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Rupert Grint biography

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Quick Facts

  • NAME: Rupert Grint
  • OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Television Actor
  • BIRTH DATE: August 24, 1988 (Age: 24)
  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Harlow, Essex, England
  • Full Name: Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint
  • ZODIAC SIGN: Virgo

Best Known For

Rupert Grint is a British actor best known for his role as Harry Potter's best friend Ronald "Ron" Weasley in the film series based on J.K. Rowling's bestselling books.

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Synopsis

Rupert Grint was born on August 24, 1988, in Hertfordshire, England. As a schoolboy, Grint was an avid fan of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Hearing about an open casting call for the first Potter film, 10-year-old Grint submitted a self-made audition video and landed the role of Ronald Weasley. He has also acted in a handful of non-Potter roles including Driving Lessons (2006) and Cherrybomb (2009). 

Early Life

Actor Rupert Grint was born on August 24, 1988, in Hertfordshire, England. Rupert Grint's father, Nigel Grint, is a racing memorabilia dealer, and his mother, Jo Grint, is a homemaker. Rupert Grint says that his first ambition in life was to become an ice cream man. He recalls, "When I was younger I had sort of—[it] always seemed like a really cool job to be an ice cream man. And I thought, why not?" Unlike his onscreen persona, Ron Weasley, Grint was a well-behaved child who never showed much inclination toward mischief. "I was never the kind of kid who was destined for trouble," he says. "Probably the worst thing I did was steal a hairbrush and a Billy Goats Gruff book from a local shop. I think I went in with the intention of nicking something and I must have panicked and grabbed the first two things I saw. Clearly a life of crime wasn't for me."

Harry Potter Films

Grint attended the Richard Hale Secondary School in Hertfordshire. As a schoolboy, he gained a lot of attention for his unruly bright red hair. His great-grandfather nicknamed him "Copper Knob," and his friends at school called him "Ginge" (short for "ginger," British slang for redhead). Grint was an avid fan of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series, so when he heard about an open casting call for the film adaptation, he decided to audition for the part of Harry Potter's redheaded best friend, Ronald Weasley. At the time, Grint's only acting experience had been in a handful of school plays, including one performance as a fish in a play about Noah's ark.

"My mum made the costume for that out of bubble wrap," he recalls. Despite his lack of acting experience, Grint pulled out all the stops to land the part of Ron Weasley. "I'd sent in one application and had heard nothing back," he remembers. "So I figured there was nothing to lose by being a little inventive. My video was in three parts. There was a rap about myself; I dressed up as a woman and did a little sketch in the character of my drama teacher, then I read some Ron Weasley dialogue." His comic self-marketing paid off and Grint became the envy of redheads worldwide when, at the age of 10, he landed the part of Ron Weasley, a leading role in one of the most anticipated film adaptations in history.

Grint speaks with awe about his first experiences on the set of Harry Potter. "Walking into the Great Hall for the first time was absolutely incredible," he recalls. "All these effects with all the candles floating in the air, all lit and everything, food on the table, all the flambeaus were lit—it was just incredible, it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life." Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone opened in 2001, smashing single-day box office records for U.S. ticket sales.

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