If you've wondered why you haven't seen Harry Potter actress Emma Watson in any movies lately, that's because she hasn't filmed any since wrapping up production on Little Women in 2018.
There are a couple of reasons for this and it has nothing to do with a decrease in demand for hiring her.
In fact, she was regarded as a consistently bankable actor and has been steadily working on successful projects since she was a 10-year-old playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films.
Watson opened up about her deliberate decision to take a break from Hollywood in an interview with Financial Times.
The 33-year-old gender equality advocate said:
“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.”
She continued:
“I was held accountable in a way that I began to find really frustrating because I didn’t have a voice…"
"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.’”
Nowadays, she is reclaiming her life after spending the majority of her life in front of cameras.
Watson is exploring other enriching opportunities for herself including writing and directing an advertising campaign for Prada.
She said it was a “very” big moment for her.
She said:
“People always told me I should direct and produce, even when I was on Potter."
"I was worried it was just technical, not creative, and I couldn’t bring what I think is probably my skill set."
Fans of Watson as an actress needn't worry, however, since she isn't turning her back on acting forever.
She said she would consider making movies again but only under one condition.
She said:
"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?”
Watson is reportedly going back to studying in September to get her MA in creative writing at Oxford.
She also already has plans to return to filming in 2024 if everything goes according to plan.
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