It's just before 6pm and Rupert Grint has finished for the day. He's been filming the Deathly Hallows. "We haven't got long left," he says. "Just the final parts of the second part of the film." Not that exhaustion has set in yet. Rather, a feeling of uncertainty has enveloped him. "It'll be strange saying goodbye," he says.
For the 21-year-old, a life-changing experience that began half his life ago is due to end this June when filming finishes. "It's a weird feeling actually," he admits. "I never really thought it would end. I never really saw this day coming."
In truth, I'm expecting to find a rather nervous figure before me. It can't be easy facing the prospect of unemployment for the first time. While most actors are hardened to it, Grint, and his co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have probably been institutionalised by their time at Leavesden Film Studios, the former Rolls-Royce factory on the outskirts of Watford that has been the home to Harry Potter since shooting began in 2000. "I don't know if I'm good enough to have a long career," he told one interviewer last year. "I've got a bit of an inferiority complex about my acting. My self-esteem is quite low in that sense."
Yet judging by his reaction today – and proving that Radcliffe was correct when he described Grint as "the most totally laid-back person you'll ever meet" – he's changed his tune. Quietly self-assured, while still as modest as the ripped jeans, T-shirt and dirty red- and-white-striped Converse boots he wears suggests, he simply shrugs when asked if he's worried about his post-Potter future. "I've loved every minute of Harry Potter," he says. "Yes, it'll be quite sad to see it go. But I'm also looking forward to being a bit more free and seeing what else comes along."
Admittedly, with estimates putting his wealth in the region of £9 million, such a safety net must help soften the blow. But there's more than money to consider in what must be akin to the feeling of leaving home for good. "It's been such a tight crew since the first film," he says. "Not many people have changed. It's a real family atmosphere. And the place as well... Watford in general really. I've spent more time there than anywhere. I don't know. It'll be weird not going there every day." He considers this for a second, then laughs. "I'll probably get over it."
Grint admits he's uncertain whether he could echo what Radcliffe did on stage for Equus and go full frontal. "I don't think I could. Just being on stage would be quite a scary thing, let alone with no clothes on. It takes a lot of courage." Yet he feels Potter obsessives will accept him in this more mature role. "I suppose, as I'm getting older, the fans are getting older with me." Has he ever fought with a mate over a girl, like Malachy, I wonder? "I never really did. I haven't had the chance!" Comments like this make you realise how curious it must be to experience your formative years growing up on a film set.
Preferring a round of golf to a night out on the tiles, he doesn't come across as a movie brat on a path to self-destruction. Frankly, he doesn't have the constitution for it. "I suffer really badly from hangovers," he says. "I need two days to recover."
Yet it's clear he's not going to spend much time pining for Potter. Already making further provisions for removing the spell its cast over his life, due later in the year is Wild Target, a remake of the 1993 French film Cible Emouvante about an ageing assassin (Bill Nighy) suffering a midlife crisis. He plays Nighy's apprentice. "The character is closer to me than the one I play in Cherrybomb," he says. "I can probably relate more. He's quite laid back." So it's true then? "I suppose, yeah. I am quite relaxed. Not much fazes me. I don't get angry a lot."
A comic tale of a plucky underdog, it rather sums up Grint's career to date. Maybe he'll never stray too far from this comfort zone. But with Ron on the run with Harry and Hermione in the final Harry Potter instalment, at least we'll get to see Grint in a more action-oriented role in Deathly Hallows. "I have hair extensions for the latter part of the film," he explains. "Ron gets a bushier hairstyle because they're living rough and camping out. Me and Dan have got stubble as well!" Ron Weasley with facial hair? Perhaps it shows Rupert Grint is ready to leave Harry Potter after all.
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