Emma Watson blamed her film-star lifestyle for preventing her from developing the right road skills as she spoke about the “shame” of her driving ban for the first time.
The Harry Potter actor said that not having been allowed to drive herself to set because “they literally won’t insure you to drive yourself to work” meant she lacked practice.
Watson, who portrayed Hermione in the adaptation of JK Rowling’s books, was handed a six-month driving ban for exceeding a speed limit of 30mph earlier this year.
Speaking on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, she said: “I went from basically only driving myself on weekends or during a holiday to then when I became a student driving myself all the time. I did not have the experience or skills, clearly, which I now will and do.” The actress said a lot of people sent her “nice” messages when the news broke but that her high profile meant the story was on “international worldwide news”. She said: “I was like, my shame is everywhere.”
Watson was given the ban in July after driving at 38mph in a 30mph zone in her £30,000 Audi S3. She already had nine points on her licence before the offence, which took place in Oxford.
Emma Watson in London
MEGA/GC IMAGES
The 35-year-old, who is studying for a doctorate of philosophy in creative writing in the city, was made to pay a total of £1,044. Watson, who is worth an estimated £59 million, did not attend the five-minute hearing.
Her lawyer said at the time that Watson “fully understands her position and will accept her punishment”. They added: “I ask you to give her credit for the plea of guilty. She is a lady in a position to pay an appropriate fine.”
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Watson said on the podcast: “It’s been a discovery and a journey that’s been humbling because on a movie set I’m able to do all these extremely complex things: stunts, sing, dance … and then I get home and I’m like: ‘OK, Emma, you seem to be unable to remember keys, you seem unable to keep yourself at 30 miles an hour in a 30 mile speed limit. You don’t seem able to do some pretty basic life things.”
She said she had taken up cycling already before the ban which turned out to be “particularly fortuitous” given the circumstances.
Watson earned about £50 million for the eight-film Harry Potter series and £15 million from the remake of Beauty and the Beast. She has not acted since the remake of Little Women, directed by Greta Gerwig, in 2019 where she appeared alongside Timothée Chalamet. She has launched Renais, a gin distillery in Dorset.