CHASTAIN: The difficult thing with that is that when you play a character that really hits a nerve, then you will be talked about.
WATSON: Completely. My friends know this about me, and they're like, "You realize that's ridiculous. You're doing totally the wrong thing." I'm aware that I'm kind of a paradox, and at times a bit ill-suited to my profession. But there's something that brings me back. There's something in me that feels like I have to do this, that this is what I'm meant to be doing. If I didn't feel this way, I wouldn't do it. But it's full of contradictions, for sure.
CHASTAIN: Is there anyone who gave you a lasting piece of advice, maybe on acting or how to navigate this social media society?
WATSON: I remember being like, "Am I crazy? Am I masochistic? Why am I doing this to myself?" But one of my mentors was like, "In life, things happen. And as much as we can try to fight to make our lives a certain way, there are things that will keep coming back to you, and you have to follow your marching orders." I think our fears find us and force us to confront them over and over again. In terms of social media, it's a minefield! Technology is moving so fast right now. Everyone is scrambling around trying to understand what it means to have an avatar, how to live our lives on the internet, what it means for privacy, for citizens of a political universe. I think that we're trying to find rules now, as we speak, and it's difficult. But, like everything, the internet is an incredibly powerful force that needs governing—not to restrict our freedom, but to protect people.
CHASTAIN: Yours is a very positive message on social media. I can't help but be grateful that young women have someone like you to look up to, someone who prioritizes education and authenticity over the empty calories of what social media can be.
WATSON: Gosh, I can't even imagine what it's like for the generation after me, whose parents document their whole lives as they grow up. It's kind of crazy to think about how quickly things are changing. Doing this movie, The Circle, made me think about all of this in so much more detail. I read the book first, and I could not stop thinking about it. It's not like a dystopian future—it could be tomorrow. Someone recently said he thought it was The Truman Show meets The Graduate with a dash of Kardashians. And I said I would describe the movie as The Social Network meets All About Eve meets Panic Room. The Social Network because it deals with how technology intersects with basic human needs: to feel loved, to feel seen, to feel a connection, to feel that you belong. All About Eve because it deals with the complexity of the female relationship in a patriarchal world; usually there's only one woman or two women in a boardroom. And Panic Room because it's intense.
CHASTAIN: Have you used technology any differently since making the film?
WATSON: Oh my god, yes. I set even more boundaries than I had before between my public and my private lives. It made me think a lot about what I would do if I had children. A lot of children of this generation have their entire lives made public before they have a say about what they would want. I think it should always be a choice. I love social media, and I love what it can do and how it brings people together, but used in the wrong way, it's incredibly dangerous. And, increasingly, our attention is our most important resource. Before the press tour, I deleted my e-mail app from my phone and really tried to create serious boundaries from it, because it is addictive. We need to make sure that we are using technology, and technology is not using us.
CHASTAIN: Besides deleting your e-mail, what do you do to relax? When no one's watching, when no one's thinking about you as a movie star or as a role model, what do you like to do?
WATSON: When people call me a role model it puts the fear of god into me, because I feel like I'm destined to fail.
CHASTAIN: But remember, you can teach people that our failures are our greatest gifts in life.
WATSON: Very true. Steve Jobs has a great speech where he talks about how the wrong turns in his life truly set him on the path that he needed to be on. Anyway, what do I do? I bake. I'm pretty competitive about my chocolate chip banana bread. I don't think anyone can believe how good it is. It's really on another level. And I hang out with my cat. I love to travel. I went on safari before I did my tour, which I loved. I love to dance. I'm the girl who will get up and dance with zero alcohol in her system. You need give me no excuse. A great song comes on and I'm there; it's happening.
CHASTAIN: What's your jam?
WATSON: I like a lot of hip-hop. Everyone's always like, "Really? You know all the words to this?" I'm like, "Yes, I do." And Beyoncé, Gaga.
CHASTAIN: You've got to get out of the bathtub now, because you're going to turn into a raisin.
WATSON: [laughs] Thank you. See you very soon. Lots of love.
