Emma Watson: 'Being a Wallflower helped me leave Harry Potter behind'

Emma Watson on the red carpet at the MTV Movie Awards 2012

Emma Watson has said that she feels ready to move beyond Hermione.

The Harry Potter actress revealed that her new film The Perks of Being a Wallflower helped her leave the brainy witch behind.

"I started as Emma with some Hermione still left in my system," Watson told Entertainment Weekly.

"I went through the tunnel and I came out ready to start something new."

She went on to talk about meeting with Stephen Chbosky, who not only penned the novel the film is based on, but also directed the upcoming movie.

"At our initial meeting, he said, 'OK, not only is this going to be one of the most important parts you play, you're also going to have the summer of your life and meet some of your best friends'," Watson recalled.

"I thought, 'That's quite a claim. Who is this guy?' Everything he said came true."

Watson recently shot down rumors that she'd be playing Anastasia Steele in the big-screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Watch the trailer for The Perks of Being a Wallflower below: