It’s been a long time since we’ve seen you. Can you bring me up to date since your Harry Potter days?
Life’s been really good. Finishing Potter was a big moment for me. It was such a huge, significant part of my life, 12 years and to have that suddenly stop, took some adjusting. That kind of blew me away but I think we ended it at completely the right time. I was ready to move on. So, I’ve been catching up on stuff I missed out. From being in a very adult working environment in such a young age it was quite refreshing to be doing nothing. I really enjoyed that. I traveled a bit, I did a few independent movies, explored theatre. I did a play in London and a play on Broadway and I learnt a lot from that. I’ve always been quite laid back and just kind of philosophical about everything and just kind of gone with the flow.
What’s one thing you do now which you weren’t able to while filming Harry Potter?
I actually cut my hair! I never had any control of my hair during those years (laughs). It always had to be what was right for Ron so it was really fun to just live a little bit.
In the movie version of Snatch a lot of people couldn’t understand what the characters were saying. Is it the same way for the TV show?
Yeah (laughs) as the series goes you’ll need subtitles definitely.
Is there a lot of pressure to keep in line with the movie?
There’s quite a lot of pressure I think when you’re doing something like this. When a film is so loved, especially in England, it was a huge thing and it’s such a quotable film and everyone is just such a huge fan of it so there’s quite a pressure to get it right.
Harry Potter made you very wealthy but was there a downside?
I’ve thought about this a lot. No, I don’t think there was. I don’t regret anything. Obviously it was a huge sacrifice I think but I didn’t really think about it. I was 11 years old when I kind of agreed to do it and you don’t really think about what it really means and we didn’t really know where it was going. You kind of sign on for 2 films and the books were popular but we didn’t realise what it would mean for our lives I think. I think there’s a sacrifice in not ever being invisible which is something you do take for granted. That was kind of a struggle. Just going out is a constant thing which I’ve never really hidden from. Everyone’s always really sweet and nice but it’s, yeah, sometimes it’d nice to be a little bit anonymous.
Snatch is about stealing. What have you stolen in real life?
When I was younger, I stole the weirdest thing. I stole a hairbrush (laughs). I do remember feeling that it was kind of quite a thrill. I can understand the attraction to it.
Why a hair brush?
I don’t know (laughs) because I never brush my hair. It was an impulse snatch. It was from Woolworth’s, yeah.
Did you take anything from the set of Harry Potter?
I did. I did. It was shameful, but yeah, on the last day I took the house number on Privet Drive, Harry’s house. Yeah, it was a bit of a move. I had to unscrew it with this little rock (laughs). It was quite a low point.
What do you like to watch on TV?
I like Stranger Things. I loved The OA. I really enjoyed that. Binge watching is very exciting.
I was reading you’re a big music fan. Are you in a band?
I wish I was in a band (laughs). My sister’s in a band and I kind of jam with her. I play a little bit of guitar but I’m not good at all. I’ve tried so many different instruments. I’ve tried the accordion, the sax but I’ve never been able to master any of them. It’s quite a unique talent.
I know you bought an ice cream van when you finished Harry Potter. Do you still have it?
I do. Yeah, I learnt to drive in that car. It’s not the most practical vehicle for everyday driving but, yeah, I still have it and I actually took it on the last day of filming “Potter” I took it to set and served ice cream to the crew. I did, yeah. It’s quite a technique to get the perfect whip so yeah, I’m so proud of that (laughs)
What prompted you to buy the icecream van?
The ice cream van was always a dream of mine. I don’t think I ever really wanted to be an actor. I didn’t really ever. That never really came to my mind. It was always to be an ice cream man (laughs). I just thought it was just a perfect job (laughter). So, yeah, so I got the van and then I learnt to drive in it. I’ve still got it and it’s brilliant.
Is that how you met your current girlfriend?
No. I didn’t meet my girlfriend serving ice cream (laughs)
What is your relationship to money?
I have a very strange relationship with money because I was like 12, 13 when I kind of first started making it. So I never really kind of knew the value of it and I bought llamas and a hovercraft. And just went a bit mad
A llama?
I’ve had a few llamas, yeah (laughs). I don’t have them anymore. They were great. Yeah, I had a kind of small menagerie of different creatures, giant tortoises for a while, pigs.
What’s your most recent extravagance?
Now I’ve got a bit older it’s kind of quite boring stuff. It’s kind of like the vacuum cleaners. And I’ve got a really good toilet (laughter). It’s one of those Japanese ones. It’s really cool.
You didn’t graduate from ice cream van to fire truck?
(laughs). I looked at the fire trucks actually but they’re very big. I think you need a special license. I’ve looked into it though. I’ve got a car now. A normal Range Rover Sport.
