Rupert Grint Is 'Quite Protective of' His Harry Potter Character: 'There's a Lot of Me in There'

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A decade after saying goodbye to Harry Potter and his character Ron Weasley, Rupert Grint still feels connected to the red-headed wizard.

The 33-year-old actor played Ron in the big-screen adaptations of the popular fantasy books, last portraying the character in 2011's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Grint explained while he feels more bonded with his wizard counterpart now more than ever.

"There's been a lot talk of [playing Ron again] with everything going on and I feel like I am that character. I think I had a very strange relationship with him at first but I feel like there's a lot of me in there so I'm quite protective of him," said Grint, who welcomed his first child last year.

He added of potentially reprising the role in the future, "I don't really have a good reason to say no. I'm very proud to be a part of it."

Grint — who has long stuck to a "never say never" approach to one day returning to the Harry Potter universe — joins his former costars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, plus more cast members, in the forthcoming HBO Max reunion special Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, streaming Jan. 1.

RELATED: Emma Watson Tears Up as Harry Potter Cast Reunites in Trailer for Return to Hogwarts: 'We're Family'

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"Those movies were our childhoods," he told ET about filming the special. "We grew up on those sets so it has incredible meaning to all of us. It's been 10 years since we wrapped the last movie and we've seen each other quite a bit in between that but not a great deal, so it was great to see them again and talk about it. I don't really talk or think about it a lot, so it was fun to remember."

A recent trailer for the reunion special shows the Potter cast reminiscing about filming the iconic film series, with Watson, 31, at one point wiping back tears as Grint said, "It's a strong bond we all have. We're family. We'll always be a part of each other's lives."

RELATED VIDEO: Emma Watson Says Harry Potter Was 'My Home, My Family, My World' Ahead of 20th Anniversary Special

In March, Grint admitted on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast that "there was definitely a time where it felt quite suffocating" making the Potter films for a decade of his life. "It was heavy going. It was kind of every day for 10 years in the end."

He continued, "It was a great experience, such a nice, kind of, family atmosphere. It was always kind of the same crew we grew up with. So it was a great place to be, but sometimes it definitely felt like I wanted to do something else."

Grint currently stars in M. Night Shyamalan's Apple TV+ series Servant, which starts its third season Jan. 21. The thriller was recently renewed for a fourth and final season.

He will next be seen in the horror anthology TV series Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight.