ON WINNING MTV’S FIRST-EVER GENDERLESS ACTING AWARD

Emma Watson. CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP
“I think I am being given this award because of who [Beauty and the Beast‘s] Belle is and what she represents. The villagers in our fairy tale wanted to make Belle believe that the world is smaller than the way she saw it, with fewer opportunities for her – that her curiosity and passion for knowledge and her desire for more in life were grounds for alienation. I loved playing someone who didn’t listen to any of that. I’m so proud to be a part of a film that celebrates diversity, literacy, inclusion, joy, and love the way that this one does.”

ON CRITICS WHO ACCUSED HER VANITY FAIR SHOOT OF BEING ANTI-FEMINIST

BUCKNER/VARIETY/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

“It just always reveals to me how many misconceptions and what a misunderstanding there is about what feminism is. Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality. I really don’t know what my t-s have to do with it. It’s very confusing.”

ON BEING A WARRIOR

YUI MOK/PA IMAGES VIA GETTY

“I feel like young girls are told this whole idea that they have to be this kind of princess and be all delicate and fragile and that’s bulls—. I identify much more with the idea of being a warrior and being a fighter. If I was going to be a princess, I would be a warrior princess, definitely.”

ON THE MEN WHO DON’T GET A SECOND DATE

DAVE BENETT/GETTY

“The worst date I’ve ever been on was a guy who told me he couldn’t be friends with fat people or anyone who was unattractive and I realized pretty quickly that he was a nutter and I had to get out as quickly as I could. The very worst men are those that say, ‘Are you the girl from Harry Potter?'”

ON WHY SHE IS A FEMINIST

AKM-GSI

“I think it is right I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decisions that affect my life. I think it is right that socially, I am afforded the same respect as men.”

ON THE REALITY OF ROLE MODELS

DAVID M. BENETT/DAVE BENETT/GETTY

“I think it’s important to make the distinction between the person and the art that they create. I mean, I’ve worshipped some complete arseholes, who I’ve met and then wondered: ‘How did you write/do/say all those amazing things?!'”

ON BEING AN ACTRESS ON HER OWN TERMS

ANITA BUGGE/WIREIMAGE

“I’ve been doing this since I was 10 or 11, and I’ve often thought, ‘I’m so wrong for this job because I’m too serious; I’m a pain in the ass; I’m difficult; I don’t fit.’ But as I’ve got older, I’ve realized, No! Taking on those battles, the smaller ones and the bigger ones, is who I am.”

ON HOLLYWOOD BODY STANDARDS

JOHN SHEARER/INVISION/AP

“As a younger woman, that pressure got me down but I’ve made my peace with it. With airbrushing and digital manipulation, fashion can project an unobtainable image that’s dangerously unhealthy … I’m excited about the ageing process. I’m more interested in women who aren’t perfect. They’re more compelling.”

ON EXPOSING HERSELF TO NEW IDEAS

LARRY BUSACCA/GETTY

“I’m reading so much and exposing myself to so many new ideas. It almost feels like the chemistry and the structure of my brain is changing so rapidly sometimes. It feels as if sometimes I’m struggling to keep up with myself. It’s a really cool period of time for me. My work that I do for the UN is all very clearly outlined, but my personal views and opinions are still being defined, really. So it’ll be an interesting time.”

ON MAINTAINING A WORK-LIFE BALANCE & TURNING DOWN ROLES

MAX LAKNER/BFA/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

“There have been hard moments in my career when I’ve had an agent or a movie producer say, ‘You are making a big mistake.’ But what’s the point of achieving great success if you feel like you’re losing your freakin’ mind? I’ve had to say, ‘Guys, I need to go back to school,’ or ‘I just need to go home and hang out with my cats.’ People have looked at me and been like, ‘Is she insane?’ But, actually, it’s the opposite of insane.”

ON WHY GENDER EQUALITY IS IMPORTANT FOR MEN

GREGORY PACE/BEI/SHUTTERSTOCK

“I’ve seen young men suffering from illness, unable to ask for help for fear it will make them less of a man … I’ve seen men fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality, either. We don’t often talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes, but I can see that they are.”

ON HER WORK ETHIC

VCG/GETTY

“I really believe that you have to earn things. I don’t feel comfortable unless I have worked really hard. I worked hard to get Hermione, and my mum has a video I did for the first audition and she has me doing the same take over and over, like 27 times from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon and I was just relentless. I wasn’t sure I wanted to act, but I was sure I wanted this part.”

ON KEEPING HER PUBLIC IMAGE AUTHENTIC

MIKE MARSLAND/WIREIMAGE

“Now at 25 for the first time in my life I feel like I have a sense of self that I’m comfortable with. I actually do have things that I want to say and I want to be my most authentic self. I don’t want there to be a big separation between the public and the private person. It’s definitely the harder road to tread, but without a doubt, ultimately the most rewarding.”

ON LEARNING TO APPRECIATE THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HERSELF AND HERMIONE

STEVE GRANITZ/WIREIMAGE

“It was really interesting because at first, despite the obvious similarities, I guess I was also trying to detach my sense of self from the image. It was such a delicate time – I was 10 or 11 when the first movie came out – I was trying to figure out what my own identity was, but I didn’t really have one yet. And I watch interviews that I did when the first movie came out and I was so lost! I would think, ‘What do young girls talk about? What do they say?’ ‘I like going shopping and I have a crush on Brad Pitt.’ And I had no idea who Brad Pitt really was! I hadn’t seen a single movie that Brad Pitt had been in, but this just seemed like the right thing to say. It makes me sad because I see this girl trying so much to fit in. The truth was I loved school.

“At first I was really trying to say, I’m not like Hermione. I’m into fashion and I’m much cooler than she is,’ and then I came to a place of acceptance. Actually, we do have a lot in common. There are obviously differences, but there are a lot of ways that I’m very similar. And I stopped fighting that!”

ON TAKING RISKS

GARY GERSHOFF/WIREIMAGE

“I’ve probably earned the right to screw up a few times. I don’t want the fear of failure to stop me from doing what I really care about.”