LONDON, Dec. 1 -- Fourteen years after the final Harry Potter film was released, actor Rupert Grint admits he will likely never escape the shadow of his iconic role as Ron Weasley - and he's perfectly comfortable with that.

Speaking at a community event in Highgate, north London, where he helped switch on Christmas lights, Grint told the BBC: "I don't think I'll ever quite step out of his shadow, but I'm fine with that. I think it's great. I love meeting people who really felt this was part of their childhood."

Grint, now 37, revealed he has written a letter to Alastair Stout, the child actor cast as Ron in the upcoming HBO television adaptation of Harry Potter. He described the gesture as "passing the baton," wishing Stout the same joy...