Two years ago, Emma Watson was facing a quandary many young adults encounter: Is college worth it?
For most 18-year-olds, a university degree is an expensive but necessary investment leading to personal growth and a well-paying job. But for Watson, already a multimillionaire as a result of playing Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" movies, the calculus was more complex.
Should she trade red carpets for Red Bull-fueled nights studying? Would the knowledge gained be as valuable as the roles she'd have to forgo? And was it possible for the actress to fit in with classmates who had watched her grow up on-screen?
Watson opted to attend Brown University — a decision that confounded Hollywood directors and publicists.
"I've had to say no to stuff that people have been gobsmacked about. I've had big directors say to me, 'What do you mean, you can't do this movie? We don't understand,'" the actress, now 21, said recently by phone from her native England. "I always hear, 'What do you mean she can't do this magazine cover?' or 'What do you mean she can't have this meeting for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?' And my agent will say, 'She's at school, sorry.'
"Yes, it's hard for me to turn down amazing opportunities. But I've been working solidly since I've been 9 years old. So for me, to have this space to learn and figure myself out a bit is obviously worth it."
[...]
Watson is doing that now. She took a semester off from Brown to promote the last "Harry Potter" film, which hits screens in July, and will return to her studies in the fall — though maybe at a different campus, on an exchange program through Brown.
"On the last movie, I flew around on this crazy press tour, and then came back and tried to do my finals," she recalled. "I wasn't sleeping. And I realized, 'Oh, my God, I can't do this again.' I wasn't going to be able to get the best out of being at Brown and do justice to saying goodbye to 'Harry Potter' properly."
For most 18-year-olds, a university degree is an expensive but necessary investment leading to personal growth and a well-paying job. But for Watson, already a multimillionaire as a result of playing Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" movies, the calculus was more complex.
Should she trade red carpets for Red Bull-fueled nights studying? Would the knowledge gained be as valuable as the roles she'd have to forgo? And was it possible for the actress to fit in with classmates who had watched her grow up on-screen?
Watson opted to attend Brown University — a decision that confounded Hollywood directors and publicists.
"I've had to say no to stuff that people have been gobsmacked about. I've had big directors say to me, 'What do you mean, you can't do this movie? We don't understand,'" the actress, now 21, said recently by phone from her native England. "I always hear, 'What do you mean she can't do this magazine cover?' or 'What do you mean she can't have this meeting for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?' And my agent will say, 'She's at school, sorry.'
"Yes, it's hard for me to turn down amazing opportunities. But I've been working solidly since I've been 9 years old. So for me, to have this space to learn and figure myself out a bit is obviously worth it."
[...]
Watson is doing that now. She took a semester off from Brown to promote the last "Harry Potter" film, which hits screens in July, and will return to her studies in the fall — though maybe at a different campus, on an exchange program through Brown.
"On the last movie, I flew around on this crazy press tour, and then came back and tried to do my finals," she recalled. "I wasn't sleeping. And I realized, 'Oh, my God, I can't do this again.' I wasn't going to be able to get the best out of being at Brown and do justice to saying goodbye to 'Harry Potter' properly."
Source: LATimes