Grint described contracting the A(H1N1) virus, which has spread around the world, as "quite scary" but he recovered after spending a few days in bed.

"It was quite scary when I first found out I had swine flu," he said at a press conference with other Potter actors including Emma Watson in London.

"I thought 'Am I going to die?' But it was just like any other flu really."

"I had a sore throat and I went to bed for a few days."

Grint was speaking ahead of the world première in London on Tuesday of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", the sixth instalment of the phenomenally successful Harry Potter films.

The 20-year-old's publicist confirmed on Saturday that he had suffered from the virus, taking several days off filming the next film in the blockbuster series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."