Emma Watson has announced she plans to take a year off from acting to focus on feminism and activism. The Harry Potter star has said she wants to spend the year learning and reading more, while developing her ideas and opinions away from Hollywood.

Emma WatsonEmma Watson is taking a year off from acting.

In an interview in Paper magazine with feminist author bell hooks, Watson said: “I'm taking a year away from acting to focus on two things, really. My own personal development is one. I know that you (hooks) read a book a day. My own personal task is to read a book a week, and also to read a book a month as part of my book club.”

“I'm doing a huge amount of reading and study just on my own. I almost thought about going and doing a year of gender studies, then I realised that I was learning so much by being on the ground and just speaking with people and doing my reading. That I was learning so much on my own. I actually wanted to keep on the path that I'm on. I'm reading a lot this year, and I want to do a lot of listening.”

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“I want to listen to as many different women in the world as I can. That's something that I've been doing on my own, through the UN, the HeForShe campaign, and my work generally,” Watson added.

Last year Watson launched feminism book club, Our Shared Shelf, where every month members read and discuss a different title with the actress. “I'm reading so much and exposing myself to so many new ideas,” Watson said about the launch of Our Shared Shelf.

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“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.”

Watson’s last release was psychological thriller Regression which also starred Ethan Hawke and David Thewlis. She is currently filming The Circle, opposite Tom Hanks and next year will be seen in the live action remake of Beauty and the Beast as Belle.