Emma Watson Was ‘Terrified’ by the Public’s Attention as a Child Star

After years of success inside and out of the Hollywood sphere, Harry Potter actress Emma Watson admitted she often felt insecure growing up famous.

“As a young person that feeling of not being comfortable in my own skin was exacerbated by the microscope I was under,” Watson said in an interview with Porter magazine.

Watson wasn’t even a teenager when she started playing Hermione Granger, and she said the level of attention she was subjected to at a young age made her feel inadequate. “I was terrified by the level of interest in me.”

The actress said she used to have to “go numb” and close herself off to get through red carpet events. Now, at 25, Watson said she feels more confident in herself.

“…I feel like I have a sense of self that I’m comfortable with,” Watson said in the interview. “I actually do have things that I want to say and I want to be my most authentic self.”