Thirty-year-old Rupert Grint, the man who played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films during his younger years, discloses the ups and downs of his multimillionaire existence to the Independent. After Harry Potter, Grint performed well in the shows Sick Note and Snatch (Sky’s TV version). He hasn’t done more film gigs because he felt lost after acting in the Harry Potter franchise, living under the shadow of Ron Weasley.

Having been Ron Weasley for ten years, he also wanted a break to live a normal life, back in touch with schoolmates, away from the global recognition and pressure. Grint, in his pursuit to differentiate himself from Ron Weasley, cannot bring himself to watch the films that came after Prisoner of Azkaban, the third installment in the famous series.

He felt bad for his younger siblings who received so much attention at school due to his role in the Potter films. Still, Grint earned a lot of money for his part in Harry Potter, enough to live comfortably for a long while. Had he not taken the role in the Potter films, Grint speculates that he would have pursued art at university and become an art teacher at an Essex comprehensive school, a fate he fantasizes about at times.

In The ABC Murders, a grim television series, Grint currently plays an authoritative figure named Inspector Crome in the 1930s. This role focuses on Grint’s dark side. The series debuted on Boxing Day (December 26) in the UK. He is still in a relationship with Georgia Groome, an English actress he was seeing privately for six years until this December when his love life became known to the public. Grint seems well on his way to leaving Potter in the distant past.