Exclusive Harry sidekick Ron buys an ice-cream van .. and plans spell of selling cones and sliders.

HARRY POTTER joker Rupert Grint has bought an ice-cream van ...but admits he feels guilty that he doesn't stop when kids try to wave him down for a cone.

The flame-haired funnyman plays Ron Weasley in the Potter movies and, with the fifth about to be released and only two more to make, he's thinking ahead.

With his tongue firmly in his cheek, he laughed: "I've just passed my driving test and although I've got a Mini, I also bought an ice-cream van.

"It's a good business. I always had an interest in that as a career so when the movies finish I could sell ice-cream."

Looking like a ginger Shaggy from Scooby Doo with a mop of hair, slouched shoulders, baggy jeans and a black crumpled jacket, Rupert, 18, peppers every sentence with "cool".

And for him, nothing is cooler than his ice-cream van. "It's even got its own tune," he said.

He brought it to London from the Peak District where he bought it and admits it's fully stocked with ice-creams, a freezer and even a sink.

But he said: "I do feel guilty driving it about because I see these disappointed children running down the road after me, hoping for an ice-cream.

"But it'll be fun to stop and sell ice-creams, especially when they realise it's Ron from Harry Potter serving."

The European premiere of the fifth Harry Potter film, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, takes place in London tomorrow with the release in cinemas on July 13.

In the film, Ron and Hermione Granger (played by Emma Watson) take aback seat to Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) as he is almost overcome with rage at what has happened to him.

But Harry ultimately realises that he has what evil wizard Voldemort can never have - the true and unconditional loyalty of his friends.

Spurred on by Hermione and Ron, he forms Dumbledore's Army, a group of friends to whom he helps teach spells when new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher Professor Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) bans them from practising.

However, fans of the book will know Ron's big moment playing Quidditch has been axed from the film.

"I was a little bit disappointed I didn't get to do that. I was looking forward to it," grinned Rupert.

"But it's such a big book and there's so much to get in that I totally understood why they couldn't get it in.

"You don't really miss it in the film because the main storyline is Harry. It's so intense that it doesn't seem so important.

"We start the sixth film in September and I've been told I'll get to play Quidditch in that."

Half-Blood Prince will be released next year and by that time the final book, Deathly Hallows, will have been released, with the film following in 2010.

Rupert, who was the first of the three main child stars to do a grown-up film (last year's Driving Lessons), admits he's going to miss making the Potter films.

The actor, who was 11 when he was chosen for the part of Ron in the first film Philosopher's Stone, said: "It's a big part of my life and I'm very grateful to it, travelling around the world.

"Being Ron will stay with me for a while, but it's nothing I really care about.

"I've had a good time doing the part.

"I'll do the two last Harry Potter films and go from there."

While he did Driving Lessons, Rupert admits he wouldn't go as far as Daniel and strip off on stage as the Potter star did for the play Equus.

Rupert, looking slightly terrified, said: "It was such a brave thing to do.

"It was quite a shock and I can't see myself doing that.

"I haven't really got the guts at the moment so I really respect him."

Rupert was born in Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire, the eldest of five children and his dad was an ex-racing driver.

He had only done a few plays, including being a fish in a school production about Noah's Ark, before landing the part of Ron. He left school in 2004 and reckons being in the films has helped him deal with his personal life.

He said: "It's been pretty useful, especially the last film, Goblet Of Fire.

"Ron had a load of girl problems, was getting jealous and falling out with Harry. I can relate to that more."

While staying coy about a girlfriend, he admits that being one of the world's most recognisable teenagers has its advantages.

He said: "I do get a bit more attention with the girls. And being recognised is always really nice.

"There's no point in me trying to hide. With the amount of hair I've got and how bright a colour it is, I can't really stay incognito. I stand out."

Driving Lessons, with his Potter on-screen mum Julie Walters, was a breath of fresh air because "it was the real world and there were no dragons or monsters".

But he's been happy to buy the ice-cream van rather than do any new films, especially as the sixth Potter movie starts shooting in September.

He admits that before the first film he had been worried about how fans of the book would feel about his portrayal of Ron Weasley.

He said: "I was quite scary because the books are so big and everyone has their own idea of the characters and their own versions of them. I felt quite a lot of pressure to do it right.

"But over the years, I got used to it. The films actually don't feel like separate movies but just one long experience."

[Rick Fulton || The Daily Record, 2 July 2007 || Original article found here]