Rupert Grint admits 'it felt quite suffocating' being a character in the Harry Potter universe
Rupert Grint lived within the Harry Potter universe as Ron Weasley for 10 years. Since the franchise's eighth and final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, hit theaters in 2011, Grint has gone on to act in television series such as Sick Note, Snatch and Servant.
But he will never not be Ron Weasley.
And for a time, he couldn't imagine life beyond the wizarding world. On the newest episode of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, the titular podcast host asked the 32-year-old if he had ever worried about being pigeonholed from such a young age.
"For me, I was just all about the books," Grint responded. "I was a huge fan of the books, and I was obsessed with that character. So, for me, it was all about being Ron. I didn't really see career after, once it was done. I didn't really see that far ahead. But, I guess, yeah, there was a definitely a time where it felt quite suffocating because it was heavy going—every day for, I think, 10 years."
Grint made sure to underline that he had a wonderful experience filming the Harry Potter films, calling it a family atmosphere, though he couldn't help but wonder what else was out there for him as an actor as the franchise "just never ended."
Daniel Radcliffe, the Harry Potter, similarly reflected on his inextricable relationship to the franchise while serving as the cover star for Empire Magazine alongside Elijah Wood last month:
"It's hard to separate my relationship with Harry from my relationship with the films as a whole," Radcliffe said in the magazine (h/t Digital Spy). "I'm incredibly grateful for the experience. It showed me what I want to do with the rest of my life. To find out early on what you love is really lucky."
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ended with Weasley married to Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) with two kids, Hugo and Rose. In real life, Grint welcomed his first child, a daughter, late last year.
The English icon's most recent work in Servant, an M. Night Shyamalan-produced series for Apple TV Plus, cast him as Julian Pearce, the brother to Dorothy Turner (Lauren Ambrose) who is deeply traumatized by the loss of her infant.
The psychological horror thriller was created and written by Tony Basgallop.
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