Emma Watson explains why she stopped acting in films for four years

Emma Watson has shared why she decided to take a break from acting after starring in 2019’s Little Women.

Watson, who found fame when she was just a child Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movie franchise, hasn’t taken on an acting role in four years - with her only recent appearance on screen being the unscripted Harry Potter reunion show last year.

In an interview with FT, Watson, 33, has shared why she decided to take a hiatus from acting, revealing that she was starting to feel ‘caged’ and unhappy.

In the frank interview, Watson 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.”

Sony Pictures

Watson went on to say that she also grew frustrated at not ‘having a voice’ in interviews.

“I was held accountable in a way that I began to find really frustrating, because I didn’t have a voice, I didn’t have a say,” she said.

“And I started to realise 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.’”

Warner Bros

However, before fans get too upset - Watson has said she does see acting in her future, but is happy to wait for the right project to come along, rather than throw herself into something she’s not sure about.

When asked if she plans to return to the industry, she said: “Yes, absolutely. But 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 any more. Does that make sense?”

Until then, Watson has revealed that she'll be starting a Master's degree in creative writing at Oxford University in September.

Topics: Harry Potter, Film and TV

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at UNILAD who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats.