On screen she's only just moving away from her pure role as goody-two-shoes wizard Hermione Grainger, but Emma Watson admits that being an actress could have definitely led her personal life down a very different path.
The actress told Glamour magazine: "I started travelling and working away from home when I was nine, and there would have been so many opportunities there if I'd wanted to take them.
"If I'd wanted to get blind raving drunk I could have done; if I wanted to do drugs I could have done. Luckily I don't have an additive personality, and I don't really drink."
Given previous child stars like Lindsay Lohan and Drew Barrymore's paths, we can well understand what Emma means.
Even as far back as 'Wizard of Oz' star Judy Garland living in tinseltown has been a recipe for disasters for young actors and actresses.
Emma Watson at the MTV Movie Awards (Photo Brian To /WENN)
Despite not taking the road more addled, Emma insisted: "I'm not sensible," adding: "I'm just me, I guess."
The 22-year-old who will move away from her wholesome image in forthcoming movie 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower', in which she plays a wild high school girl and is seen performing burlesque.
She's also been tipped for a role in the movie version of S&M bonkbuster 'Fifty Shades of Grey'.
However Emma would rather do the acting without the celeb lifestyle many covet as she told the mag: "I won't lie to you - it's not been easy," she added: "Celebrity is definitely the hardest part of what I do. But you just have to hope that people look past all that - past the overblown hype of the industry - and see you."
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