She’s set to become Hollywood’s highest paid actress with her starring stint on Beauty and the Beast.

And Emma Watson has revealed that accepting the role of Belle was an easy choice, as she ‘felt a connection’ with the character.

Speaking on Monday’s episode of Lorraine, the 27-year-old actress explained: ‘She’s so fierce and she’s so smart, she’s just the coolest.’

Emma explained that she only accepts parts that ‘feel right’ to her, which is why she turned down the role of Cinderella in the 2015 remake – a part ultimately played by Lily James.

She revealed: ‘Cinderella wasn’t right for me, it didn’t feel right for me but when Beauty and the Beast came back around I was like “I will do anything!”.

Asked if she ‘felt a connection’ with Belle, Emma gushed ‘Yeah! She’s so fierce and she’s so smart, she’s just the coolest.’

She added: ‘My five-year-old self when I put the dress on was like “oh my God”.’

Despite feeling a natural connection to the role, Emma admitted that she was overcome with nerves about the singing required for the part.

‘I can’t even tell you how nerve-racking it was,’ she explained. ‘I had a real crisis of confidence.

‘It’s something I’ve always done and loved to do. My family know I can do it and my friends know I can do it, but I thought, is my voice holding to hold up?

‘But I loved it. I want to do a musical every day of my life. When I hear that song Beauty and the Beast I just melt.’

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The starlet added that another skill she had to master was horseriding, as she quipped that training for the role was like being in ‘bootcamp’.

‘I’ve never ridden before – this is what I mean about the preparation, I went into a Belle bootcamp!

‘I was riding 3-4 times a week, singing 3-4 times and dancing, I was manic, it was so hectic.’

The preparation may have been tough, but it has undoubtedly paid off, as Emma is now on course to become the highest paid actress in the industry as she is continuing to take a slice of the profits of the record-breaking movie.

She was paid just $2.5million for her role as Belle in Beauty and The Beast – a measly sum in comparison to other Hollywood A-Listers.

However, the Disney flick – which was released in February – has made more than $1 billion at the global box office, making it 2017’s highest-grossing film worldwide.

That’s not the only record it has smashed, however, as it is also the highest grossing live-action movie musical of all time.

Whilst the movie’s success was unprecedented, it was looking on course to break records from it’s opening weekend.

In just two days, the film grossed $174.8 million in North American theatres and waltzed to top of UK box office with a staggering £19.7million in sales.

Emma – who already had an estimated net worth of $70m – over half of which was accredited to her role in the Harry Potter film franchise – now looks on course to overtake Jennifer Lawrence as the highest paid actress in Hollywood.

Whilst she was only paid $2.5million upfront – she made a deal with Disney to cut her a slice of the production’s global earnings.

This alone is set to total at approximately $15m which, when adding to her $2.5m up-front fee, takes her earnings to $17.5 for this one project alone.

And according to financial analysts, this propels her to the top of 2017’s rich list.

Emma is no stranger to the Highest Paid Hollywood Actress list, which is collated by the likes of Forbes and Vanity Fair annually and also takes into account on-the-side endorsements.

She came in 14th position in 2010, before she was even 20-years-old, making her the youngest person, male or female, to appear.

Emma took on the role of Belle in Beauty and the Beast, starring alongside Dan Stevens as The Beast.