Rupert Grint: ‘I’ll never step out of Ron Weasley’s shadow’

Rupert Grint has told the BBC he’s unlikely to ever “step out” of Ron Weasley’s shadow, some 14 years after the release of the final Harry Potter film.

“I’m fine with that. I think it’s great,” he said. “I love meeting people who really felt this was part of their childhood.”

Grint, 37, who played Ron in all eight of the franchise’s movies, also revealed he has written a letter to the child actor playing Ron in the upcoming TV series.

“It’s quite strange to have the cycle happening again,” he said. “I’m really intrigued what it’s going to be like.”

Grint was speaking to BBC News at an event to switch on the Christmas lights in Highgate, north London, on Wednesday.

The actor, who lives locally with his partner, actress Georgia Groome, and their two daughters, drew a crowd of fans to the Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution.

As children, Grint and his co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson had their lives transformed by their wizarding roles in the big-screen adaptation of JK Rowling’s books between 2001 and 2011.

Grint was 11 when he was cast as Ron – who is characterised as one of Harry Potter’s best friends at Hogwarts – and now describes the experience as being “crazy”.

“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.”

Since the Potter films ended, Grint has had roles in films including Into the White, and in Apple TV series Servant. He’s also appeared on stage, and in a number of Ed Sheeran’s music videos.

He told us he has “a couple of things” coming up next year, though he is not able to talk about them yet.

But compared with Radcliffe and Watson, Grint has found it relatively hard to break out of his Potter role.

Is he fed up of always being linked to a part he played decades ago? “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.

“I don’t think I’ll ever quite step out of his shadow, but I’m fine with that.”

The three child actors who will play Harry, Ron and Hermione in the new HBO series were announced in May.

Earlier this week, Radcliffe revealed he had sent a letter to Dominic McLaughlin, who is taking over the role of Harry.

Grint told us he has done the same with Alastair Stout, who will play Ron.

“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 said.

Grint said that when the new actors were announced, it took him “straight back” to when he, Radcliffe and Watson were cast. “I still remember every second of it,” he said.

He sees “a bit of family resemblance” between himself and Stout.

“I think it’s great that it’s a whole new thing. It’s going to be it’s own thing, and I think that will be fun,” he added.

He wouldn’t discourage his children if they wanted to take on roles in the TV adaptation in the future, though.

“I don’t see why not. It was so much fun,” he said.

Grint added the films were “still a little bit too scary” for his five-year-old daughter, named Wednesday, but she has watched some clips. “And she loves it,” he added.

While Grint has largely been less prolific since the heyday of the Harry Potter films, in 2020, he was one of several stars of the Potter franchise who distanced themselves from Rowling when the author spoke out against trans activism, which Rowling said had eroded the concept of biological sex.

As a row grew, the writer was accused of being transphobic, which she denied, saying she was worried about the effect on women in single-sex spaces.

In September, Watson said she still loves Rowling and refused to “cancel her out” despite their differences on the subject.

But her remarks were met with a stinging response from Rowling, who dismissed her as “ignorant”.

Grint, for his part, declined to comment on the row when we asked him about it on Wednesday.

Could the future spell a return to wizardry for Grint? When asked whether he would follow in the footsteps of co-star Tom Felton – who recently returned as Draco Malfoy on Broadway – he said: “Maybe in the future. Never say never.”

“But for now, I think as much as I loved it, I’m enjoying stepping outside of that world,” he added – even as Ron’s shadow looms large.

And if that wizardry could offer him the benefit of hindsight, which Hogwarts house would he be sorted into?

“I think I’m probably more Hufflepuff than Gryffindor,” he admits.

“I like the vibe of Hufflepuff, I think. But Gryffindor is a close second.”