‘It Hit Me Quite Hard.’ Rupert Grint Was Not Prepared to See Someone Else Play Ron Weasley

After playing Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies for 10 years, Rupert Grint admits it was strange to see someone else take on the role in The Cursed Child.

During a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 28-year-old actor spoke about his experience watching Paul Thornley portray the adult version of everyone’s favorite ginger sidekick in the Harry Potter play.

“I wasn’t really prepared for it,” he said. “It hit me quite hard. It was kind of like an out of body experience. You’re seeing someone else take on a character that you’ve known for so long. I kind of grew up with Ron. I do feel like a lot of me is in that character. I have a weird relationship with Ron, where it’s kind of basically me. And seeing it live on is very surreal.”

However, Grint didn’t allow this whirlwind of emotions to detract from his enjoyment of the performance. “It’s an amazing show. I actually loved it,” he said. “It blows your mind to see this magic world on stage live in front of you. It’s amazing. It just shows how clever J.K. (Rowling) is to be reinventing it and making it live on in something different. It’s amazing.”