Rupert Grint “Struggles To Remember” Life Before Harry Potter

The ABC Murders recently started airing on BBC One, and stars Rupert Grint as Inspector Crome in an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Poirot tale.  Now thirty, Rupert Grint sat down with RadioTimes to discuss his latest role, and his memories of the Potter series as his way into acting when he was just ten years old.

The phenomenon surrounding the Harry Potter series spread throughout the world, and it’s understandable that the huge presence of the films can sometimes be a burden, or at least a bizarre part of everyday life for the young actors at the heart of the franchise. He tells a story of a time he, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson were chased through the streets in Tokyo by hundreds of school children, placing that as the first time he’d ever ‘run away’. Now, level-headed as ever, Rupert explains to RadioTimes that he has no idea how much he’s worth, and that he’s grateful for the comfort money has bought him, but that he’s ‘not really that focused on it’. When making the decision to sign onto the franchise, his biggest concern was always for his younger siblings, and the attention they got at school. Still somewhat at-odds with fame, Rupert says taking a stroll outside can somewhat tiring:

“It was a weird time and it has taken me a long while to process. Just being invisible can still be difficult. Sometimes you just want to go to B&Q.”

He tells RadioTimes that he can’t stand watching the series past Prisoner of Azkaban, and that the first thing he did after Potter was get his ‘massive tonsils’ taken out, after producers on the franchise asked him not to have the surgery whilst filming the series. Acting took a back seat after Potter, and whilst Rupert took a break, new opportunities were waiting in the wings:

“After Potter I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” he says. “I had this feeling that I had missed out on normal things. I lost touch with a lot of my friends from school. I wanted to have a bit of a life again, so I took a break.

“I’ve never really been super-ambitious. I think there’s always been something in me, particularly when I finished Potter, that wants to prove myself, but I’m also naturally quite an insecure person anyway.”

He says he keeps up with the cast, who are all part of a “shared experience”, using some sound advice from director David Yates to illustrate their bond:

“Because we’re all carving out very different journeys. And we have this shared experience that connects us all. They are the only people that really understand. I think David Yates [the director of the final four Potter films] once said we’re all like astronauts. Only astronauts really know what it’s like to go to space.”

But what would have happened if he hadn’t taken the part?

“That’s always been in the back of my mind. What would have happened if I hadn’t got that part? I was always into art, I guess I would have gone to university… I’m not sure, but I do think about that a lot.” He might have been an art teacher at an Essex comprehensive rather than a multimillionaire? “I’d be happy with that.”

His 1930s detective style and stern mustache in The ABC Murders makes him look far more like an Auror than an gangly Wealsey teen, and he says he’s a huge fan of the star of the show, John Malkovich, who portrays Hercule Poirot, so meeting him was a nerve-wracking experience.

The three-part series will stream on Amazon Prime from February 1st as a Prime Original, and the final instalment aired on BBC One tonight at 9pm. The series also stars Shirley Henderson (aka Moaning Myrtle) as house owner Mrs Rose Marbury, so be sure to look out for her, too!

See Rupert in the trailer for The ABC Murders below, and read the full interview with RadioTimes here.