- - Rupert Grint Wrote Letter to New Ron Weasley Actor Before HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Started Filming: ‘It’s Quite Strange to Have the Cycle Happening Again’

Zack SharfNovember 24, 2025 at 8:11 PM

0

Everett Collection/HBO

Rupert Grint recently told the BBC that he wrote new Ron Weasley actor Alastair Stout a letter before the child actor started production on HBO’s “Harry Potter” television series. Grint played Ron in the eight-film “Harry Potter” franchise from 2001 to 2011. HBO’s series reboot will feature Stout as Ron opposite fellow newcomers Dominic McLaughlin as Harry and Arabella Stanton as Hermione.

“I wrote him a letter before they started, passing the baton as it were,” Grint said. “It was really just wishing him all the best with it. I had so much fun stepping into this world, and I hope he has the same experience… It’s quite strange to have the cycle happening again. I’m really intrigued what it’s going to be like.”

More from Variety

J.K. Rowling Visits New 'Harry Potter' Set for the First Time Amid Filming of HBO Series

Daniel Radcliffe Wrote a Letter to New 'Harry Potter' Actor and Got 'Sent a Very Sweet Note Back': 'I Just Want to Hug' HBO's New Cast

Malfoys Reunite: Jason Isaacs Hugs Tom Felton Backstage at Broadway's 'Harry Potter' Amid Felton's Return as Draco on Stage

Grint acknowledged there’s “a bit of family resemblance” between himself and Stout, adding: “I think it’s great that it’s a whole new thing. It’s going to be its own thing, and I think that will be fun.”

Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the movie franchise, similarly reached out to the actor taking over his iconic role. Radcliffe said on “Good Morning America” earlier this month that he wrote a letter to McLaughlin and got a “very sweet note back.”

“I don’t want to be a specter in the life of these children but I just wanted to write to him to say, ‘I hope you have the best time, and an even better time than I did — I had a great time, but I hope you have an even better time,’” Radcliffe explained. “And I do, I just see these pictures of him and the other kids and I just want to hug them. They just seem so young. I just look at them and say, ‘Oh, it’s crazy I was doing that at that age.’ But it’s also incredibly sweet and I hope they’re having a great time.”

Grint told the BBC that even with a new “Harry Potter” adaptation on the way, he’ll still “never step out of Ron Weasley’s shadow.”

“I’m fine with that. I think it’s great,” he said. “I love meeting people who really felt this was part of their childhood… It has a quite deep meaning to a lot of people of my generation, and even more to generations who are finding it now. It’s great. It gives me a lot of pride. It was such a huge thing. I don’t think I’ll ever quite step out of his shadow, but I’m fine with that.”

Plus, Grint has always been an advocate for new actors to take over the franchise. Speaking to GQ Magazine UK in July 2023 before HBO announced its “Harry Potter” series reboot, Grint encouraged someone else to play Ron Weasley and added: “I’d love to see ‘Harry Potter’ be adapted into a TV show. I think it would really work. I’m sure the films will get remade, anyway.”

The “Harry Potter” series is set to debut on HBO and HBO Max in 2027.

Best of Variety

Oscar Predictions: ‘Frankenstein’ Surges as ‘Hamnet,’ ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘Sinners’ Hold Strong

The Best Celebrity Memoirs and Biographies to Gift This Year

New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week

Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”