Emma Watson felt claustrophobic in UK


Emma Watson opted to go to university in America because she felt “claustrophobic”.

The ‘Harry Potter’ actress had been expected to enrol in prestigious Cambridge University but felt it was important to leave the UK so she could be “normal” for a while.

She explained: “I suddenly felt very claustrophobic. I thought, ‘I can’t stay here, I won’t be able to concentrate, I won’t be left alone.’

“I don’t want to put a negative light on it, as if I was escaping or anything like that. I think I wanted to meet people my own age and just be normal for a bit.”

While she enrolled in a liberal arts degree at Brown University, Emma put her studies on hold after two years so she could focus on promoting the final movies in the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise – ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2’ – and is expected to resume her education in Oxford in September.

Speaking about her decision to put her studies on hold, she said: “I was commuting back and forth between the US and the UK trying to fulfil my commitment to this enormous ‘Harry Potter’ franchise and it just wasn’t feasible. I’m only human.

“I wasn’t getting the best out of either my studies or the filming, so I decided to give a proper goodbye to 10 years of work and resume my studies later.”

Emma Watson wants to explore self

Emma Watson is ready to “figure out” who she really is.

The 21-year-old actress – who was cast as brainbox Hermione Granger in the ‘Harry Potter’ film series when she was just 11 years old – admits working on the franchise has ruled her life over the last decade and she is now looking forward to making her own decisions.

She said: “Not a single second of the day was in my power. I was told what time I’d get picked up, what time I could eat and when I could go to the bathroom.

“I have spent more of my life being someone else than I have being myself.

“I’ve always had a strong sense of who I am and what I want, but I do need to spend more time figuring that out.”

Among the ways the movies have affected her life was Emma’s decision to put her studies on hold last year.

The British beauty was two years into a liberal arts degree at America’s prestigious Brown University but left because it was too much of a struggle combining her school work with promoting the final two films in the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2’.

Emma – who will return to her degree at Oxford University in October – explained in an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper: “I was commuting back and forth between the US and the UK trying to fulfil my commitment to this enormous ‘Harry Potter’ franchise and it just wasn’t feasible. I’m only human.

“I wasn’t getting the best out of either my studies or the filming, so I decided to give a proper goodbye to 10 years of work and resume my studies later.”

Emma Watson scares children

Emma Watson scares little children.

The 21-year-old actress – who has played Hermione Granger in the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise since the age of 10 – explained kids are often terrified of her because they think she is going to cast a spell on them, which she finds “really funny”.

She said: “Some little children are sometimes scared of me because they think I can do a spell, and that I really am magic in real life. And I’ve always found that really funny, and I try and kind of say, ‘I won’t do anything to you. It’s OK’.

“Sometimes you can’t convince them, because they believe in it. They really believe in it. They really think that I’m Hermione in real life, which I love. It’s funny.”

Emma also revealed as fans of the wizard franchise have seen her “grow up on screen” over the past 10 years, they often feel they have a parental connection towards her.

Speaking on CNN’s ‘A Larry King Special – Harry Potter: The Final Chapter’, Emma added: “People literally have watched me grow up on screen. Like go from a nine-year-old girl to a 21 year old.

“I guess I’m a young woman now. And so, I think it’s interesting meeting people from my life who feel a sisterly or motherly, fatherly connection towards me, complete strangers who have opinions about it. It’s actually nice.”