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‘ Harry Potter’ star serves up a creepy new Apple show
NEW YORK – As the affable Ron Weasley in the “Harry Potter” films, Rupert Grint went toe to toe with three- headed dogs, murderous chess pieces and soul- sucking dementors. ❚ But none was half as frightening as the lifelike baby doll he shares the screen with in “Servant,” a new series from horror auteur M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense”) that premiered on Apple TV Plus Thanksgiving Day.
“It was kind of challenging being near it,” Grint says. “It’s a weird thing where you want to take care of it because it feels and looks fairly real, but there’s also something about it that’s just deeply disturbing. You want to get away from it as soon as you can.”
In “Servant,” the British actor portrays the hard- drinking, fiercely protective brother of newscaster Dorothy Turner ( Lauren Ambrose), whose peppy Type A personality masks her intense grief after the death of her infant son, Jericho, under mysterious circumstances. Julian ( Grint) and Dorothy’s husband,
Sean ( Toby Kebbell), try to comfort Dorothy by helping care for a therapist- mandated baby doll. It’s meant to assuage her sadness, but she actually believes the doll is real. The situation becomes more concerning when Dorothy hires a reticent new nanny named Leanne ( Nell Tiger Free), who moves into their house and suspiciously treats the doll like a human child from the get- go.
The 10- episode series, already renewed for a second season, was created by Tony Basgallop (“24: Live Another Day”) and executive- pro
duced by Shyamalan, who was immediately intrigued by the unsettling premise.
“It’s inherently powerful and weird and sad and tragic and manic, and I loved it,” says Shyamalan, whose last TV outing was Fox’s short- lived “Wayward Pines” in 2016. “Tony’s dialogue has a wit to it, and this dark humor that I find more ( realistic) for us to talk about difficult things. We don’t do it directly – we do it in sarcasm, as a way to fight off these emotions we’re not comfortable with.”
Shyamalan was introduced to Grint, 31, when he was in the running to direct one of the early “Harry Potter” films.
“I came to the set and met him. He was just a baby at the time,” the filmmaker says. Watching Grint’s audition tape for “Servant” nearly two decades later, “I was like, ‘ Am I crazy, or is this him? Could he be this good?’
“But he was even better, and that never happens when someone reinvents themselves. He’s the nicest man, and so professional.”
Grint has starred in a slew of U. K. TV shows since the “Harry Potter” film franchise ended in 2011, including “Sick Note” with Lindsay Lohan. He was drawn to the opportunity to work with Shyamalan, but also to the character of Julian, who loses his grip on sanity as potentially supernatural forces invade the Turners’ home.
“When we first meet him, he’s this pragmatic person who’s almost ( a stand- in for) the audience,” Grint says. “He’s developed these tools of manipulation and uses money to solve things, but unravels very quickly after he comes in contact with Leanne. ( Julian has) guilt and some secrets we don’t fully know. With all these characters, you’re constantly asking, ‘ Are they good? Is this person telling the truth?’ “
To prepare for the role, Grint worked with a voice coach to perfect Julian’s
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starchy Philadelphia accent and took a crash course in all things wine, which the Turners guzzle religiously. ( In real life, “I’m not really a wine guy, so it was a lot of tricky pronunciations and bottle- opening,” Grint says.)
Beyond “Servant,” Grint has mixed feelings about returning to the fantasy world of “Harry Potter.” Author J. K. Rowling insists that Broadway play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which picks up with the beloved wizards and witches as adults, will not make the leap to the big screen, but that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating frequently online about a rumored adaption.
“We finished at a good time and got closure on that, but never say never,” Grint says. “I have very strong feelings for the character ( of Ron) and could easily get back into it.”
Although he hasn’t seen most of the “Harry Potter” movies since their initial release, he says he re- watched the first, 2001’ s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” a few months ago.
“It was actually quite therapeutic to go back and see that,” Grint says. “I’m so detached from that little kid now, so it’s a very strange perspective. But it was a huge part of our lives and I’m proud to be a part of it. I’m not ready to watch the other ones yet, but the first one was nice.”