The Real Reason Emma Watson Almost Quit Acting After Harry Potter
And why she took a break in 2019.
Emma Watson shot to fame as Hermione Granger aged just 11. At the time, she couldn't have predicted just how successful the Harry Potter franchise would be. And when her time in the wizarding world came to an end, the actor and advocate for female rights moved straight into other projects.
Hot on the heels of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two, Watson appeared as Lucy in My Week with Marilyn, before going on to star in the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast and Little Women.
It was only after portraying Meg in a film version of Louisa May Alcott's coming-of-age literary classic in 2019, that Watson took a hiatus. So, you'd be forgiven for thinking she was full of enthusiasm for acting right throughout and immediately after Harry Potter.
But that wasn't quite the case. Speaking to GQ magazine, she explained how, it was only after filming for the Harry Potter that she realised how 'sheltered' her life had been while growing up.
'I'd have a chauffeur come and pick me up to take me to the studios.' She said, adding. 'I'd only see this very specific group of people who I was doing these films with. I'd get back in my car and go home and do the same thing the next day. It was really only once Harry Potter ended and I went to university that it hit me how unusual a position I was in, how different my life could have been.'
This cosseted existence meant she, like some other cast members, struggled to adapt to life after Harry Potter.
When she did eventually step back from the limelight in 2019, it was because she 'wasn't very happy' and 'felt a bit caged'. While it may often appear as if the life of an actor is nothing but glamour, Watson said she found it hard to 'go out and sell something that (she) really didn't have very much control over'.
She found herself as the face and mouthpiece for other people's creative work. While there is an element of autonomy for any actor taking on a role, there are limits to what they can do with it.
Eventually, she decided that she '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.''
During lockdown, she began writing poetry, created a new gin with her brother and took some time to find herself. Now, she's ready to take on the world again – only this time it's entirely on her terms.
Source: GQ, Financial Times.