When ‘Ron’ Rupert Grint called Harry Potter films ‘suffocating’, didn’t see a future after them

Rupert Grint, known for playing Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, didn't really think he would have a career after the franchise was done.

Rupert Grint, best known as Ron Weasley, to the Harry Potter fans, turns 33 today. We saw him grow up on screen from the scrawny, wise-cracking wizard bestie to Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), to a teenager with a more serious purpose in the rest of the films.  The actor hasn’t made quite the splash like his co-star Emma Watson did, and neither did he take up the offbeat path Daniel Radcliffe did. He has never been able to quite shake off the Harry Potter shadow that has followed him, since, but going by his interviews, he doesn’t seem to be too worried about it.

Compared to Daniel and Emma, he took a rather awkward middle path, but yet never quite giving up on a career in the entertainment industry altogether. While he still remains the ever faithful sidekick Ron Weasley for us with those impeccable facial expressions and sarcastic wit, he has tried to shake off the Harry Potter cloak with some unusual roles in the past decade after the franchise.

Before impressing viewers with his performance in the Apple TV’s psychological horror Servant, he was seen in BBC mockumentary called Come Fly With Me, a supporting role in the anti-war film Into The White. His role as Charles Cavendish in the comedy series Snatch, where he was executive producer, was appreciated as well. He might not have been in the big budget films like Emma, or a DC show like his co-star Tom Felton, but yet, Rupert Grint has been appreciated in whatever obscure, supporting role that he has indeed taken up. He has no intentions of directing, as he told Variety. ” “I’m not very good at making decisions,” he had said. “Even ordering take-out, it really stresses me out. I’ve thought about it. I like the idea of creating, but I don’t know. Probably more producing.”

Ironically, the star didn’t plan on a career after Harry Potter, as he said during an interview with Dax Shepherd on his Armchair Expert podcast, this year. While he acknowledged that he had ‘found a family’ on the sets, it was still a rather suffocating experience to grow up on camera.

He said, “There was definitely a time where it felt quite suffocating,” he had said. He added, “It was heavy going. It was kind of every day for 10 years in the end.” However, he clarified, “It was a great experience, such a nice, kind of, family atmosphere. It was always kind of the same crew we grew up with. So it was a great place to be, but sometimes it definitely felt like I wanted to do something else.”

Rupert also mentioned that when he first signed on to play Ron, only three or rather four of JK Rowling’s books were out. The studio’s original plan was to see how the first two films did, before making any more. He also said that he didn’t really have an acting career in mind, as he was just obsessed with the books. “I really wasn’t kind of aware of it and really wasn’t thinking about it. For me, I was just all about the books,” he shared. “I was obsessed about the books. I was obsessed with that character. So for me, it was all about being Ron. I didn’t really see a career after Potter was done.”

Rupert hasn’t seen all the Harry Potter films. “I’ve probably seen the first three at the premieres, but after that I stopped watching them,” he told Variety. He doesn’t expect to be cast in the HBO Max series, as he feels ‘weirdly protective’ about his character. “Even when I saw the stage shows, it was a very strange experience. … If it’s like a different group of friends, I guess it would be interesting..”

Source: Read Full Article