Actor Rupert Grint, who fans may know better as Ron Weasley from the beloved Harry Potter franchise, recently sat down for an interview to express his somewhat polarizing thoughts on J.K. Rowling, the woman who launched his career.

Grint practically grew up on the Harry Potter set, having been cast at just the age of 11. He went on to star in all eight films of the series, meaning he spent his formative, adolescent years on a film set, with a whole new meaning of pressure attached to him. Teenage years are tricky enough for anybody, let alone being a spectacle for the world to watch. Grint and the rest of the trio, former castmates Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, recently came back together for the first time since the last film was released back in 2011 for the reunion, Return to Hogwarts.

RELATED: Warner Bros. Is Still Interested In Making Harry Potter Content

It’s evident in the reunion that the three young childhood stars formed a deep, intimate bond due to the unique circumstances they all found themselves in with managing fame. They were each other’s only reference points to an unparalleled experience of being a part of such an iconic franchise such as Harry Potter. The three actors are clearly kin, arguably having created their own chosen family amongst one another. Now, in an interview with The Times, Grint revealed that he views Rowling in a similar sort of light, despite the intense controversy the author has been under for spreading transphobic messages and agendas onto her social media. Rowling didn’t stop there though, she took it even further and published a disturbing, hateful essay titled “J.K. Rowling Writes About Her Reason For Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues.”

Harry Potter Rupert Grint Ron Weasley Almost Quit

Rowling directly addressed critics who had labeled her as a TERF - a trans-exclusionary radical feminist. To go even further, Rowling has also been criticized for the appalling lack of representation in her films, not just when it comes to matters of sexuality and gender, but race issues within the franchise as well. Rowling went on to express her concerns in the essay of the “new trans activism” because she said it could “harm cis-gender women.” Quite a similar argument to people who claim the “gay agenda” is a threat to straight people - nonsense. Watson, Radcliffe, and Grint all utilized their platforms at the time in order to showcase their support for the trans-community.

At the time, Grint issued a statement directly to the trans-community stating, “I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women, Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment.” During his conversation with The Times, Grint went on to share that he views Rowling still as family, calling her his auntie. Grint said, "I don’t necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she’s still my auntie. It’s a tricky one."

Grint almost likens the relation to Rowling as sort of like a toxic family member. There's a level of acceptance but also a knowing that a mutual agreement on most things is unfeasible. He also draws awareness with this statement to the long-standing debate of how to separate the artist from their art and whether those two things should always be exclusive to one another. Grint stated, “I think that she’s extremely talented, I mean, clearly, her works are genius - but yeah, I think also you can have huge respect for someone and still disagree with things like that.”

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is now available on HBO Max.

MORE: Harry Potter: Best Moments From Return To Hogwarts

Source: The Times UK