The recently-turned 33-year-old Emma Watson has been taking a slew of steps on the fashion and even alcohol fronts after stepping back from the limelight. The actress first grabbed our attention in the Harry Potter series and then expanded her acting career with films that proved she was much more than her Hermione Granger character including The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Bling Ring, and Beauty and the Beast. With her last film being her role as Meg in Little Women, the British actress has spoken honestly about stepping away from acting following the 2019 film.
Emma Watson has been in the spotlight since she was 10 and nailed her iconic role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. After her role in the Oscar-nominated film Little Women, she's taken a break from acting to focus on other skills she has. While speaking to the Financial Times, The Bling Ring actress explained why she decided to step away from the profession that made her a household name.
I wasn’t very happy, if I’m being honest. 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. 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.
As an actor, your job is to take create a character using your script as a guide. However, that doesn’t mean that you had a say in the writing or the direction your project went in. Actors and actresses perform what’s presented to them, so it makes sense the star was frustrated with being asked about how a project "align[ed] with [her] viewpoint" when she wasn't in charge of the creative process.
While Watson took some high-profile roles after Harry Potter, it seems at some point this frustration came to a head as the former child star transitioned from Harry Potter life to adult life. She’s said before that it wasn’t until Harry Potter was over and she started her studies at Brown University that she didn’t realize how “sheltered” her life was being around the same people doing the same routine to prep for the Wizarding World films.
The My Week with Marilyn actress also spoke about another frustrating account she endured during her acting career.
I 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.’
Emma Watson went on to talk about developing more of an interest in roles that take place behind the scenes -- including her upcoming venture into making gin with her family. That way, she can get the creative control she’s always wanted.
Watson was also able to venture into that creative space when she wrote and directed an advertising campaign for Prada. She may have thought at one point being a director was “unattainable” until she discovered that she’s been around a film set for a big portion of her life. Prada may have been the Ballet Shoes actress’ first attempt at directing, but it’s absolutely not her last as she also revealed to the outlet that she’s got another directing gig for a music video lined up. (She also noted we should know the musician once that job officially gets announced.)
There was a time when we thought that Emma Watson was retiring from Hollywood when her agent said she went “dormant.” That led to the British outlet The Daily Mail believing that meant she was retiring from acting. Luckily, her manager clarified that her agent meant this actress' social media accounts were “dormant, but her career isn't.” The Potter star came back to social media in March, showing off her lovely latest fashions.
And while she stepped away, you don’t have to worry about the Hermione Granger actress retiring from acting completely. She's said in the past she would return to acting when the right project came to her. Then, she revealed to the Financial Times she has a movie project lined up that will begin shooting in early 2024.
It appears that anything this talented actress sets her mind on is filled with dedication and strength, whether that be the creation of gin or even taking a mental health break from acting. While we wait for her big comeback, you can watch the entire Harry Potter series with an HBO Max subscription.
