Emma Watson in Marie Claire: “I’ve always had far too much freedom”

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Emma Watson is the adorable cover girl for the December issue of Marie Claire, all to promote Harry Potter and The Machine of Money. In the above photo, I love her hair. In another shot (below), I don’t care for it as much. But I like the fact that she cut it all off after being contractually obligated to wear it long for so many years. I also think her shorter hair works well with the new image she’s trying to forge for herself, post-Potter. She’s a Brown student and a working actress, and she will study hard and take supporting parts. I’ve said it before, but she seems really grounded and like she’s genuinely a sweet, good girl. We’ll see. Marie Claire’s full interview excerpt is here, and here are some highlights from the interview:

Emma on her parents: “I’ve had so much freedom: sometimes it’s been hard. My parents wanted to protect me, but they had no idea how.”

On her hair: “I’ve wanted to do it since I was about 16, and when Harry Potter ended in June, I just needed a change ” Watson said. “It was quite symbolic for me. It’s very short; it was buzzed at the back and on the sides. And it’s really liberating that I can walk out without thinking about it.”

On being a student in America: “The first year at Brown was about finding my feet,” she said. “I found a great group of girlfriends, and now that I know how things work and what the professors expect, I’m really excited about going back for my second year, because I feel this time I can relax and enjoy it.” Watson is deeply grateful for the way she’s been treated by her peers. “Brown has a real sense of community, and people are very protective of me,” she said. “They really look out for me; they want me to feel like I’m part of it. I threw my 20th birthday party at Brown, and I didn’t even have to say to anyone not to put pictures on Facebook. Not a single picture went up. That was when I knew I’d found a solid group of friends, and I felt like I belonged.”

On the end of Potter: “My last day was pretty emotional,” she admitted. “It was sad; it’s the end of an era. What an amazing learning experience! I gave everything I could to that role, and I got so much from it. It wasn’t like I made one movie; it was working consistently for 10 years. There was no reprieve,” Watson said. “But I’m glad I saw it through to the end; I played that character from the start, and I wanted to finish what I started. It felt very satisfying that I had completed Hermione’s journey. Playing Hermione just came so naturally; I had a real affinity for her,” she said. “I felt like I knew exactly who she was. Like me, she’s very loyal and determined, she’s very intelligent, and she has a lot of guy friends, as I do. Her eagerness to please and to have the right answer is definitely like me. I’m a perfectionist, so my bossiness definitely comes out.”

On becoming a child actor: “I started working on the audition at 9 in the morning and didn’t stop until 5 in the evening,” she recalled. “The tape was just me doing the same thing hundreds of times over, until I got it exactly right. I was just amazed at my stamina. The grown-ups said, ‘We had to stop you; you wanted to keep going.’ I’ve always been like that; I give 100 percent. I can’t do it any other way.” Watson’s parents, who divorced when she was very young, are both lawyers—her father is a telecommunications attorney, and her mother is a solicitor—but their little girl made it clear they were not to stand in her way. “I would never have forgiven my parents if they had made me turn down that opportunity,” she said. “I just loved performing. It just made me feel alive. It’s scary, but that’s part of it. I think it’s important to have that extra adrenaline. It gives you that extra zing.”

On not needing to rebel: “I do things in my own way, but I’ve never felt any need to rebel,” she said. “To be honest, I’ve always had far too much freedom. I had a job when I was 10. I started living on my own when I was 17 or 18. I’ve earned my own money; I’ve traveled the world. What would I rebel against? I’ve had so much freedom, sometimes it was hard. My parents wanted to protect me, but they had no idea how to. I had to learn as I went and make my own mistakes. I went from being totally unknown and never acting professionally to being in a major movie and being very famous. It all happened so quickly, I didn’t have any time to work things out. It’s been pretty scary at times.”

[From Marie Claire]

That last part really struck me – because that’s what someone like Lindsay Lohan had too, didn’t she? She had so much freedom at such a young age, and no one had any idea how to protect her either. So why did Emma end up such a good egg and Lindsay ended up such a f-cking crackhead? Was it that Emma’s parents actually grounded her, even if they didn’t know about the world she was in? Was it because Emma’s parents weren’t partying with her and taking their “manager’s cut” from her earnings? I don’t know. But I think I may be on to something.

Here’s Marie Claire’s behind-the-scenes video of the photo shoot:

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Photos courtesy of Marie Claire.

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35 Responses to “Emma Watson in Marie Claire: “I’ve always had far too much freedom””

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  1. jen says:

    Why aren’t we boycotting Marie Claire?

  2. Sarah says:

    I want those shoes (first pic). those are so neat!

  3. Maddie says:

    Yeah Marie Claire Hates Fat People!!!!!!

  4. minnie says:

    damn, she’s gorgeous! such a refreshing change from the plastic, barbie look so rampant in hollywood today.

  5. Johnny Depp's Girl says:

    Emma’s parents sounded like they were grounded, with real jobs and instilled this into their child.

    The Lohan’s however, pushed their dysfunctional family into the limelight where Emma’s parents didnt.

    I just think this girl is a sweet talented actress and I hope she goes far. She’s a cutie!

  6. Deeta says:

    I love her look – specially on that first picture. And yes – those shoes are amazing.

    This girl sounds smart – and I think the differences between her and Lindsay are pretty obvious. Just look at the fact that she is going to school. She has had parents that seemed to have given her the right set of priorities in life.

