Rupert Grint, who famously played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series, has opened up about the impact Robbie Coltrane’s death had on him.
And why he chose not to attend his funeral.
This comes after his recent appearance on This Morning, where the thirty-four-year-old opened up about how he feels about the franchise now.
He shared that he feels “protective” over the character he played for so many years, and that he would like to see what he’s getting up to these days.
“You would bring Ron back? You wouldn’t actually be opposed to see what he is up to now?” Philip enquired, per the Daily Mail.
Grint responded: “I think if the timing was right and everyone was coming back. It was a character that was important to me, we kind of became the same person.
“I’m protective of him as well. It was my whole childhood.”
He added that prior to the Harry Potter movies, his own acting credentials were, quite frankly, not much.
“I was a fish in a school play before that,” the star joked.
Since the end of the Harry Potter series, Grint has lived a colourful few years.
He continued his acting work, starring in a variety of films and TV shows. Most recently, he appeared in Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities, a horror anthology series that appeared on Netflix.
He is also set to star in M. Night Shyamalan’s new thriller, Knock at the Cabin.
One of the most infamous parts of Grint’s post-Harry Potter life, though, has to be his purchasing of an ice cream van.
However, it’s no surprise that Grint looks back so fondly on his iconic role as Ron Weasley. And it’s clear, despite his recent success, he won’t forget the people that helped him along the way.
One of those people being Robbie Coltrane, who sadly passed away last year.
Coltrane played the loveable half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the series from the first episode to the last, so the young actors of the show practically grew up with him.
Although Grint had a deep love for Coltrane, he didn’t attend his funeral, and he has recently opened up as to why.
“They all had this kind of subconscious presence in my life,” he told GQ about the older cast of the series, Coltrane, Alan Rickman, and Richard Harris, who played Hagrid, Snape, and Dumbledore respectively.
He shared that they “weren’t the kind of people to sit you down and give you a formal talk, or dispense advice,” but he “loved being around them and observing them.”
Speaking about Coltrane’s passing, he said “He really was the most wonderful being.”
Despite this, he didn’t go to his funeral as he didn’t know him personally away from the Harry Potter set.
Instead, he gave his own tribute to the star, posting to his Instagram page. He wrote: “Heartbroken to hear that Robbie is gone. I’ll never forget the smell of cigars and beard glue- a wonderful combination.
“No one else on this planet could of played Hagrid, only Robbie.
“Just as Hagrid was in the books and films Robbie was in life – warm, compassionate, and hilarious. A giant-hearted man who was still looking out for us even decades later. Sending love to his family. See you on the other side Bobser.”
