PotterHead

Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley

We know him as the lovable red-head Ronald Weasley from the Harry Potter films, but who exactly is Rupert Grint?

A shy - never outspoken - sixteen-year-old who can slip into character at the snap of a finger. That's Rupert Grint. Not only has Rupert got the credibility of the Harry Potter films to his name, he also has a variety of radio, movie and television appearances which help establish him as one of the UK's up-and-coming young stars.

Rupert is the eldest of five siblings, and was born on the 24th August 1988. Rupert seems very much the "big brother" to his brother, James, and to sisters Georgina, Samantha and Charlotte. He often brings one, or all, of his siblings to Harry Potter premieres and various other events.

The place where Rupert grew up, Hertfordshire, is very much a classic English county. Before Rupert was cast as Ron, he attended an all-boys school in Herts, which still proudly displays a picture of him on their website. It is no doubt that his hometown, where his family and friends live, has played a large part in Rupert remaining so level-headed.

First Time Around

From an early age Rupert loved the Harry Potter books and this is likely one of the reasons why he got into acting in the first place. It is certainly no secret that Rupert found out about the auditions for the very first Harry Potter movie through British children's news program "NewsRound." It turns out that if dressing up as your drama teacher (who is a woman), and then rapping about why you want the part of Ron won't get you the job, not much will!

When he got the part of Ron, Rupert was elated; after all, who better than a Harry Potter fan to make sure that one of the book's most key characters remains true to form? Fans wildly anticipated the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher/Sorcerer's Stone, and the world waited with bated breath to see the first adaptation of JK Rowling's bestselling book series.

Like most of us would be, Rupert was very excited that he was going to be one of the most famous child stars in the UK - if not the world. When speaking to Lizo on "NewsRound" - the very show which helped him on his way to landing the part of Ron - Rupert said: "It's going to be really weird to know that people are going to actually know my name, that's going to be strange." But the extent to which Pottermania would grow, and the success of the subsequent films, we don't think even Rupert could have anticipated.

And so the first film was released, catapulting Rupert into the limelight, and he seemed to relish every minute of it. The film itself received some criticisms, but Rupert was quick to defend the work of the Harry Potter crew saying: "I am a really big Harry Potter fan and I've seen all the sets, I've lived Harry Potter and I don't think it's destroyed the books at all, I think it's really spot on."

Working on the set of the first Harry Potter film only proved to give Rupert more of a thirst for acting.