While many fans would love to receive a letter from Hogwarts, some actors who were immersed in the films may not have always been as thrilled to be there. Fans of the Harry Potter saga will be very surprised when they discover the reason why Rupert Grint wanted to leave the series of films…
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Harry Potter: a constant source of stress for Rupert Grint
The now-30-year-old actor spent ten years as Ron Weasley. Whilst Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe seemed to have had a good experience shooting the films, this was not always the case for Rupert. Indeed, Rupert Grint did not have the magical childhood that one might think.
For him, the popularity of the saga created constant stress, as he explained in an interview with The Guardian: ‘The reason I auditioned was because I loved the books. When I got to film three or four, I started to feel an overwhelming weight of responsibility because they were so phenomenally popular. The whole press and red carpet thing was an attack on the senses. I don’t excel in that kind of environment.'
And after Harry Potter?
After shooting the fourth film of the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Rupert Grint took his GCSEs at the age of 16. He then wondered what would happen next: continue filming or give up? Ron's character told the Independent newspaper: ‘I had just finished my GCSEs. I thought 'Do I actually want to keep doing this? It's a bit of a drag'. Because obviously it's a big sacrifice. You take for granted anonymity, just doing normal stuff, just going out. Everything was different and a little bit scary. There were times when I was like 'I'm done'.’
Rupert Grint reveals that this immersion in the Harry Potter universe finally ruined the magical aspect of the saga for him: 'I think being in things ruins them for me. I can't enjoy Harry Potter anymore, not as a fan — it's just not the same!’ he admitted in an interview with Independent.
Since the Harry Potter series wrapped almost 10 years ago, Rupert has taken back in a series of very different projects - including dark comedy Sick Note with Nick Frost and Lindsay Lohan and American crime series Snatch.
