Emma Watson calls ‘promotion and selling of’ movies ‘soul-destroying’

Emma Watson is reflecting on her relationship with acting and why she stepped away from the big screen after her role in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women in 2019.

While the actress admitted she misses the craft itself, she said she does not miss the part that comes with it, promoting movies.

“In some ways I really won the lottery [with acting], and what happened to me is so unusual,” Watson told Hollywood Authentic in a new interview.

“But a bigger component than the actual job itself is the promotion and selling of that piece of work, this piece of art. The balance of that can get quite thrown off. I think I’ll be honest and straightforward, and say: I do not miss selling things. I found that to be quite soul-destroying.”

The former Harry Potter star added that what she truly misses is the work itself.

“I do very much miss using my skill set, and I very much miss the art. I just found I got to do so little of the bit that I actually enjoyed,” she explained.

For Watson, the most rewarding part of acting came in the rehearsal and filming process.

“The moment you get to talk through a scene, or I got to prepare and think about how I wanted to do something, and then the minute the camera rolls, and getting to just completely forget about everything else in the world other than that one moment, it’s such an intense form of meditation. Because you just cannot be anywhere else. It’s so freeing. I miss that profoundly. But I don’t miss the pressure.”

Though she did not share details, Watson hinted she is currently “working on something that I’ve never done before,” leaving fans curious about her next step.

Away from Hollywood, Watson said she has found balance and fulfillment.

“I think what’s interesting about being an actor is, there’s a tendency to sort of fracture yourself into multiple personalities,” she said.

“I’m not just talking about the roles you play, but having the weight of a public persona, that sort of needs constant feeding and sprucing and glamorizing. It’s very energy-intensive stuff. And shedding the multiple identities has freed up so much space, I think, for me to be a better sister, daughter, friend, granddaughter and then artist. And someone who’s trying to do some critical thinking of her own.”

Despite pressing pause on her career, Watson shared that she is “maybe the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever been.”