Emma Watson Explains Why She Stepped Back From Acting

Emma Watson has appeared at a few public events this year but hasn’t committed to any new film projects, nor has she since Little Women was released in 2019. In a new interview with British Vogue, Emma Watson explained that her actions were deliberate.

Now enrolled in a creative writing MA program, Watson is looking to transition into roles behind the camera as well. In addition to directing with Prada and writing a play, Watson realized that she wanted to focus on herself again and took a break from acting.

After entering her 30s, her life changed significantly. “Going into my 30s, I was in this moment of real change and [thinking] ‘What is going on?’” she said. “And it was someone else who said to me, ‘Oh, this is normal. You’re going through your Saturn return.’ [I was] like, ‘What is that, and why has no one warned me?!’ I’ve spoken to so many women and so many of my friends who said, ‘Oh, yeah, between 28 and, like, 30, 31, 32, that kind of age, everything shifted.’”

Also, returning to school was a major step for the Harry Potter alum. “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 shared. “[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.”

It was evident that something needed to change for Watson when the characters she played seemed more real than she did at times. “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,” she said. “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.”

As Watson explained, she looked at her “inner” and “outer” scorecards, which reflected her mindset of how she sees herself versus how people see her. “I get a front-row seat [with] some of the most successful, beautiful, incredible people in the world,” she said of being in Hollywood. “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 well as keeping her personal life private during the interview, she also explained the notable comment she made in her interview with British Vogue in 2019, referring to the fact that she is “self-partnered.” It wasn’t “necessarily about me celebrating being single,” she said. “Getting to the point when I was 30, I was realizing, ‘Oh, maybe I’ve figured out some things about how to care for myself better–maybe quite well, actually.’ And taking pride in that.”