Emma Watson sweeps into Dallas school, surprising theater students

Emma Watson was in by 9 a.m. Tuesday and whisked away within an hour, but not before she imparted acting advice to theater students at Sudie L. Williams Talented and Gifted Academy.

Watson, best known for her role as Hermione Granger in all eight Harry Potter films, dropped by the Dallas ISD school for the surprise visit thanks to an unnamed parent’s connection to her.

 

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The actress, 31, shared stories about her career, answered questions and left like the Hogwarts Express was waiting outside.

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How did the students react?

“Shock, surprise, disbelief, excitement — and just curiosity,” school principal Michael Jackson said Wednesday.

Jackson said Watson was “was very accommodating and kind. Any questions that our students had, she was more than willing to answer.”

After her visit to the school, Watson dropped by Sclafani’s New York Bagels & Sandwiches in Preston Center.

“She just kind of walked in,” co-owner Alyssa Sclafani said. “It just so happened that the restaurant was empty at the time.”

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It was a memorable moment for the shop owners.

Sclafani’s fiancé, Wesley Baird, counts Watson as his crush. Her father, Christopher, the shop’s owner, only knew her by her Harry Potter name.

The store displays an autographed menu with Watson calling Sclafani’s “The best Bagels in Dallas!” Her order is still on the kitchen menu screen.

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Watson has spent the past few weeks in the U.S. after appearing at the British Academy Film Awards.

Sudie L. Williams Talented and Gift Academy, which serves students in fourth through eighth grades, shared photos of Watson on social media.

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Her presence was no small cameo.

In 2015, the Paris-born actress was selected one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. Her activism has prompted Gloria Steinem to describe her as “way more like a real person than a movie star.”