Quitting 'Harry Potter' franchise was kind of relief for me: Rupert Grint

British actor Rupert Grint says leaving the 'Harry Potter' franchise was like ''stepping out of an institution''.

The 30-year-old actor, who starred as Ron Weasley in the money-spinning film series, said leaving the role behind was kind of a relief for him.

''The line between Ron and me became thinner with each film and I think we became virtually the same person. There's a lot of me in Ron and moving on was a massive adjustment because it was such a constant part of my life.

''I don't want to liken it to coming out of prison because it wasn't a prison, but it did feel like stepping out of an institution. It was nice to breathe the fresh air and now I'm really enjoying stepping further away from that blue-screen world," Grint told The Guardian.

The actor said he even contemplated quitting the 'Harry Potter' franchise while he was filming one of the movies.

''There were definitely times when I thought about leaving. Filming 'Harry Potter' was a massive sacrifice; working from such a young age for such long periods and I definitely remember thinking during one extended break, 'This whole thing is so all consuming, do I really want to go back? Maybe it's just not for me.' I guess I was probably just being a teenager," he said.

(With inputs from agencies.)