Everyone knows Emma Watson for her role as a nerdy scholar in the "Harry Potter movies." But for someone who is keen on a career in acting, it will be detrimental to her career if she is branded that way. Perhaps that is why she chose to play the bad girl in her new movie "The Bling Ring." Emma Watson plays a thief in the movie who tracks celebrities on the Internet to rob them.

There is a danger in the path she is taking. Not long ago, pop star Britney Spears had to go through a similar phase. After her hit song "Hit Me Baby One More Time," the star was seen by many as a "good girl," an image which stuck with her for a long time and even her song "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" didn't make fans sit up and take notice.

It was only after Britney's songs which were sexual in nature that started people talking, with some welcoming it and some downright against it. By then, Britney had become something young girls across the western world wanted to emulate.

Emma Watson, today, stands at that crossroads. If she continues to make movies with her playing the ideal girl, then in a few years, she may become a role model which may not necessarily be a good thing, judging by the Britney episode.

However, she was in no hurry to take up projects just because it has some great cast; she has to worry about her image now. Given that she has made enough money from the "Harry Potter" series, she can afford to be a little picky about her roles. And it seemed she has made all the right choices.

She, of course, played roles of a teenager discovering love and relationships in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" which is a coming of age movie mostly centered around the introverted protagonist "Charlie," but the movie has handled the subject very delicately and the Emma's role has not been overtly sexual.

The other upcoming projects include "Noah" which is a story from the Bible of a man who has visions of the end of the world and tries to save his family and the animals from the great flood about to sweep the earth.

Her most interesting upcoming movie is "The Queen of the Tearling." Emma Watson will not only star in the movie but is also the executive producer. Emma seemed to be following Drew Barrymore, the successful actor turned producer, suggesting perhaps the big role that she envisions to play is more in terms of producer/director.