Emma Watson reveals “soul-destroying” reason she stepped away from acting
Emma Watson has opened up on the “soul-destroying” reason that she decided to step away from acting, having not been seen on screen in over six years.
The former child actor, who shot to fame playing the role of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film franchise, spoke frankly about her changed relationship with the industry during a new interview with Hollywood Authentic, in which she described the process of having to promote her films as “soul-destroying”.
Having not made any on-screen appearances since her role in Little Women in 2019, when asked if she misses acting, Watson replied: “A bigger component than the actual job itself is the promotion and selling of that piece of work, this piece of art. The balance of that can get quite thrown off. I think I’ll be honest and straight-forward, and say: I do not miss selling things. I found that to be quite soul-destroying.”
Explaining that she “found I got to do so little of the bit that I actually enjoyed,” the actor conceded that she did miss the “freeing” element of being in front of the camera “profoundly”, yet noted: “But I don’t miss the pressure. I forgot it was a lot of pressure. I did a small thing for a play, just with my friends. I was like, ‘Bloody hell, this is stressful!’ And that wasn’t even for a real public audience or anything. I don’t miss that.”
Saying that she would “consider everything” moving forward, including roles behind the camera, Watson admitted: “I think I worked so hard for so long that my life sort of bottomed out. The bottom fell out of the piece, which was actually me and my life. So I needed to go and do some construction work.”
This confirms what the actor said previously about her career hiatus, as in an interview with the Financial Times two years ago, she said she felt “caged” by the iconic fame of the Harry Potter movies.
Having spent this time away from acting, Watson is in the midst of gaining a doctorate degree in creative writing from the University of Oxford, which is a three-year course that she began in the academic year of 2023.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.