Rupert Grint is ready to devote himself to acting again

After a few years spent out of the spotlight, Rupert Grint is engaging with Hollywood and coming to terms with his place in a post-Harry Potter world.

It wasn’t too long ago, in 2011, that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was tearing up the box office, marking a definitive end to an important chapter in the lives of its three principal actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. Radcliffe and Watson have kept pretty busy since then, but barring appearances in a few indie movies and guest spots on TV shows, we haven’t seen much of Grint, who pulled faces as Ron Weasley in all eight Harry Potter movies. What’s he been up to?

According to an interview with MTV News, Grint has been taking a well-deserved break. Speaking about his ten-year stint as Ron Weasley, Grint said that “as much as I loved it…it was a big sacrifice. My whole childhood, really, was devoted to that. I always kind of felt like I was missing out on a little bit. Once I finished, I had this kind of epiphany where I just wanted to have a little bit of fun, and just live a little bit, and not worry about anything.”

I hope he had a blast. Working at the center of something as gigantic as the Harry Potter franchise would wear on an adult, to say nothing of a child or an adolescent. But now that he’s taken a bit of time to relax, Grint is ready to reengage with his professional life, and that means more prominent roles on stage and screen.

For example, Grint will soon be headlining Moonwalkers, a period comedy about a gruff CIA agent (Ron Perlman) who enlists a hapless band manager (Grint) to help film a fake moon landing.  Check out the trailer.

“I just thought it was so ridiculous,” Grint said of the movie. “It really at no moment takes itself seriously… I get to wear a space suit on the moon; my friend Robert Sheehan is in it. It just seemed like an easy yes.”

Grint will also be acting in a new 1-hour drama series for NBC, in which he plays a lowly office worker who, to use MTV News’ words, “gets caught up in the world of “Imperial City,” a supposedly fictional comic book series written by the character’s deceased father.” Sounds trippy.

I’m glad to see Grint getting out there and using his talent. He was well-cast as Ron and has things to offer the acting world, and when you have his kind of name recognition, why not use it? The actor also has goals to play a villain (“A lot of people say I’m a little bit too nice, and being ginger doesn’t really give me a lot of edge.”) and to do “more serious, dramatic stuff.” And if he should ever happen to sign onto an intimate chamber drama about a crumbling marriage that costars Emma Watson, that’d be just fine.

Next: Wizard's Council: Does Cursed Child count as part of the Harry Potter series?

Before signing off, Grint also weighed in on the Harry Potter fan theory that Professor Dumbledore is actually Ron Weasley after he travels back in time, which is the dumbest thing I’ve heard since…it’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. “I will read [the theories]… that’s amazing,” he said. “That’s fascinating. I hadn’t heard about it. I guess [it’s possible]. There’s a theory he’s traveled back in time? That’s kind of blowing my mind a little bit.”

I’m glad someone enjoys it.