Harry Potter movie star Rupert Grint has said he'll likely never leave the "shadow" of Ron Weasley behind.
Speaking to BBC News, Grint said he was "fine" to always be associated with his on-screen character and felt a "lot of pride" for his work on the eight Harry Potter movies.
"It has a quite deep meaning to a lot of people of my generation, and even more to generations who are finding it now," Grint said. "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."
Like Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, Grint said he had also written to the young actor now taking on his former role in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter TV reboot.
The production — which is now filming its adaptation of the first Harry Potter book that's set to air in 2027 — has cast a trio of young actors who are currently the same ages that Grint, Radcliffe and Hermione actress Emma Watson were when they first portrayed the characters.
"I wrote him a letter, before they started, passing the baton as it were," Grint said, discussing the note he sent to the new Ron Weasley, 11-year-old Alastair Stout. "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.
"I think it's great that it's a whole new thing," Grint said of the production, which has attracted criticism from original Harry Potter movie director Chris Columbus for appearing too similar to the original movies. "It's going to be its own thing, and I think that will be fun."
When asked about the recent spat between Watson and Harry Potter author JK Rowling — who branded the actress "ignorant" after Watson stated in an interview that she'd decided not to "cancel" Rowling — Grint declined to comment.
On Broadway, Grint's former co-star Tom Felton has recently reprised his movie role as Draco Malfoy to acclaim from fans and praise from Radcliffe. When asked if Grint would ever consider returning to his former role too, the actor replied: "never say never."
"I don't know — maybe in the future," he concluded, speaking of a potential return as Ron. "Never say never. But for now, I think as much as I loved it, I'm enjoying stepping outside of that world. And now my perspective of the series is really interesting as I'm showing it to my kids — it's taken on a different thing in my life."
Image credit: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
source https://www.ign.com/articles/ill-never-step-out-of-ron-weasleys-shadow-harry-potter-actor-rupert-grint-says