Harry Potter's Ron Weasley nearly takes us to school - and we don't mean Hogwarts

I bowled with a boy wizard last week.

No spells were cast. No owls were spotted circling above USA Bowl in Dallas.

But some evil force must have been lurking, because in the sixth frame I only had a four-pin lead.

Who does this kid think he is, coming into my house, and challenging my undefeated record of bowling with celebrities?

So what if an entire generation has grown up watching him as Ron Weasley, Harry Potter's loyal sidekick, in one of the most successful movie franchises of all time. So what if he is one of the world's most recognizable redheads.

And so what if his new movie, Driving Lessons, opening tomorrow, co-stars two Oscar-nominated actresses, Laura Linney and Julie Walters.

Nowhere in the acres of print and cyberspace devoted to this shy 18-year-old does it say: Rupert Grint, bowler.

Golfer, yes. Pool shark, sure. Football (soccer) player. OK. But bowling? Nada.

"I can be pretty competitive," he says softly, hitching up his jeans, which seem to be hanging on for dear life. "Depends on the situation."

Now he tells me.

When Grint follows a strike with a spare, I'm quite certain Voldemort or Professor Snape is in the building.

Where's my wand when I need one?

Clearly, an epic bowling battle had begun. Too bad you'll have to wait to find out who prevails. (Hey, it works for J.K. Rowling.)

Growing up onscreen

The days before I bowled with Grint, I rewatched portions of all four Harry Potter films:

In The Sorcerer's Stone (2001), he's an 11-year-old mop-top with dirt on his nose and wonder in his eyes.

In Chamber of Secrets (2002), the baby face is disappearing and he's awkwardly towering over Harry.

The Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) features Ron with feathered hair and a changing voice. Darn adolescence.

By the time I got to Goblet of Fire (2005), little Ron Weasley, the sixth of seven Weasley kids, was becoming a man. His shoulders broadening, teen angst written all over his face.

It's no picnic, this growing up onscreen.

"It has been quite weird," says Grint, a master of the British art of understatement. "I'll never get used to getting recognized. That's the weird part. But people are always really nice. I've been doing it for so long -- I've been Ron for six years -- so you get used to it. It's good fun."

Now, after years of watching home movies of Grint's childhood, complete with embarrassing moments like urrrping up slugs and squealing at spiders, we get to see Grint's first onscreen curse word, kiss, and...we'll just call it an adult sleepover.

"It's definitely a more grown-up film," Grint says of Driving Lessons, which follows the coming-of-age story of Ben, a 17-year-old introvert breaking away from his overbearing mother (Linney). "It was good, though. ...The swearing. And the kiss thing. I was quite nervous about that."

And the bedroom scene with an older woman, 26-year-old Michelle Duncan?

"Oh, it was good," he says sheepishly. "The worst part is having your nan watch it. That's embarrassing."

A typical teen, with money

Aside from the worldwide fame and fabulous wealth, Rupert Grint is your typical teenager.

He likes hanging out with his mates, playing golf or rolling a few games at Hollywood Bowl in London. Or driving his new Mini Cooper.

He seems unfazed by the fact that he and his fellow HP stars, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, are racing against time to fulfill their Potter prophecy.

With Rowling still working on the seventh and final book, and the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, due out in June, the actors will start shooting the sixth film early next year.

But the HP Three are growing up fast.

None more so than Radcliffe, who has made headlines by announcing he'll star on the London stage next summer in Equus, and perform a famous nude scene. Won't that make McGonagall blush! And a quick Internet search turns up plenty of R-rated chatter about a potential Ron and Hermione hookup. I even found a badly altered Garden of Eden painting featuring Ron and Hermione that made me blush.

While Grint's role in Driving Lessons is not necessarily explicit, it is a definite departure from the one that has made him millions.

"I was quite nervous coming onto a new environment," he says. "It was good to have a friendly face on the set," he adds, referring to his co-star Walters, who plays Evie, the retired actress who draws Ben out of his shell. Walters is also his mum, Mrs. Weasley, in the Harry Potter films.

But Grint is not looking too far beyond Ron Weasley just yet.

He has been a devoted fan of the Potter books from the beginning, and feels a definite simpatico with his character. They've both got big families -- Grint is the oldest of five children. They've both got ginger hair, he says, and a sweet tooth.

But did I miss something, somewhere: Does Ron bowl? Never mind.

With two more Potter films to go, Grint, much like his legion of fans, is wondering what will become of Weasley.

He's heard all the rumors, including the one that suggests one of the main characters will kick the bucket.

"I'm not worried about dying," Grint says with a smile, "because if you die in the last one that's OK. As long as it is something really cool. ...A lot of people are saying it's going to be Harry, but I find that quite hard to believe."

And Hermione? Will there be another onscreen kiss for Mr. Grint?

"It's definitely been played in slowly over the years," he says of the chemistry between the oil-and-water characters. "If something is going to happen, it'll have to wait till the seventh one.

Competition heats up

One benefit of hanging out at a bowling alley in the thick of a Thursday afternoon, is that you will usually have the run of the place. No autograph hounds to interrupt if you happen to be sharing a lane with an international film star.

But if ever I was in need of a groupie or a streaker or some distraction, now was the time.

Grint's spare in the seventh had applied direct pressure, and I could sense his competitive nature kicking in.

"Now's the time for a strike," he said, hoisting his 14-pound orange ball, which conveniently matched his copper-tinged hair.

And, really, he should've gotten a strike. The ball rolled right into the pocket, but one pin was left standing.

Did I hear a Malfoy snicker?

I matched Grint's spare with a strike but still only had a six-pin lead. The kid is tough!

When he missed a nasty pickup in the 10th frame, I finished with a spare, a hard-fought 147-120 victory and a giant sigh of relief.

Normally, I wouldn't have asked to bowl a second game, but I could sense he'd rather bowl than chat more about his career and the Harry Potter phenomenon. What typical teen wouldn't? We had another good game, 159-110.

The next day, I got an e-mail from the publicist who had arranged the interview. She said Grint had a great time bowling.

"Wicked," is how he described it.

From a famous wizard, I'll take that any day.

Rupert Grint, by the numbers:

2: Number of times he had to take his driving test to get his license recently. (He messed up a three-point turn.)

15: Grint's golf handicap after only a year or so of playing.

230: His total number of pins in two games of bowling last week.

5 million: How much (in pounds) he has reportedly banked from the Harry Potter movies.

$3.5 billion: The approximate worldwide tally of the four Harry Potter films so far.

[Rick Press || Star-Telegram, 26 Oct 2006 || Original article found here]