Rupert Grint on Being a Dad: ‘I Wasn’t Prepared for This New Kind of Love’

Glamour: You follow fewer than 100 accounts on Instagram. I’m going to read you some of the names: Lindsay Lohan, Elmo, a sculptor named Wilfred, Guy Fieri, an egg sandwich restaurant in Philadelphia, and an account called MilfDad. Do you consider yourself a MILF dad?

Rupert Grint: MILF dad! I don’t even know what a MILF dad would be. I know MILF dad is a dad…and MILFDad is a clothing brand. But do I identify as a MILF dad? A DILF? Not really, no. I feel very comfortable being a dad. I am still kind of coming to terms with what being a dad is, but I’m loving it. I’m absolutely loving it.

Can you describe it? What does it feel like?

It’s so much fun. I feel like I’ve changed as a person for sure. It kind of happened overnight, lifestyle-wise. I stopped smoking straight away. I’ve started sleeping so much better—I used to be a horrific insomniac, now I’m sleeping. It’s interesting, experiencing it all during a pandemic. I think it’s made the whole experience even more intense and insular. It’s just been us, working it out in a house. I feel a lot more—I don’t know, weirdly relaxed. It’s been a very calming process for me. Obviously there are days when she is FULL on. But there’s something really nice about the routine. It’s got me in a good place, I think.

You’re starring in a TV show that’s about an incredibly creepy and upsetting situation with a baby, and you have a newborn. How did you deal with that?

It probably is the worst show to be a part of when you’ve just become a dad. [Laughs.] We were filming it while Georgia was pregnant. The whole story of the show is this tragic loss of a child, and you’re surrounded by this baby stuff, and obviously the doll is horrific. So yeah, it wasn’t the most relaxed place to be. But it’s given me a new insight into the psychology of losing a child and what that means and how powerful that love is. It’s something I wasn’t prepared for. It’s a whole new kind of love, which is kind of terrifying.

So. Jumping right off of that, you’re an incredibly famous ginger.

Yeah?

Do you feel pressure on behalf of your kind to be a ginger sex symbol?

No! [Laughs.] I’ve never really thought about it. But you’re right, there aren’t a lot of us. I feel like when Harry Potter first started, there weren’t many. Maybe like—God, I can’t even name them. Damien Lewis from Homeland! He’s the shining jewel in the ginger…crown. But no, I’ve always enjoyed it. I’ve always enjoyed anything that makes you stand out.

I’m a huge fan of your partner, Georgia Groome. You two keep your relationship pretty private. Can you share a hint about what’s made your relationship work well long-term?

It’s a very natural thing—we’re just best friends. We’re kind of the same person; we think the same way. That’s always made it work—that’s why it’s lasted. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but it works and it’s great.

Wow, even during quarantine, and quarantine with a baby?

Yeah, it’s been tough. It’s a time when you want as much support as you can get from your family and your friends; it’s a very isolating thing, this lockdown, so we really have kind of been on our own. But there’s positives with that. It’s been great to work everything out for ourselves, without so many opinions. We’ve really bonded with Wednesday. It’s been intense, but great.