BERLIN (AP) -- Harry Potter star Rupert Grint says he enjoyed a change of scene from the young wizard's adventures when he starred alongside Shia LaBeouf in "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman," one of the competitors at this year's Berlin film festival.

Grint plays a drug-addled traveler in the movie, set in Bucharest, which screened at the festival Saturday. One of 19 competing for the event's Golden Bear award, it centers on an improbable romance between an American traveler played by LaBeouf and a troubled Romanian musician, played by Evan Rachel Wood.

Grint played Harry's faithful friend Ron in the Potter films.

He told reporters: "After playing the same character for 11 years, it's nice to do something completely different." He added: "The character was someone who's completely the opposite of Ron."