Actress Emma Watson, best known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise, chatted with Hollywood Authentic on Sunday, September 21, and got candid about why she chose to step away from the spotlight.
"In some ways I really won the lottery [with acting]," said Watson, 35, adding, "and what happened to me is so unusual. But 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."
She continued, "I think I'll be honest and straightforward, and say: I do not miss selling things. I found that to be quite soul-destroying. But I do very much miss using my skill-set, and I very much miss the art. I just found I got to do so little of the bit that I actually enjoyed."
When speaking more about acting, the Beauty and the Beast actress said, "It’s so freeing, I miss that profoundly. 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."
Fans of the actress related to her on Reddit, with one commenter saying, "It’s like how a lot of authors love writing the book, but find it horrible having to do those public readings or those book signing events. Art and promoting art are two very different skills — Emma you have my sympathies."
Watson appeared in all eight Harry Potter films from 2001 to 2011, and went on to take roles in several other projects over the next decade, including The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Beauty and the Beast.
Her most recent on-screen role was in 2019’s Little Women. Since then, she has stepped back from acting, a choice she says was "the right thing" for reconnecting with loved ones and focusing on her personal life.