Emma Watson has been exposed to the public light her entire life, with the iconic role of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series at just the age of 9, her impact on the industry is undeniable. Therefore despite being a household name at such a young age, she has managed to keep her private life to herself.
The stardom she had at such young age is what many aged actors yearn for their whole lives, thus maintaining a sense of normalcy in her life was very important to her. When her making even a small decision felt like a group event, she chose to take some little steps to gain power over her life back. Although she has publically denounced her stardom time and again, she now recognizes it and tries to embrace it in her own special way.
In a 2017 chat with Interview Magazine, the star opened up about how the stardom has shaped her career and her as a person, and how she manages to keep things private even after thousands of flashlights hounding her every minute for her each move.
Emma Watson likes her private life to be private
Despite being a global phenomenon her entire life, Emma Watson has successfully learned to keep her private life private. Although the star had access to world-class facilities from an early age due to her successful acting career, she chose to deny that fact for a long time and continued living her life like a commoner. In an era of ceaseless connectivity and pervasive social media, she attempts to keep her life out of the spotlight, and as a result, her admirers on the web are unaware of much of her current life. In an interview with Interview Magazine in 2017, she revealed,
“It’s one of the things that I struggle with, because the three of us—Dan[iel Radcliffe], Rupert [Grint], and I—were kids when we got cast in this fairy-tale series, and what happened to us was kind of a fantasy story in itself,”
Turns out it was all a ploy to gain a sense of constant in an everchanging fast surrounding. Although the franchise changed their lives completely forever, she wanted a sense of stability. She then further continued saying,
“Outside of the movies. So the story of my life has been of public interest, which is why I’ve been so passionate about having a private identity.”
Therefore, she makes a conscious effort to keep the details of her life hidden especially, since her fame stole away her childhood.
How keeping things private helps Emma Watson in her career
Celebrities are very accessible in today’s day and age. The sense of mystery and mysticism is gone especially because of social media. Although people have been curious about the lives of celebrities throughout the ages, many now regret knowing about the stuff public figures choose to share online that the common people were better off not knowing. Emma Watson revealed, keeping things on a low key not only helps her protect her peace but also to nurture her craft. In the same 2017 interview Watson revealed,
“When I step into a character, people have to be able to suspend their disbelief; they have to be able to divorce me from that girl,”
She then further continued saying,
“And not having everyone know every single intimate detail of my entire life is part of me trying to protect my ability to do my job well.”
Thus by controlling the narrative surrounding her public image, Watson ensures that her career remains at the forefront of her public perception. Avoiding excessive exposure, enables her to remain a blank canvas, effortlessly embodying various roles across different genres and mediums successfully.
Source: Interview Magazine
