Harry Potter Star Touches On What Anonymity During COVID Mask-Wearing Has Been Like

Harry Potter cast

For big names in Hollywood, one of the bright spots of the pandemic is that the mask mandates makes it pretty hard for them to be recognized when they're in public, giving those with famous faces a little respite from prying fans. Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint is one of those faces in Hollywood that would probably rather hide his face when he's out and about, so he can get groceries or grab a coffee without anyone knowing his famous child star past. The anonymity Grint is able to have during COVID by wearing a mask has certainly been a different experience for the Harry Potter star.

Wait, you mean spending your childhood playing one of the Golden Trio isn’t everyone’s dream job and lifelong ambition? While it certainly is a high point, it’s no secret that Rupert Grint is a pretty private person, and he has been vocal about the drawbacks of spending his childhood on the set of one of the most popular series of all time. In an interview with Esquire, Grint touches on this new anonymity he has been experiencing during the age of COVID. Here it is in his own words:

Anonymity and being able to be invisible is something you do take for granted. You just couldn't escape it, especially when you're out trying to have a good time. It was kind of a struggle to fully relax.I never really hate it, anyways. It's just a thing.

While Rupert Grint says it is an experience people take for granted, he probably hasn’t had much time in his life to take the anonymity for granted at all. Grint has been famous for his entire adult life and half of his childhood, he had never really been in a position to be out in the world on his own without people knowing who he is. Having the opportunity to wear a mask and not stand out doing so must be much more relaxing than any of his past pre-COVID experiences.

Rupert Grint has taken on a good amount of projects after appearing as Ron in the Harry Potter films, but it seems like there could come a time when he chooses to go down a different path. In the same interview, Grint says that he loves acting and being in show business but thatt he has often thought of putting his talents elsewhere. Here’s how he puts it:

I think I've always had that kind of ethos that nothing is forever. I do just feel like, ‘Maybe I'll just be a beekeeper. I'll just do that. I love acting, and I love being a part of the show. And I've really enjoyed playing the characters. But I do often think maybe I could do something else later on.

Even though Rupert Grint seems like he remains open to the possibility of him exiting the film and TV business, it doesn’t seem like he's quite there. Even though he has now become a father, we can expect to see Grint in the third season of his creepy Apple TV series Servant, with the second season just recently coming to an end.

Even if he did ultimately give up acting, Rupert Grint would be hard-pressed to receive the same anonymity that the pandemic masks have given him. His face is one that more than just one generation knows, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. So he should enjoy the feeling of blending in with us normies while he can!

Carlie Hoke
Content Writer

Constantly thinking about books, coffee, and the existential dread I feel from Bo Burnham’s Inside.  While writing I’m also raising a chaotic toddler, who may or may not have picked up personality traits from watching one too many episodes of Trailer Park Boys.