A very few people can say watching reality TV shows is informative; some even consider them waste of time. But for Emma Watson, they are her inspiration. The former "Harry Potter" star said that she watched a lot of reality shows like "Keeping Up with the Kardashian" to get inspiration for her role as a burglar in "The Bling Ring."

Watson stars as Nicki in the crime drama film, which is based on true events about a group of fame-obsessed teenagers in Los Angeles that have made headlines in 2009 for robbing the homes of celebrities, such as Orlando Bloom, Paris Hilton, Megan Fox, and Lindsay Lohan.

Her character is based on socialist Alexis Neiers, who was convicted on charges for her part in the Hollywood burglaries. Neiers served one month of her six-month sentence. She was paid to be a consultant on the film.

"I watched a lot of 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' and 'The Hills,' and I tried to understand the psychology of this kind of girl as much as possible," she told the press at the Cannes Film Festival.

"I didn't want her to be just a parody. The accent was hard as it was a particular kind of dialect," the 23-year-old British actress said. "I also thought a lot about what her parents must have been like."

And while the film is about theft, Watson said it "really isn't a heist movie."

"It was how about these kids wanted to pretend for just two hours or so that they were actually Paris Hilton and living that life."

Hilton, who had been a victim of the gang, made a cameo on the film.

"The Bling Ring," written and directed by Sofia Coppola, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday.