Rupert Grint Recounts Working on 'Harry Potter': 'Definitely a Time Where It Felt Quite Suffocating'

Rupert Grint says his Harry Potter experience wasn’t always magical.

The 32-year-old actor opened up about his decades-long role during a recent interview on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. Grint was just 12 when he took on the role of wizard Ron Weasley—a character he would play throughout the franchise’s run, which delivered a total of eight feature films. Grint told Shepard that his time with the film series—based on J.K. Rowling’s best-selling novels—was undeniably “great”; however, there were times when it felt like it was becoming too redundant and constraining.

”There was definitely a time where it felt quite suffocating,” he explained. “It was heavy going. It was kind of every day for 10 years in the end … It was a great experience, such a nice, kind of, family atmosphere. It was always kind of the same crew we grew up with. So it was a great place to be, but sometimes it definitely felt like I wanted to do something else.”

Grint also said he had no idea that his Harry Potter role would require a 10-year commitment, as there were only four books published at the time he began filming the original 2001 film. He said producers only wanted to make two movies, but were open to additional installments based on audience reactions. As now know, the films were a massive box-office success.

“It just never ended. Every year it came back,” Grint continued. “It was kind of like Groundhog Day because it was always the same sets, it was the same people … But it was great. I loved it.”