Actress Emma Watson says she is passionate about her "private identity" because she gets overwhelmed with attention.
Speaking to Interview Magazine, Watson asserted that growing up in the spotlight taught her the importance of separating her public persona from her private life, reports people.com.
Watson got famous thanks to her role as Hermione Granger in "Harry Potter" film series.
Watson said: "Daniel (Radcliffe), Rupert (Grint), and I were kids when we got cast in this fairy-tale series, and what happened to us was kind of a fantasy story in itself.
"So the story of my life has been of public interest, which is why I've been so passionate about having a private identity. When I step into a character, people have to be able to suspend their disbelief; they have to be able to divorce me from that girl. And not having everyone know every single intimate detail of my entire life is part of me trying to protect my ability to do my job well."
The 27-year-old added that she knows that she is "under a different microscope, a certain level of scrutiny" which she finds hard to deal with.
She said: "And sometimes the fear of doing things is overwhelming. I get incredibly overwhelmed, and sometimes feel hemmed in by that, afraid of that.
"But I know that if I live in that fear, then my life as an artist, as a human being, really, is over. Ultimately, it will silence me, and it will silence what is in me -- which I have yet to explore and uncover."
