Emma Watson Explains Her Decision To Step Away From Acting!

Emma Watson has no regrets about taking a break from Hollywood!

The 33-year-old Harry Potter alum last graced our screens in 2019 when she starred in the seventh (and some say best!) film adaptation of Little Women. While fans may miss seeing her on the big screen, Emma told British Vogue in a new interview she’s “so glad” she put a pause on her acting career! Why? Because she got the opportunity to pursue her other passions in life!

In recent years, she has dabbled in directing, even working on a fragrance commercial for Prada. The Beauty and the Beast star launched her own gin brand, Renais, with her brother Alex. And that’s not all! Emma enrolled in a creative writing MA program. She even wrote a play — though don’t expect her to give up any of the details of the project! The actress certainly has been a busy bee over these past four years! While Emma is happy to chase after these other dreams, the decision to push aside her movie star career was not an easy one.

All she ever knew was acting — something she began doing at the age of 10! So to begin a whole new path in life came with a ton of uncertainty for Emma. She explained to British Vogue:

“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.”

But once she let go of her fears and pursued her other creative ventures, she realized that was the best choice she could have made for herself! After years of feeling as if the characters she played in the movies were “much realer” than she was, Emma said she finally got her “own voice” back during this sabbatical:

“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.”

What really made her time away from acting so special? Emma shared she was able to discover what truly brought her joy in life, noting she realized “success” didn’t always fulfill her:

“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.”

And when “no one’s watching” her, Emma enjoys not only doing her passion projects but prioritizing “really stupid things” or “the basics” — like playing pickleball, collecting stickers, and spending time with her dog, Sofia:

“I just look at her and I’m like, ‘Well, I’m happy and you’re happy.’ The thing that is so amazing about animals is they’re just so good at being. Food, humans, sleep – they’re very good at the basics. I feel like whenever I get really overwhelmed, I’m like, ‘Emma, just do the basics.’”

As for whether Emma will return to acting? Everyone will have to wait and see. But for now, it seems Emma is content exploring other dreams. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Are you disappointed she stepped away from acting? Let us know! You can also see the pictures from her British Vogue cover story (below):