Rupert Grint says filming the Harry Potter franchise was a 'suffocating' experience that 'could've gone downhill' if the films hadn't ended

• Rupert Grint said that the cycle of filming and promoting Harry Potter was "quite suffocating."
• Grint portrayed Ron Weasley in all eight Harry Potter films throughout his adolescence.

Rupert Grint said that the constant cycle of filming and promoting the eight Harry Potter films was a "full on" experience and that the franchise ended when it needed to. The actor played Ron Weasley throughout all eight Potter films from 2001 to 2011.

Speaking with Bustle, Grint reflected on his time working on the franchise, and deciding whether or not he wanted to continue acting afterward.

"'Potter was so full on — [filming] all year, then we'd promote the rest of the time. It was quite suffocating," Grint said. "I wanted a break, to reflect on everything... It was an out-of-body experience for a while, but I think we finished at the right time. If we continued, it could've gone downhill."

Grint was 11 years old when he first started filming "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," and nearly 23 by the time the franchise ended with the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" in 2011. The film's demanding schedule meant that he didn't even have time for things like getting his tonsils removed, as the actor told GQ, until the end of the franchise.

Now, Grint is starring in two M. Night Shyamalan-helmed projects: the Apple TV+ series "Servant," which is currently airing its fourth and final season, and the horror flick "Knock at the Cabin." His costars, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe have continued acting as well.

Still, Grint said Harry Potter and his character, Ron Weasley, have stuck with him over the years.

"I answer to it, if someone calls me Ron," Grint told Bustle. "It's my second name."