Emma Watson’s Dad Didn’t Know What to Do With Her: ‘He Treated Me Like a Boy’
Emma Watson may have been a child star, but her passion for acting isn’t something that she inherited from her parents. In fact, both her mom and dad were lawyers and knew very little about the entertainment industry. While The Bling Ring actor showed an interest in performing at a young age, priorities in her household were centered around being educated, intelligent, and articulate.
Ultimately, it was Watson’s love of Hermione Granger that helped her get cast in the Harry Potter movies. Watson’s dad would read excerpts of the eponymous books to her on long car rides and she fell in love with the witch. But even after Watson became a huge star, her priorities didn’t change much. Instead of being interested in earning even more money, partying, alcohol, and drugs, Watson was interested in learning, activism, and getting an education.
Emma Watson revealed her values came from the way her parents raised her
In an interview with GQ, Watson revealed that her unwavering values likely came from the way her parents raised her. “I guess what really forms you as a person, is what you do within your family to receive love or attention,” Watson revealed. “In my family, what you had to do to receive attention was to have good conversation at the dinner table or for me to do well at school, and those were really my focuses because that was what was valued the most.”
Continuing on, Watson shared that her dad, in particular, had a unique way of child-rearing. He wasn’t one to baby Watson or her younger brother. Furthermore, Watson shared that she felt that her dad was pretty baffled by having a daughter in general.
The ‘Harry Potter’ alum admitted that her dad treated her like a boy
“I don’t think my dad really knew what to do with me, as a daughter,” Watson shared. “He treated me like a boy; my brother and I were treated the same. He didn’t do kid stuff. There were no kid’s menus, you weren’t allowed to order off the kid’s menu at dinner, we had to try something from the adult menu. We’d play tennis, and he’d smack the ball as hard at me as he did with anyone else he played.”
Watson’s dad’s parenting style may have actually panned out well for the Noah actor. Considering she started working and traveling at an extremely young age, she grew up at warp speed. Since her dad was somewhat treating her as an adult, the massive amounts of freedom she experienced may not have been so jarring for her.
Watson’s parents worked hard to keep her humble
Even after Watson became a household name, neither one of her parents began to treat her any differently from her brother. In fact, they seemed determined to keep her humble. “I think my parents were very focused on keeping me down to earth,” Watson admitted. “The biggest compliment I’ve ever had, getting ready for a premiere or whatever, is that I scrub up all right.”
Considering Watson’s lack of scandals throughout the two decades she’s been famous, it seems as if her parents’ methods (while unorthodox to some) paid off.
