was a rare visitor during the making of the first five “Potter” films — she was simply too busy with the ongoing series of novels — but with the final book published in summer 2007, the writer dropped by the Watford set outside London.

To hear cast members tell it, Rowling became like one of the wise old ghosts who populate the fictional wizard academy of Hogwarts — she was a fairly common presence but one who never failed to startle and amaze.

That meant more to Watson, perhaps, than anyone else in the cast and crew. The other lead actors spoke about Rowling in casual terms, but Watson could barely tamp down her awe.

“I just really want her to like me,” Watson said, sounding a bit like the insecure overachiever Hermione. “I’m always really keen to tell her how I feel, and maybe it’s a bit much. She is so down to earth and funny and witty. ... I definitely see Hermione in her. She’s genuine and brilliant.”

A big topic of speculation in England is where the daughter of two attorneys will be attending college (the latest rumor: Columbia University) after she finishes the final two “Potter” movies. She spoke glowingly about life at Hogwarts but said it has been a lot of pressure on her through her teen years.

“I will look back on this part of my life, and I know it will be special, but it used to be that if I ever had a bad review or someone said, ‘Oh, she is too this,’ or ‘She’s too that,’ I got upset about it,” Watson said. “Now what I have worked out is that it would actually be physically impossible to be perfect for everyone. Everyone has a distinct idea in their head of what each character is like. So I’ve kind of had to lower my standards. I can’t be perfect for everyone. J.K. thinks I’m perfect, and that’s good enough for me.”