Emma Watson will forever be loved by fans of the Harry Potter franchise for her portrayal of straight-laced smarty pants Hermione Granger, a role that lead Watson to international stardom, but lead to fears that the 23-year-old could never have a mature, adult acting career.
“I wanted to make a conscious adult decision that this was what I wanted to pursue, because that decision was made for me as a nine-year-old,” Watson told Entertainment Weekly of her soul-searching post Harry Potter . “I had no idea what I wanted. I had no idea who I was really. So I wanted to step away and make sure this is what I wanted to pour my life and my energy and my blood, sweat, and tears into.”
The Brit stepped away from the spotlight after filming completed on the final Harry Potter film, enrolling in Brown University in 2009. Watson did not grace the silver screen for the following two years, save a small appearance in My Week with Marilyn in 2011.
The actress said that her initial decision to depart from acting was one influenced by “a sense of paralysis and stage fright” that developed as members of the press, and even professors at Brown, doubted her career could extend past the mega-hit film franchise.
However, Watson’s fears disappeared when she read the script for the big screen adaptation of the emotionally charged coming-of-age story, The Perks of Being a Wallflower .
“I was really unsure, but then I read the script for The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and falling in love with that and then having such a great experience on that movie kind of sealed the deal for me,” Watson said of her decision to return to acting. “I stopped intellectualizing it, and it became much more instinctual.”
The Huffington Post reports that Watson felt she “got the bug” for acting, allowing herself to step outside the box in which she felt Harry Potter fanatics and members of the press had enclosed her.
“I suddenly wanted to prove them wrong,” the young actress said. “It gave me fuel, in a way. I’m not sure why that shift happened."
Since her successful lead role in The Perks of Being a Wallflower , Watson has triumphed in Sophia Coppola’s The Bling Ring and Seth Rogan’s apocalyptic comedy This is the End . As Watson gears up to return to Brown , the actress assures fans that she no longer buys “into the hype” of doubting her potential.
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