Celebrity lifestyle? I’d prefer if I could just go to B&Q, says Potter star
WHEN troubled celebrities try to escape the goldfish bowl of fame, they often find refuge in drink and drugs.
But Harry Potter star Rupert Grint cried out for something a bit more homely when he ‘lost himself’ – a DIY chain.
The actor, now 30, found international fame as Ron Weasley at the age of 11. But success came at a price, and he admits: ‘I struggle to remember life before it.
‘It was a weird time and it has taken me a long while to process. Just being invisible can still be difficult. Sometimes you just want to go to B&Q.
‘I think I lost myself a little bit along the way. With the fame, you’re almost being the character, even when you’re not in character.’
The star took a break after the film franchise ended in 2007 and adds: ‘After Potter I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.
‘I had this feeling that I had missed out on normal things. I lost touch with a lot of my friends from school. I wanted to have a bit of a life again, so I took a break.
‘I’ve never really been superambitious. I think there’s always been something in me, particularly when I finished Potter, that wants to prove myself, but I’m also naturally quite an insecure person.’
Alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, he earned about €30million from the film versions of JK Rowling’s books. He told the Radio Times Christmas issue: ‘I actually don’t know how much [money] I have... It doesn’t really motivate me too much.
‘It makes you comfortable, that’s the good thing about it. I’m glad it’s there but I’m not really that focused on it.’
Grint stars in The ABC Murders, on BBC1 on St Stephen’s Day.