    Instead of living on her own in LA – just like Lindsay did the moment she turned 18. She went to a small pretigious artsy school. Brown is full of very rich kids – that understand the value of privacy. I hope she continues this way and builds herself a good career. This was pretty much the same path that Natalie Portman followed. She started as a child star, but when it was time she went to college and came back to play more adult roles.

  7. Moi says:

    She looks gorgeous and sounds like a smart, grounded young lady. Mad props to her and her parents.

  8. serena says:

    I really like this girl. She’s so nice and cute.. I hope she’ll do brilliant movies from now on.

  9. Fire says:

    I.want.those.shoes.

  10. Lala11_7 says:

    I think one of the main differences between Emma and Linds…besides the family thing…

    Emma was able to pretty much build her career with a “secondary family”…her whole childhood was pretty much spent with the same individuals and that had to give her a firm foundation too…

    Also…not being in the “American plastic wonderland” is a big plus!!!

  11. Riley says:

    I’m jealous of her ivy league education. I’ve had several sets of cousins go to Brown but somehow those genes skipped me. Oh, and “reprieve,” what an excellent SAT word. But I did kind of have to role my eyes when she started comparing herself to Hermione— reel it in, Honey, reel it in.

  12. citmyway says:

    She is soooo adorable!!!! She seems so mature for her age. Cute as pie as my Granny would say!

  13. Cheyenne says:

    What it comes down to is, regardless of your upbringing, people are the sum of the choices they make in life and they are responsible for those choices.

    Watson made good choices; Lohan made bad ones.

  14. Stronzilla says:

    @Lala11_7, I think you have a good point. Emma did grow up with a secondary family, so to speak, all of whom also seemed to be pretty grounded. But her respect for education is a value she most likely picked up from her parents. And its here where the Mileys and the Lindsays don’t stand a chance.

  15. Obvious says:

    WE are boycotting-that’s why the powers that be at celebitchy posted it online-so we don’t have to buy that trashy magazine.

  16. gg says:

    I think she needs bangs like Ashlee Simpson’s new do. I’m struggling and stuck with this exact haircut and maybe it’s me, but it’s not for everybody with a huge forehead.

  17. Bunny says:

    She is so lovely, and smart to boot. She is refreshing compared to these vapid airheads walking around.

  18. Marianne says:

    I agree that Marie Claire sucks for its stand on fat people…but I dont think I can boycott just yet. I want this issue for Emma, and Emma alone.

  19. Jeri says:

    I hope she remains as sensible as she is now. Off subject, Is she British? Aren’t all the Potter kids?

  20. maria says:

    She’ll always be Hermione. But, she has already branched out with the fashion ads she has done. She will succeed in life, no matter what. Why isn’t she more of an inspiration to tweens than Miley Cyrus or Demi Lovato?

  21. TG says:

    Also, I don’t think she had anyone around her telling her to go out so she could get attention and be famous. Any time someone says they want to be famous you better watch out. I remember Lindsay’s sister said that on their show once. She said nothing about being a successful actress or model or whatever she is supposedly trying to be it was just to be famous.

  22. Xx says:

    Wow! I would love to know who styled her for these shots. The clothes are beautiful!

  23. bananapanda says:

    In England child celebrities aren’t put on pedestals and expected to run rampant. These kids basically grew up in a glorified boarding school with tutors on set for 10 years. I think they were either all going to be wild or all going to be restrained.

    Brown’s kind of wacky- you design your own curriculum- my parents said no way they would pay for that!

  24. ThirdChris says:

    I don’t have any thing to add because I’ve fallen under the spell of those shoes.

  25. Jillian says:

    I will love her forever and ever. She looks like Julie Andrews with the new hair.

  26. Ferguson. says:

    Oh I love her. There you have a good role model tween girls can look up to 🙂 we’re not completely screwed!

  27. original kate says:

    cute as a junebug.

  28. ziggy says:

    she’s quite a beautiful young lady. the haircut really suits her. she appears quite grounded. may she stay that way.

  29. PrettyLights says:

    Lovely girl, she has beautiful eyes. I love the hair on her, she can pull it off. I really hope she never gets plastic surgery and ruins her look like so many other barbies… she seems like she can have a long and great career, and I look forward to seeing it unfold.

  30. Spring says:

    What’s all this about Marie Claire and fat people?

  31. GrnMtGirl says:

    I think she’s pretty cool. I like her attitude and graciousness. Very pretty too.

  32. Macheath says:

    She looks like a boy with that haircut. I’m not seeing the gorgeous but she’s not unattractive. Just terribly bland and can’t act…

  33. Cel says:

    I don’t think any child in show business should have a parent as their manager. Get the professionals in and just stay being their parent – that seems to work out for the best.

  34. C-DUB says:

    She seems like a good kid! She’s rockin’ the short hair!

  35. Chris says:

    Emma seems like she has a good head on her sholders and she’s the kind of driven person who succeeds. I’ve always like her performances in the Potter movies, and I hope she can keep a career going into her 20s. Her parents were smart to give her a lot of feedom and allow her to grow up naturally. She’s also lucky that Disney did not own the rights to the Potter movies, or she would have found that all the freedom her parents wisely gave her had been taken away by an evil corporate monster. Then, undoubtedly, she’d have turned out really rebellious.