Why Emma Watson Is Going To Take A Year Off From Acting

Emma prepares for a busier than your average gap year

Actress/U.N Women Goodwill Ambassador/all-round brilliant person, Emma Watson, has announced that she’s going to take a break from acting for a year.

But rather than going on a few holidays, redecorating her bathroom and learning to crotchet, Emma will be using her time to be, well, quite frankly even more inspiring.

In an interview with Paper, the Ivy-League educated 25-year-old spoke of her desire to focus on her own ‘personal development.’

‘I'm taking a year away from acting to focus on two things, really. My own personal development is one. We are organising a HeForShe arts week, a university tour, and launching the HeForShe website. It's a lot. There's a lot to do.’

Emma, who’s also been juggling personal projects with large acting roles (she’s been working on a live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, and thriller, Colonia comes out in April), admits that sometimes her hectic life makes it a ‘struggle to keep up’ with herself, and that her opinions are still developing.

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‘I'm reading so much and exposing myself to so many new ideas. It almost feels like the chemistry and the structure of my brain is changing so rapidly sometimes. It feels as if sometimes I'm struggling to keep up with myself. It's a really cool period of time for me. My work that I do for the UN is all very clearly outlined, but my personal views and opinions are still being defined, really.’

She added: ‘My own personal task is to read a book a week, and also to read a book a month as part of my book club. I'm doing a huge amount of reading and study just on my own.’

Emma also used the interview as an opportunity to defend her Harry Potter character, Hermione Granger, when the interviewer implied that she went on to become a ‘suburban housewife.’

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‘Well, she goes on to have a career,' she insisted. 'And she does go on to do good and interesting things.’ 

Thanks for clarifying Emma, we knew you’d know best.