Emma Watson explained why she's not currently acting in a new interview with British Vogue.
For context, Emma's last film (Little Women) was released in 2019. Since then, Emma started a creative writing MA program at Oxford, launched a gin brand with her brother, and made her directing debut with a Prada commercial.
“Because I’m in a career that moves very quickly, the decision to take time to do these things felt like a very big decision,” she told the publication. “[Choosing] to go back and write and study and get behind the camera was terrifying for me because I’d never done it before. I had always been in front of the camera; I’d always been an actor.”
Having appeared in movies since she was 10, Emma said that at points her characters felt "much realer" than her. She further added that she was "glad" to have taken time away from acting, explaining, "I have this feeling of having my own voice and creative space and sovereignty in some way that I don’t think I did before — more autonomy."
"I’m so glad that I allowed things to be messy for a minute and to really allow myself to not know [what’s next], because the knowing that I’ve come to, I wouldn’t trade that for anything," she continued.
On life in Hollywood, Emma noted that her time away has allowed her to focus on more inward-facing metrics of success. “I get a front row seat [with] some of the most successful, beautiful, incredible people in the world,” she recalled. “And when you have that seat it becomes very, very clear that there is just absolutely no level of success that will make you in any way happy or content if you do not like who you are or enjoy what you’re doing when no one’s watching.”
As for what might be coming next from Emma, she's written a play — but the details are under wraps for now.
You can read the full interview with British Vogue here.