Ask actors if they enjoy watching themselves on a movie screen, and you’ll usually get a firm “no.” With that in mind, Rupert Grint fares better than most: When he recently told Radio Times that he can’t stomach watching the Harry Potter films after “probably” Prisoner of Azakaban, that means he can watch three of the eight films that feature him as frequently and lovably w-out Ron Weasley. It’s something!
The child actor-turned-adult thespian was promoting the forthcoming BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders, starring John Malkovich as Hercule Poirot and Grint as a fellow inspector. (Over on this side of the pond, the miniseries will end up on Amazon Prime.) The discussion inevitably took a hairpin turn to the Potter cycle, i.e., the reason he never has to work again in his life yet thankfully feels like doing so anyway.
Alas, it turns out Grint doesn’t particularly like watching footage of himself at an awkward age, nor as a moody early twentysomething. That’s partly due to memories of a mad time, when he was hounded by throngs of Potter fans.
“I think those early ones are OK. More time has passed. I can detach myself a bit more from that kid. I did see Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone not long ago, for the first time since the premiere, and I actually enjoyed looking back,” Grint remarked while wielding the original, nerdier British title for the first installment. “But the more recent ones I definitely couldn’t do. I could probably go up to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”
At least he’s likely down with the one helmed by Alfonso Cuarón, the Oscar-winning director of Gravity, Children of Men, and the new acclaimed Roma, which you can watch on Netflix on your phone or watch but should probably see on a screen at least a bit bigger than those. Meanwhile, if you’re a journalist and Grint is forced to speak with you, why not ask him about the Paul Giamatti movie he made about farting?
(Via Radio Times)