Emma Watson On Almost Quitting Acting: 'People Had Put Me In A Box'

Why Emma Watson Almost Quit Acting

Emma Watson has spent much of her post-"Harry Potter" comeback discussing her doubts about returning to acting. Now, in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 23-year-old actress reveals others were pressuring her not to head back to Hollywood as well.

"For a while I kind of bought into the hype of, ‘Will they ever be able to play anything else?’ It gave me a sense of paralysis and stage fright for a while," Watson told the magazine. "And then a professor told me that they didn’t think I should act, either. So I was really grappling with it and wasn’t feeling good about it. And then, I don’t know. … It got so bad and people had put me in a box so much that it started pissing me off. I suddenly wanted to prove them wrong. It gave me fuel, in a way. I’m not sure why that shift happened."

Watson has worked steadily to emerge from that box, taking on lead roles in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and "The Bling Ring," as well a small but memorable turn in the meta-comedy "This Is The End." The world has taken note, too -- the actress was generally praised for all three performances, meaning the proverbial box has officially been shed.

For more on Watson almost leaving Hollywood, head over to EW.

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November 2001

Emma Watson's Style Evolution

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