What would Molly think? Rupert Grint is best known for his role as Ron Weasley in Harry Potter, but fans may be surprised to learn that he has not watched all eight movies — or even half of them.
“I’ve probably seen the first three at the premieres, but after that I stopped watching them,” the actor, 32, told Variety on Thursday, February 4. “But now that I have a daughter, I will probably have to watch them with her.”
Grint — who welcomed his first child, Wednesday, with wife Georgia Groome in May 2020 — starred in the Harry Potter franchise from 2001 to 2011. He played the redheaded, pure-blood wizard and sidekick of the title character, who was portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe.
Since then, the Essex, England, native has appeared in movies including Into the White and CBGB, TV shows such as Sick Note and Snatch and stage productions of Mojo and It’s Only a Play. While he has received critical acclaim for his latest role in Apple TV+’s Servant, Harry Potter remains his biggest project to date — but that does not mean he wants to get involved in the Hogwarts-centered series that HBO Max is reportedly developing.
“It’ll be weird if it was a continuation kind of thing,” Grint told Variety on Thursday. “If it’s like a different group of friends, I guess it would be interesting.”
In fact, the People’s Choice Award winner admitted that he even had “a very strange experience” checking out the two-part stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which premiered in London in 2016 before opening in New York City two years later.
“I weirdly feel quite protective of that character,” he said.
Although Grint did not have a role in the play — Paul Thornley starred as Ron on the West End and Broadway — he did consider returning as his original character at one point.
“I mean, never say never! It’s a great story,” he told Entertainment Tonight in October 2019. “It’s kind of a genius extension of those characters.”
