CHABLIS, France – Actress Emma Watson hasn’t appeared in any Hollywood movies in recent years, and that’s by her own design, she said in a new interview.
Watson, 33, rose to fame for her role as Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” movie franchise; the first film, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” was released in 2001 when she was 10 years old. She starred in all eight “Harry Potter” films and also acted in a number of other movies throughout the 2000s and 2010s, including “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “This is the End.”
Despite her success, Watson put a pause on her acting career in 2019 after starring in “Little Women.” Now, about four years after her last acting role, the activist and actress opened up about her decision to step away from the limelight in a new interview.
“I wasn’t very happy, if I’m being honest,” she told London-based news outlet 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. 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.
“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.’”
Watson also mentioned she spent more time on a film set as a child than she did at school: “More than any other kid since the beginning of time, probably.”
She explained how now, during her break from acting, she’s able to take on a role as a shareholder and creative partner in other ventures, including her brother Alex’s new gin business. She also noted she started investing in female entrepreneurs and “sustainable ventures” in 2020.
“Now that I’m not making films every year, there’s a bit more time to play with,” Watson said.
And while her feature film acting career may be on pause, Watson now sits on the other side of the camera.
She made her directorial debut with 2022′s “Prada Paradoxe,” despite previously thinking directing “seemed unattainable.” Watson, the film’s lone character, published the 90-second short on her YouTube page in August 2022.
“People always told me I should direct and produce, even when I was on Potter,” Watson said. “I was worried it was just technical, not creative, and I couldn’t bring what I think is probably my skill set. It was only Alex coming to me with this, and friends asking for favors – ‘I need to do a photo shoot’ or ‘I’m making a video’ – that made me realize I actually know quite a lot about that.
“Being a director seemed unattainable. I don’t think I had any confidence in that. I know it seems weird. I mean, I grew up on a film set,” she added.
And for those wondering when we might next see Watson on the movie screen, she confirmed that her temporary respite from acting is just that: temporary.
“Yes, absolutely,” Watson said about returning to acting. “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 anymore. Does that make sense?”