Harry Potter Star Details How He Earned a “Bad Reputation” on Set

A lot was riding on the casting process of Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone, as the child actors hired to play the Hogwart’s students would have to convey a variety of emotions as they matured along with the storyline, though Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the franchise, recently detailed how he earned a “bad reputation” on set for laughing inappropriately while filming emotionally heavy scenes. This was a habit that the actor carried with him throughout the franchise, as one of his first scenes in the debut film was so difficult to shoot, he and Daniel Radcliffe had to be separated to pull it off.

“I remember on Potter it would always be the most inappropriate scenes, like Dumbledore’s funeral was a particularly bad one,” Grint recalled during a recent reunion event. “For some reason, I found that absolutely hilarious. And yeah, once you start laughing, it’s very hard to stop. I had a particularly bad reputation, they used to call me ‘Go Again Grint’ because I could never do anything without doing it like 20 times.”

The actor even recalled how shooting the scene in which Harry Potter (Radcliffe) and Ron first meet one another on platform 9 3/4 on the way to Hogwart’s, the young actors had to make eye contact with one another, yet they had such a hard time shooting this scene without bursting into laughter that they had to shoot each reaction separately from one another.

While the Harry Potter film series concluded in 2011 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the adventures continued in the Wizarding World prequel series Fantastic Beasts, as well as in the sequel play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Set nearly two decades after the events of the book series, that adventure sees the return of classic characters, including Ron Weasley.

Back in 2017, Grint detailed the experience of seeing another performer portray his famous character.

“I wasn’t really prepared for it,” the actor shared with Entertainment Weekly. “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. But it’s an amazing show. I actually loved it. It blows your mind to see this magic world on stage live in front of you. It’s amazing. It just shows how clever [creator] J.K. [Rowling] is to be reinventing it and making it live on in something different. It’s amazing.”

Stay tuned for details on the future of the Harry Potter franchise.

Would you like to see Grint return to the series? Let us know in the comments below!