Gracing the cover of the latest issue of Porter Magazine, Emma Watson shared her sentiments about growing up onscreen, being able to find her true self and finally learning to be comfortable with it.
Viewers have caught a glimpse of the 25-year-old actress in the "Harry Potter' film franchise as she successfully took on the role of Hermione Granger as based on J.K. Rowling's critically acclaimed "Harry Potter' seven-part book series.
However, growing up onscreen also brought on personal challenges for Watson, especially in allowing her to discover her own true self. Only recently had she began feeling an "authentic" sense of self.
"[I've] spent more than half of my life pretending to be someone else," she tells Porter magazine in its winter issue. "While my contemporaries were dying their hair and figuring out who they were, I was figuring out who Hermione was and how best to portray her."
"The Bling Ring' star also opened up about discovering a sense of confidence after deciding not to give up her passion for fashion.
"When I was younger I remember being told 'no pain no gain,' but recently my willingness to wear something that makes me freezing cold or that I can't walk in has changed," she said. "I want to feel fabulous and comfortable and sexy and strong and beautiful. And if it's making you uncomfortable, don't do it."
Touching on the subject of feeling "awesome," part of such experience can be attributed to her work as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and bravely speaking out to promote feminism in a compelling speech at the United Nations last year.
Through her participation in the UN and the HeForShe campaign, which seeks to empower men to support gender equality, Watson is able to increase awareness for feminism and fashion alike.
"One of the ways I became a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador was through my interest in fair-trade fashion," she explained. "Because so many women design and make the clothes we wear, it's primarily the working conditions of women that are affected by the decisions we make, so fashion is a feminist issue."
As for "Harry Potter' costar Daniel Radcliffe, the 26-year-old actor believes that the equal treatment of men and women is part of his nature. He has also touched on the issue, saying that it is "bemusing, honestly, maybe because I have cool parents with a very equal marriage and have had good role models all my life."
