EMMA Watson has admitted she “wasn’t very happy” before she stepped away from acting, but said she “absolutely” plans to return.

The Harry Potter star recently confirmed she will begin an MA in creative writing at the University of Oxford in September.

She has yet to star in a movie since 2018's 'Little Women' and said she struggled with feeling "caged" and like she "didn't have a voice" when she was expected to promote projects she had no creative control over.

She explained to the Financial Times newspaper: "I think I felt a bit caged.

South Wales Argus: Emma WatsonEmma Watson (Image: Bang)

“The thing I found really hard was that I had to go out and sell something that I really didn’t have very much control over. To stand in front of a film and have every journalist be able to say, 'How does this align with your viewpoint?'

“It was very difficult to have to be the face and the spokesperson for things where I didn't get to be involved in the process.

"I was held accountable in a way that I began to find really frustrating, because I didn't have a voice, I didn't have a say.

"And I started to realise that I only wanted to stand in front of things where if someone was going to give me flak about it, I could say, in a way that didn't make me hate myself, 'Yes, I screwed up, it was my decision, I should have done better.'"

But Emma "absolutely" plans to return to acting, and will be shooting a film early next year.

She added: "I'm happy to sit and wait for the next right thing. I love what I do. It's finding a way to do it where I don't have to fracture myself into different faces and people.

"And I just don't want to switch into robot mode anymore."