Emma Watson compares Hermione to Belle

Emma Watson opened up about her upcoming movie Beauty and the Beast to ElleUK.com recently. She compared her character Belle in the movie to playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series. The British actress, who also lent her voice to Belle, said, “For me, Beauty was the perfect, most joyful thing to do. There was something connected about Hermione and Belle, and it was good to be reminded that I am an actress; this is what I do. The film is pure escapism.”

The actress is making a comeback after taking a year off to focus on her efforts to bring about social change through HeForShe initiative.

“It wasn’t about me necessarily proving anything… I was just thinking that I have this year to myself, so let’s see what we can do to ‘move the needle’ and make a difference,” Emma said.

Talking about the criticism that comes with being an activist, she said, “There is a level of criticism that comes with being an actress and a public figure, which I expect, but once you take a stance on something like feminism, that’s a completely different ball game,”  reports EOnline.com.