Emma Watson has shared her reasons for turning down Hollywood acting roles following her last major project five years ago.
At 34, Watson rose to fame as Hermione in the Harry Potter series and hasn’t featured in a significant film since her role as Meg March in 2019’s “Little Women”.
In 2020, she shifted her focus to activism, expressing a desire to “embrace a role where she works to amplify more voices, to continue to learn from those with different experiences”.
Despite ongoing speculation from Harry Potter fans about a potential Hollywood comeback, it seems unlikely for now, as Watson disclosed her reasons for declining acting roles.
In an interview with the Financial Times last year, she explained: “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.
“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.”
Watson has previously mentioned that she hasn’t permanently left Hollywood, so there’s hope she might return to the screen someday.
However, the nature and timing of her potential return remain uncertain.
In a conversation with Vogue last December, Watson provided more insight into her break from acting.
When questioned about her recent choices to decline roles, she shared: “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.
“[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.”
She added: “I’m just so glad that I did [step away from acting] because 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.
“I get a front row seat [with] some of the most successful, beautiful, incredible people in the world.
“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.”