Rupert Grint has confessed he doesn’t feel as though he’ll ever step out of Ron Weasley’s shadow.
The British actor, beloved for his role in all of the Harry Potter films from 2001 to 2011, opened up about passing the baton in an interview with the BBC published over the weekend.
Grint said he wrote a letter to Alastair Stout, the young actor tapped to take on the part of Ron in HBO‘s hotly anticipated Harry Potter series. Last week, Daniel Radcliffe explained he had done so with the titular star of the upcoming show, Dominic McLaughlin.
Grint, who was 11 when he was cast as the redheaded Gryffindor in the movie adaptations of J.K. Rowling‘s bestselling books, said about Stout: “I wrote him a letter, before they started, passing the baton as it were. 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.”
“It’s quite strange to have the cycle happening again,” he added. “I’m really intrigued what it’s going to be like.”
Grint said that when the new actors were announced, it took him “straight back” to when he, Radcliffe and Emma Watson (playing Hermione Granger) were cast: “I still remember every second of it.”
“I think it’s great that it’s a whole new thing,” he said about the new series. “It’s going to be its own thing, and I think that will be fun.” When asked about whether he’s grown tired of being associated with the franchise, Grint responded: “Absolutely not, I love it.”
“It has a quite deep meaning to a lot of people of my generation, and even more to generations who are finding it now,” he continued. “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.”
Naturally, Rowling’s controversies also popped up. In 2020, Grint was one of several Harry Potter actors who distanced themselves from the author over her consistent criticism of transgender rights and trans activism.
Only recently, Rowling wrote a scathing post on X, formerly Twitter, branding Watson “ignorant” after the actress grabbed headlines for making neutral comments about Rowling’s anti-trans stance. “It’s my deepest wish that people who don’t agree with my opinion will love me, and I hope I can keep loving people who I don’t necessarily share the same opinion with,” Watson had said on a podcast in September. Rowling responded: “She has so little experience of real life she’s ignorant of how ignorant she is.” Grint declined to comment on the clash when asked.
Could he be persuaded to do a Tom Felton and reprise a Harry Potter role on Broadway? “Never say never,” the star said. “”But for now, I think as much as I loved it, I’m enjoying stepping outside of that world.”
In the time since leading the Harry Potter franchise, Grint’s most notable roles have been as Gunner Robert Smith in Into the White and as Julian Pearce in Apple TV’s Servant.
