Harry Potter star Emma Watson’s career pause in 2019 reflects a common phenomenon with ambitious workers: burnout. She’s been on a hiatus from movie acting since 2019, her last role was in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, where she was about 29 at the time—and now she’s revealing the grueling schedules and emotional toll that forced her to step back.
“I just used to completely sacrifice myself for whatever the thing was I was trying to achieve,” Watson said on an Episode of “On Purpose” by Jay Shetty yesterday.
“Making films, the hours on them are so demanding, that to have your own life alongside that, to have that balance is almost impossible,” the star with an estimated $85 million net worth added.
“You go through these working six days a week, 14 to 16 hour days–and then you’re just dropped off at the end of it, and maybe you’ll have a two or three month gap, and then there’s just nothing.”
The podcast is one of the first long-form interviews Watson has done in about 5 years, where she expressed the personal toll of being one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. She says it got to the point where “sensory overload” that comes with being famous made it hard to carry out simple everyday activities.
“Trying to have a normal conversation with anyone is basically impossible because you feel like an insane person,” she said. “These are not environments in which you really like to have a nice chat with someone.”
Watson’s work-life balance shift isn’t uncommon for her generation
While the award-winning actress said she cares deeply about her work, she’s found more balance in learning and activism. She turned around her career from a professional actress into a professional degree earner. Her career pivot to studying started with an MA in creative writing at Oxford University in 2023. She’s since also reportedly started a PhD program.
Her experience echoes a growing sentiment among the labor market as more employers face an increasingly burnt out workforce.
When obtaining her creative writing masters, she said that “writing, making art has been the best therapy” for reshaping her life after acting.
And that mindset is a common feeling for younger generations in the workplace. For many Gen Z employees, they’re learning that prioritizing mental health, learning and purpose is more valuable than prestige careers, and embracing “career minimalism.”
Even her own generation, millennials, have been embracing taking their careers at a snail’s pace after cracking under the pressure of “girl bossing” for the past decade.
“I think fame makes you feel like you can’t do things for yourself in a way that can really disempower you and remove your confidence and autonomy as a human being that’s really disabling,” Watson said.
“I’ve just got to this place where if it costs me any part of my peace, it’s just too expensive, ” she added.