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Emma Watson hasn\u2019t been in a movie since 2019\u2019s <\/span>Little Women<\/span><\/i><\/a>, but she\u2019s also \u201cmaybe the happiest and healthiest I\u2019ve ever been.\u201d The <\/span>Harry Potter <\/span><\/i>actor<\/span><\/a> shared that warm update <\/span>with <\/span>Hollywood Authentic<\/span><\/i><\/a> in a conversation that delved into her complicated relationship with the craft that put her name in lights before she was even a teenager. \u201cI think what\u2019s interesting about being an actor is, there\u2019s a tendency to sort of fracture yourself into multiple personalities. I\u2019m not just talking about the roles you play, but having the weight of a public persona, that sort of needs constant feeding and sprucing and glamorising. It\u2019s very energy-intensive stuff,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd shedding the multiple identities has freed up so much space, I think, for me to be a better sister, daughter, friend, granddaughter, and then artist. And someone who\u2019s trying to do some critical thinking of her own.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Another thing Watson has been glad to leave behind is the hard work of promoting a film. \u201cI do not miss selling things,\u201d she said. \u201cI found that to be quite soul-destroying.\u201d That doesn\u2019t mean she doesn\u2019t miss the craft itself, however; she just found that \u201cthe balance of that can get quite thrown off.\u201d \u201cI do very much miss using my skill-set, and I very much miss the art,\u201d she continued. \u201cI just found I got to do so little of the bit that I actually enjoyed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n For Watson, acting was an escape. \u201c[T]he minute the camera rolls, and getting to just completely forget about everything else in the world other than that one moment\u2014it\u2019s such an intense form of meditation,\u201d she shared. \u201cBecause you just cannot be anywhere else. It\u2019s so freeing. I miss that profoundly. But I don\u2019t miss the pressure. I forgot it was a lot of pressure. I did a small thing for a play, just with my friends. I was like, \u2018Bloody hell, this is stressful!\u2019 And that wasn\u2019t even for a real public audience or anything. I don\u2019t miss that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Despite her career pivot, Watson is still \u201cworking really hard\u201d on other things. She\u2019s studying for a DPhil in creative writing at Oxford, runs a sustainable gin brand called Renais with her brother, and <\/span>advocates for<\/span><\/a> women\u2019s rights, environmental justice, and more. She also has something cooking \u201cthat I\u2019ve never done before,\u201d but she didn\u2019t want to share what that was \u201cbecause then people are like, \u2018Well, when is it happening? What\u2019s going on with this thing?’\u201d Whatever it is, we\u2019ll learn it on her timeline. \u201cOddly, somehow, the less I try to do, the more I get done,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how I would shape the distinction between effort and trying. Or maybe what I would say is: I\u2019m caring, and I\u2019m present.\u201d That\u2019s what really matters. <\/span><\/p>\n