Emma Watson revealed the reason she decided to take a step away from acting over 20 years since she first appeared on the silver screen.
The actress, who has enjoyed a glittering career after she landed the role of Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” franchise, hasn’t appeared onscreen since the 2019 film “Little Women.”
With leading roles in “The Bling Ring,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “Beauty and The Beast,” and “The Circle,” Watson admitted being an actress wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
“I wasn’t very happy, if I’m being honest,” the 33-year-old told Financial Times. “I think I felt a bit caged.”
“The thing I found really hard was that I had to go out and sell something that I really didn’t have very much control over,” she explained. “To stand in front of a film and have every journalist be able to say, ‘How does this align with your viewpoint?’ It was very difficult to have to be the face and the spokesperson for things where I didn’t get to be involved in the process.”
She was 11 years old when she made her first film appearance as Granger in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in 2001.
Watson said she was held accountable “in a way that I began to find really frustrating because I didn’t have a voice, I didn’t have a say.”
“And I started to realize that I only wanted to stand in front of things where if someone was going to give me flak about it, I could say, in a way that didn’t make me hate myself, ‘Yes, I screwed up, it was my decision, I should have done better,’” she shared.
Since stepping away from acting, Watson found a new passion for writing and directing, specifically for the luxury fashion house Prada.
Calling the project a “very big” moment for her, Watson said she was often told to direct and produce, when back in her “Harry Potter” days.
“I was worried it was just technical, not creative, and I couldn’t bring what I think is probably my skill set,” she told the outlet.
Watson said it was her brother, Alex, that asked her to do a photoshoot which led her to try out filmmaking.
“I actually know quite a lot about that. Being a director seemed unattainable. I don’t think I had any confidence in that,” she shared. “I know it seems weird. I mean, I grew up on a film set.”
The actress admitted that while she did walk away from acting for the foreseeable future, she does plan to return next year.
“Yes, absolutely,” she responded when asked if she plans to act again. “But I’m happy to sit and wait for the next right thing. I love what I do.”
“It’s finding a way to do it where I don’t have to fracture myself into different faces and people. And I just don’t want to switch into robot mode any more,” she added.
