Emma Watson on life beyond Hermione: “I want to be a Renaissance woman”

wenn3100024

It’s difficult to think of Emma Watson without picturing Hermione Granger, even with her new Mia Farrow haircut.

We’ve seen Emma grow from an awkward girl to a confident young woman attending university while simultaneously being an international star and fashion icon over the past 10 years.

The release of the final Harry Potter film next year is bittersweet. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the films’ three young stars, especially if Emma is unable to find roles outside of Hermione, or if she even wants to.

Maybe it’s ignorance, naivete, but I really am not [afraid of always being seen as Hermione]. I don’t have this intense fear or a desire to separate myself from the role. I’m really proud of the work I’ve done. I’m a geeky Harry Potter fan myself, so it would be stupid to try and fight it….The difficulty for me is that I’m interested in so many different things. I could never really imagine myself doing one thing, and I’m pretty sure that I’ll end up doing four or five things. I want to be a Renaissance woman. I want to paint, and I want to write, and I want to act, and I want to just do everything.

[Time, print edition, November 29, 2010]

As much as she enjoyed playing Hermione, she was also ready to be free of her.

I love that she [Hermione] has an opinion, that she’s intelligent, that she also has a heart. Things I dislike about her: she’s a little bossy, a little mothering — which I’m sure could get very irritating….I’d had my hair long for 10 years while I was playing Hermione. When I finished filming, I needed something different. I think I [waited] two or three weeks. You really have to be in a good frame of mind to do something so drastic to your appearance. When I was feeling very confident, I was like, I’m going to cut it off.

[Time, print edition, November 29, 2010]

She played Irina in Chekhov’s play Three Sisters in a school production at Brown, yet had to make it through two rounds of auditions. The show played to packed houses and good reviews. At Brown, she also plays field hockey and shares a dorm suite with five other students, including Scout Willis, the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.

She took a supporting role as a wardrobe assistant in the film My Week with Marilyn.

Emma is anxious to dispel one rumor about her college days. No one yelled “10 points to Gryffindor” after she answered a question correctly in class at Brown, which I thought was sort of clever.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1 is in theaters now. Part 2 will open July 15, 2011.

wenn3100312

Photos courtesy of WENN.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

23 Responses to “Emma Watson on life beyond Hermione: “I want to be a Renaissance woman””

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. ziggy says:

    good luck! she seems to have a good head on her shoulders.

  2. Marjalane says:

    I love that haircut on her! She’s got such a pretty face.

  3. Dee Vine says:

    The anti-Lohan…so refreshing!

  4. Tigger says:

    She’s adorable. Seems to be a very mature young woman.

  5. kiko says:

    emma is lucky that i’m not in brown cause everyone knows i love to tease and i would definitely rock the “10 points to gryffindor” line lol

  6. Bunnywabba says:

    I never understand why women cut their hair off but damn! She actually does look even more beautiful. She is a smart cookie. I doubt we’ll ever see Emma exiting a limo with no panties and stumbling down the streetndrunk. Thanks god formthat lol.

  7. bellaluna says:

    Good on her! More young actresses/”starlets” need to adopt that attitude. Unfortunately, I doubt most of them (in the U.S. at least) even know what a Renaissance woman is.

  8. Vero says:

    hahaha “10 points to Griffyndor!” – That is very funny!!!

  9. gobo says:

    Ooooh. Coat Porn.

  10. Cheyenne says:

    I’d love to see her act in a Jane Austen movie. She’s not old enough yet to do Anne in “Persuasion” but she would be great as almost any other Austen heroine.

  11. Henriette says:

    Don’t love her hair cut; do love the fact she’s doing exactly what a girl of her age should be doing – trying out different looks, experimenting with what’s flattering and unflattering on her, not afraid to take chances. I like her and wish her the best. I wish that more young actresses would share her interest in education and her gratitude.

  12. original kate says:

    she is such a pretty girl, and that haircut is amazing on her.

  13. Carrie says:

    “10 points to Gryffindor” is awesome- one of those Brown smarties should have thought to do it!

  14. Camille says:

    Love her, so pretty and she seems to have a good head on her shoulders.

  15. mauibound says:

    What a class act this young lady is! Miley , Lindsey take some notes bitches, she’ll be around alot longer than you will!

  16. The_Porscha says:

    And on that note, Mauibound, I like that (unlike Miley, for example) Emma Watson is gracious about the role that made her famous and well-spoken about separating from it in her own time. She doesn’t pull a Cyrus and act like she has to slut it up to be perceived differently. I admire the maturity that Watson shows. It’s sad that this is the exception and not the rule.

  17. Jennifer says:

    Love. Her.

    Her skin is amazingly smooth and beautiful. And I always love to see what she’s wearing. She is definitely my new girl crush!!

  18. chasingadalia says:

    I want to be friends with her. Is that wrong?

  19. Jag says:

    She is just amazing. Very pretty, intelligent, has excellent style, and a good head on her shoulders. Wish there were a hundred more of her in Hollywood, or that the “nons” would learn from her by osmosis.

  20. gg says:

    Love her, love her coat, and I’m getting used to the haircut.

  21. Lynda says:

    If parents were smart, they would encourage their children to emulate her. Though this puts pressure on Emma, she appears to be grounded. Brown is a great college and I agree that she is doing just what she should be doing at her age.

  22. Ruffian9 says:

    Honey, I think you already are.

  23. kwan says:

    Beautiful girl in the world