Actors and Actresses

Rupert Grint Reveals in New Interview: ‘I find it very hard to detach myself from being Ron – we merged into the same person’

Rupert Grint, 33, grew up in Hertfordshire and was cast in the role of Ron Weasle in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, aged 11. He starred in all eight Potter films between 2001 and 2011, as well as the Return to Hogwarts reunion last month, The ABC Murders and M Night Shyamalan’s Servant. He lives in London with his partner, the actress Georgia Groome, and their 20-month-old daughter, Wednesday.

Rupert Grint is cast in the series Servant
Rupert Grint is cast in the series Servant

Rupert Grint’s Interview:

When the baby is first born, you feel so useless as a dad, because you don’t have that part of your anatomy, you don’t really have much of a use. You’re just like a machine that moves the baby to different parts of the room.

There is an ice cream mafia. My first car was an ice cream van. I learnt to drive on it. But it’s very tricky to park it anywhere because it’s so territorial: if you park on someone’s patch, it can get quite ugly. It’s also the most impractical car because there’s only one seat. All of it is freezer.

More news about the Harry Potter cast

I measure my life in Harry Potter movies. They’re so ingrained in me. I find it very hard to detach myself from being Ron – we merged into the same person. I can’t believe it started 20 years ago. It definitely sculpted who I am. I mentally closed the door on it even though I’m constantly faced with it – there’s the play, the theme park and it’s always on TV. I don’t see Dan and Emma as much as you’d expect, so the reunion was very nostalgic.

I liken JK Rowling to an auntie. I don’t necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she’s still my auntie. It’s a tricky one.

I’ve always had a slight fear of going to sleep. I’ve always seen it as basically dying. Having a baby completely cured my insomnia, because I’m exhausted all the time. I truly need the sleep. You don’t want to be sleep-deprived when trying to keep a baby alive.

I developed hypochondria about my daughter. I’m from a big family, the oldest of five, so I’m used to babies. But when it happens to you, it’s all-consuming. You’re so terrified all the time that everything’s OK. I was obsessed with the temperature of her room. There was no thermometer that I felt was accurate enough. Over time you do relax, but it’s still with me even though she’s a year and a half now. It’s a huge adjustment, but I’ve loved it.

Rupert Grint's daughter is named Wednesday
Rupert Grint and daughter Wednesday

I did not expect to break an Instagram record at all [the quickest to one million followers, in 4 hours, 1 minute, when he set up his account in 2020]. It was amazing. I had always resisted getting Instagram because I’m quite a private person and didn’t think it would fit into my life. It’s a slight conflict.

Floorboards is the hardest word to pronounce in American. There are too many R’s in it. You think you have a handle on the accent, then some words sneak up on you. It’s about tuning in. You have these trigger words that lock you into American. Mine’s the word “f***”.

I definitely felt a disconnect between me and my mates when I started Harry Potter. I suddenly left such a crucial part of my schooling, just when I’d started secondary school and developed a group of friends. At that time, we didn’t know it was going to be eight films and what a sacrifice that would be. Going back to school for exams was the weirdest thing. I’d been in this very adult working environment. It was a very different way of growing up. But there are no regrets.

The third series of Servant, Starring Rupert Grint, will be released on Apple TV+ on January 21

Source: The Times