How Rupert Grint Is Moving On From 'Harry Potter' (And What He Thinks of Ron and Hermione)

Rupert Grint on the red carpet (Getty Images)

Rupert Grint may always be Ron Weasley to a generation of Muggles obsessed with the Harry Potter series, but it’s been over four years since the now-27-year-old actor last appeared on the big screen in J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world. And though the franchise is being revived with a prequel, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Grint has very much moved on from his wand-waving days, focusing on indie films, stage plays, and enjoying the rewards of a childhood spent in the spotlight.

On Friday, the British actor will be seen in Moonwalkers, a new comedy that sends him back in time to 1969. As a down-on-his-luck music manager, Grint gets caught up in a wild scheme to fake the moon landing, teaming with a CIA agent with Vietnam-induced PTSD played by Ron Perlman. It’s a big departure from his wizard days — the substance he’s ingesting isn’t Floo powder — and, whether consciously or not, lets him show another side of himself, as he transitions to life as a working actor beyond the franchise juggernaut.

Grint spoke with Yahoo about the film, post-Potter life, and some of the recent Harry Potter headlines.

The Kubrick theory — that NASA hired him to direct a fake moon-landing — was disproved, but what do you think are the chances that we faked the moon-landing?
I was aware of this conspiracy before I read the script and was always very fascinated because I’m a huge Kubrick fan, and always dismissed it. I wanted it to be true. But there’s a scene in our movie where we create the moon, and I was really surprised at how easy it was to create a convincing moon. Because our moon, comparing it to the pictures we all know, it was kind of bang-on. It really made you think. We watched the video to get a sense of how people moved in space. That was useful, too.

So I guess it’s possible.
Yeah, I wouldn’t really know. I really don’t know, but it’s a fascinating story.

Are there any conspiracy theories you subscribe to?
There are so many. One of my favorite ones is actually about the moon as well. There’s this theory that this moon is an egg, like a reptile egg, just waiting to hatch. I think it’s from a guy named David Icke. It’s a popular one. In the ‘50s, NASA sent a missile into the moon, and on impact, they got this reading back that was as if it was hollow, and they described it as ringing like a bell. And there’s a theory that it’s an egg. Which I don’t, obviously, believe, but it would be pretty cool.

Any you actually believe?
I’m quite skeptical generally, of everything. And it’s quite easy to get really sucked into them. Apart from aliens. I’m pretty sure there’s aliens. They’ve got to be out there. I’m quite set about that.

You’ve done this and CBGB since Harry Potter, is there a game plan to differentiate yourself, move away from it?
I guess it kind of appears that way, but it hasn’t been a conscious decision. There just haven’t been many wizard roles coming my way. But I do enjoy doing something slightly edgy, different, and fresh. It’s a different challenge. And I quite like doing independent film, there’s so much more freedom. I like being on set, because you don’t know what’s going to happen next.

You’ve definitely chosen very non-wizard roles.
Yeah, with lots of drugs. I basically judge them on the scripts, and how fun they’d be. I want to have fun, really.

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Has it been difficult to move past Harry Potter, to change people’s visions of you and get different roles?
Yeah, I suppose in a way. It’s hard, but also, I would never be in this position without it. I’ve gotten so many opportunities and I owe everything to it, so it swings both ways. It was such an intense time, finishing that, I was 23 and it was nice to just breathe a little bit and not work.

Did you take a lot of time off?
I did, yeah. I traveled and spent money on ridiculous things.

Like what?
I was like a five-year-old. I bought a hovercraft, an ice cream van. In that way I was kind of like Michael Jackson, it was my Michael Jackson phase. The hovercraft was crazy. I bought a paddleboat in the shape of a swan. It got a little bit crazy.

Do you still have the ice cream van? Do you still drive it?
I do, but I don’t really drive it anymore. It’s not the most practical. And you can’t park it anywhere. As soon as you park it, people queue up. But you can’t really blame them.

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It’s amazing how much staying power it has — everything J.K. Rowling says makes news.
It’s amazing that it’s living on. It’s really exciting that people haven’t got bored about it and forgotten about it. It’s a testament to the books of how powerful they are.

Rowling said she regretted not having Harry and Hermione together. People were quite angry. What’d you think about that?
I kind of agreed, in a way. I didn’t put a lot of thought into it. In a way it makes a lot of sense that [Ron and Hermione] did get together. I don’t think it’s wrong. I guess it doesn’t really matter now, does it. Though I love that people still get so passionate about it.

Did you go to the set of Fantastic Beasts?
I didn’t. I don’t really know anything about it. I think it’s great, though. Ron Perlman is in it, so that’s pretty cool. It’s got a surreal feeling, especially with the play they’re making.

The play made headlines, especially because they cast a black woman as Hermione.
I thought that was really smart. It was quite clever because they reinvent it in a way. It’s its own thing. I’m looking forward to it.

You’ve been acting since you were a kid. Do you want to write? Direct?
Both of those things sound pretty good at some point. I don’t really have a plan, things just happen. So I don’t know what I’ll be doing. I went to the theater, I’d love to do more of that kind of thing. I learned a ton from it. It’s a lot of hard work. It’s a lot more of a craft. Really rewarding — terrifying, but rewarding.

Is there any dream role?
I’d say something psychotic, like Alex in The Clockwork Orange. I’d like to do something like that. Really shocking and gross and weird.

Watch the trailer for ‘Moonwalkers’ below: