NEED TO KNOW
Rupert Grint has made peace with his Harry Potter past.
Grint, 37, opened to the BBC in an article published Nov. 22 about how he feels, 14 years after the final Harry Potter film was released, about his most famous role as Ron Weasley. Grint was cast as Ron, the best friend of Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter and Emma Watson’s Hermione Granger, when he was just 11 years old.
The outlet asked if Grint was angry that he would always be linked to Ron. “No, absolutely not, I love it,” he said. “It has a quite deep meaning to a lot of people of my generation, and even more to generations who are finding it now. It’s great. It gives me a lot of pride. It was such a huge thing.”
He continued, “I don’t think I’ll ever quite step out of his shadow, but I’m fine with that.” He added, “I love meeting people who really felt this was part of their childhood.”
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Grint played Ron in the eight eventual Harry Potter films, beginning with 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and ending with 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. “It changed my whole life quite quickly,” he said. “I was a huge fan of the books, so for me it was like stepping into the books, and that was very special.”
He also kept the door open for a return to the world of Potter. “Maybe in the future. Never say never,” he said, “But for now, I think as much as I loved it, I’m enjoying stepping outside of that world.” His recent work includes 2023’s Knock at the Cabin and the Apple TV+ series Servant.
Grint also reflected on the new series adaptation of the Harry Potter books. “It’s quite strange to have the cycle happening again,” he said. “I’m really intrigued what it’s going to be like.”
Alamy
Radcliffe, 36, revealed last week that he wrote a letter to the new Harry, Dominic McLaughlin, and Grint confirmed to the BBC that he did the same for the new Ron, Alastair Stout. “I wrote him a letter, before they started, passing the baton as it were,” he said. “It was really just wishing him all the best with it. I had so much fun stepping into this world, and I hope he has the same experience.”
He added that he’s not worried it will be too similar to the movies. “I think it’s great that it’s a whole new thing. It’s going to be its own thing, and I think that will be fun,” he said.
Back in 2023, Grint told PEOPLE about the souvenir he stole from the set of Harry Potter — even though it was a hassle to get away with it.
“They were really strict,” he said. “The last few days, there was security at the gates literally searching cars. But I did get away with the door number of Harry’s house. I had to unscrew it. It was so shady.”
