Rupert Grint admits he considered quitting Harry Potter

Rupert Grint has said that he mulled quitting the Harry Potter movies.

The former child star, who made his name as the red-haired boy wizard Ron Weasley, best friend to Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter, told The Guardian: “There were definitely times when I thought about leaving.

“Filming Harry Potter was a massive sacrifice; working from such a young age for such long periods and I definitely remember thinking during one extended break, ‘This whole thing is so all consuming, do I really want to go back?

“Maybe it’s just not for me.’ I guess I was probably just being a teenager.”

He went on to say that the pressure of being a child star took its toll.

“For the first few Harry Potter films I was living the dream,” he continued. “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.

“As I got older I could feel this growing narrative willing me to get engulfed in some big scandal off-screen. It felt like people were waiting for me to go off the rails, but it was never going to happen.

“We filmed the whole thing in this very intense bubble in Watford not Hollywood, so we didn’t have the chance to discover drugs, or anything like that.”

Grint was cast as Ron at the age of 11, opposite Radcliffe, Emma Watson and a host of other young actors.

“I peaked pretty early, but I’m fine with that,” he added. “It would be ridiculous to think that you can replicate that level of success. It’s always going to be a challenge, but I’m kind of enjoying that. It’s quite fun to surprise people.”

He’s set to star in the forthcoming The ABC Murders on BBC One over Christmas, and is also appearing in the TV series spin-off of Guy Ritchie’s Snatch on AMC.

Grint was also recently confirmed for M. Night Shyamalan’s new psychological drama series for Apple.

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