Rupert Grint Confirms a ‘Harry Potter’ Rumor: ‘It’s a Very Ron Thing to Do’

Rupert Grint, the actor who portrayed Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, recently confirmed an infamous rumor. He revealed that he had once skipped out on writing an essay for the director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. And pointing to his character’s lack of interest in school work, Grint joked that it was a “Ron thing to do.”

Why Alfonso Cuarón assigned essays to the ‘Harry Potter’ cast

The first two Harry Potter movies, which were directed by Chris Columbus, introduced audiences to Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), and Ron Weasley as young sprouts just beginning their wizarding world journey. But for the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Alfonso Cuarón was brought on as director. His challenge was to bring the characters into their teens, but also to have the film’s tone reflect the depth and stakes of their experiences.

(L to R) Actors Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe attend the UK Premiere of “Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban” at the Odeon Leicester Square on May 30, 2004 in London. | Dave Hogan/Getty Images

“For Azkaban, it’s a coming of age,” Cuarón said in the HBO Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special. “They are passing the threshold between childhood and their teenage years. In the first two, Harry is still a child.”

“There is a greater optimism around the tone itself,” he continued. “Nevertheless, when the kid turns 13, there is a big cloud that overshadows everything around Harry, and we needed to convey that, also, stylistically.”

To get the main cast — Grint and his co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson — on board with his approach, Cuarón asked them to write essays as their characters. “That was the most important piece of acting work that we did on Azkaban,” Cuarón told Mic. “Everything they put in those essays was going to be the pillars they were going to hold on to for the rest of the process.”

Rupert Grint skipped out on the essay, noting it was a ‘Ron thing to do’

Watson and Radcliffe took Cuarón’s request seriously and finished the essay assignment. Watson reportedly wrote a 16-page paper — something her character Hermione Granger would totally do. And Radcliffe, staying true to Harry Potter’s minimally studious nature, turned in a one-page essay.

In a recent British GQ fan Q&A, Grint confirmed the long swirling rumor that he skipped out on writing Cuarón’s essay. He revealed that he didn’t work on it because of his own exams. But he also suggested he didn’t do it because his character Ron Weasley wouldn’t have done it either.

“I have to say, I was doing like, my GCSEs,” Grint recalled. “I was doing some important exams at the time. And also, it’s a very kind of Ron thing to do, so I didn’t do it.”

When talking about the essay in Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, Cuarón confirmed Grint’s excuse. “Rupert didn’t deliver anything,” the director said. “He said, ‘Well, I thought that Ron wouldn’t do it.’”

Rupert Grint recalls the ‘big’ changes Alfonso Cuarón made for ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’

Harry, Ron, and Hermione are seasoned heroes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, having fought Voldemort on two separate occasions. And to reflect their increasingly sinister threats, Cuarón needed to make several visual and tonal shifts.

In his fan Q&A for British GQ, Grint noted the impact Cuarón had on the franchise. And he noted that the director’s vision inspired the Harry Potter cast to step up and pay more attention to their roles.

“It was kind of a big change when Alfonso came,” Grint said. “Everything kind of felt like we should be taking it more seriously. I mean, [he] changed a lot, he changed the design of the wands, I really remember that.”

“Everything was kind of darker and a bit more kind of, natural and he wanted to kinda dig deep into the characters,” he recalled, just before mentioning the essay Cuarón assigned. “And he gave this homework.”