The Times Magazine 7Rupert Grint, 33, grew up in
Hertfordshire and was cast in the
role of Ron Weasley 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.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 truck.
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.
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 thatWhat I’ve learnt Rupert Grint
INTERVIEW Georgina Roberts PORTRAIT Corey Nickolseverything’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.
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’mquite 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 myschooling, 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. nThe third series of Servant
will be released on Apple TV+
CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES on January 21
‘I liken JK Rowling
to an auntie.
I don’t agree with
everything my
auntie says. It’s
a tricky one’