What would the Harry Potter series have looked like without Rupert Grint? That's a strange thing to contemplate, given the fact that the three main actors are perhaps the most recognisable thing about the entire film franchise.
However, the wizarding world sans our original Ron Weasley really could have been a reality, given the fact that Grint considered quitting halfway through production.
Speaking to the Independent, the 30-year-old actor recently confessed that there was a point after the fourth film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, at which he asked himself: is this what I really want?
"I had just finished my GCSEs," he said. "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'."
Fortunately for fans, Grint stuck it out and he has claimed he has no regrets over his decision. However, during his interview, he opened up further about the terrifying side of fame, stating that the photographers who would lie in wait for a scandal to arise from the Potter set made life difficult for him.
"It’s almost like having a split personality," he told the Independent."Sometimes it can be quite dehumanising to have people just taking pictures of you when you’re out. To them, you are just this one thing. It’s a weird existence. But that’s my life. I can’t really remember life before it. In a weird way, you become blasé about it. It becomes normal and you adapt."
Grint - who is currently starring in the second season of Snatch - admitted he felt detached from other people his age when he was in the films, and still now doesn't feel his age.
"I don’t feel like I’m 30 at all," he said. "I have quite a weird relationship with age, because of that period of my life on Potter. It was very strange."
He continued: "We were always with adults, absorbing their sense of humour, their references,” he says. "I always remember, the few times I did go back to school to do exams, I felt a real detachment from my peers. We had very little in common, which is quite isolating in a way. Which is why I think it felt like such a strong family unit on set. When you’re in it, you don’t really think about that."
In addition, he told the newspaper that he still doesn't know exactly how much money he made from the fantasy series - industry estimates put it around £28 million ($37 million) - and his wealth as a child spurred him to buy some "weird" items, including an ice cream van, a hovercraft, and a full-size Ostrich skeleton.
"I think it was Dan [Radcliffe] who once said that I’m slowly constructing some sort of Neverland. It took me a while to accept a relationship with money. It’s kinda embarrassing. I do buy weird stuff but I stopped that now. I’ve grown out of that a bit," he said.
We're glad you stuck with it, Rupert. The series just wouldn't be right without you.
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