Rupert's Biography
It seems a long time ago that Rupert Grint was another young hopeful, picked from
the thousands upon thousands of auditionees who so desperately wanted to be
cast as Ron Weasley, the red-headed and loyal best friend of Harry Potter.
Rupert says of the auditioning process for the Philosopher’s Stone film:
“I found out that you could audition by sending a picture of yourself and
some information to Newsround. I did my own video with me, first of all, pretending
to be my drama teacher who unfortunately was a girl and then I did a rap of
how I wanted to be Ron and then I made my own script thing up and sent it off.”
Rupert displayed the characteristics of Ron perfectly, and his genuine love
for the Harry Potter series, as well as an eagerness to be a part of the magic
must have shone through, making him the obvious choice for the part of Ron.
Of course, it must have helped that he also fitted the general look of the character!
Becoming Rupert
Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint was born on 24th August 1988, the first son of Nigel and Jo Grint. The
first of five children, Rupert has one brother and three sisters. His brother
James was born when Rupert was a year old, Georgina and Samantha were born in
1993 and 1996 respectively, and lastly is Charlotte, who was born in 1999.
Rupert grew up in Hertfordshire, an English county to the north of London.
After successfully auditioning for the Harry Potter film, Philosopher’s
Stone, Rupert started at Richard Hale Secondary School in his home town. He
took an active interest in school plays and drama activities, being cast as
Rumplestilskin in a play about the Grimm brother’s fairytales.
As Rupert was needed more and more on set for the Harry Potter films, Chamber
of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban, it was required that he was tutored on set
to keep up with educational needs. During the summer of 2004, he took his GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams and completed his formal education.
The Legacy of Ron
Landing the role of Ron was a dream come true for Rupert. When he began to
act on the Philosopher’s Stone movie, he was overcome by the grandness
of the sets, describing how he felt as:
“Walking into the Great Hall for the first time was absolutely incredible
- 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.”
It was a huge opportunity for Rupert having his first professional acting job
on, what was then, one of the most anticipated films of the year. Fans of the
Harry Potter books were expecting an accurate on screen presentation of how
they imagined the books to be. When asked about this in an interview Rupert
commented, “ 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.”
Rupert didn’t seem too phased at all amidst all the publicity which surrounded
the first Harry Potter movie. The weirdest thing, according to Rupert, would
be that, “people are going to actually know my name, that's going to be
strange.”
Being only 13 when the first movie was released must have made the whole experience
slightly surreal for Rupert, yet he seemed only too keen to make the second
installment of the film series.
The Second Act Begins
When Chamber of Secrets started filming in 2001-2002, Rupert was more accustomed
with the filming methods and techniques on set and says filming the second movie
was, “a lot more fun because we were a lot more comfortable with working,
I guess - because of working with Kenneth Branagh, who's really funny, and more
confident with the camera.”
Unfortunately the CoS film presented Rupert with the task of facing one of
his real life phobias – spiders.
When asked what it was like to work with spiders, Rupert admitted:
"I hate them - even rubber ones I get scared of. Luckily some of them were CGI [computer graphics]. But that big car-sized one, that was actually there unfortunately.
So that wasn't my favourite scene to film."
Though the second film was definetly more physically arduous for Rupert and
Dan, Rupert maintained a fun –loving attitude and described filming the
car scenes in CoS as being like “being on a theme park ride.”
By this time Rupert was pretty much a household name. Appearances in magazines
and interviews for prime time television shows and news programmes meant that
Rupert was having to adjust to becoming an icon for Harry Potter fans of all
ages.
One of the hardest things could have been going back to school and seeing his
friends again, though Rupert remainded so grounded that he said, “my friends
have been great - they treat me normally. The teachers suck up, they really
do. But other than it's been fine.” Rupert maintained the difference between
being an actor and living a normal life which is something some people twice
his age struggle to understand.
It was also in 2002 when Rupert completed another non-Potter film called Thunderpants.
Wanting to have a role-change from Ron, Rupert aquired the part of Alan A. Allan
and also something which unfortunately came hand in hand with the part –
a perm. Rupert told of his decision to act in Thunderpants was due to him being,
“completely 'Pottered out'” by the first Harry Potter film.
By the time that filming for Chamber of Secrets was finished, it was quite
natural that Rupert was thinking ahead to how many Harry Potter films he would
star in. He commented (when asked about appearing in future HP films), “I
don't know yet - I want to do most of them because I have a really good time
doing them. And I want to do this when I'm older, because I really do enjoy
it, it's really fun.”
Fortunately Rupert kept his word and appeared in the third HP film, Prisoner
of Azkaban, and starred in the fourth film in the series, Goblet of Fire,
when it was released in November 2005.
Starring in Prisoner
The third Harry Potter film was eagerly waited for, mainly due to it being
the favourite book of the series so far amongst the majority of Potter fans,
with the introduction of new characters and key storylines being brought in.
Fans held high hopes for the third film installment, waiting with baited breath
to see the spectacular special effects and general magic which the cast and
crew of the film had managed to produce.
Rupert was only too happy to work with the challenge of blue screens and the
like, needed to create scenes such as the dementors and Buckbeak. When asked
about it in an interview he said, “it's really weird doing all the special
effects stuff but it's really satisfying to see it all at the end.”
By the time Prisoner of Azkaban came out, Rupert had become one of the most
famous teenagers in the world. When he wasn’t on set filming, he relaxed
by playing golf and of course, his playstation.
It seemed much different for him handling the fame now than it did when he
first starred as Ron, and Rupert even admitted himself that, “It's hard
to get used to. It's really weird but quite cool too.”
The enjoyment of being on set and filming seems to outweigh any of the pressures
of being famous for Rupert, and we are sure that he will remain the grounded
attitude which has made him a favourite amongst fans.
Back to Best for Goblet
The fourth installment of the Harry Potter film saga offered the toughest challenge yet to Rupert and his returning co-stars. Goblet of Fire was a huge feat, in respects to the book's story and the developments within each character.
Much to most Rupert fan's delight, Goblet gave Rupert the chance to display his acting's full versatility and deliver some simply hilarious lines. He has been accredited for his brilliant performance since the film's release - as Rupert continues to show us there is simply no boundaries to what he can do.
As he is furthering his talents on-screen, Rupert has also become somewhat of a style icon to his great legion of fans. He combines the casual-smart look to perfection, and (although most fans would likely just argue that he looks good in anything) it's continually apparent that Rupert's unique sense of style, combined with his acting abilities, pave the way for a very bright future. Rupert's main focus aside from filming Goblet of Fire was to learn to drive - leaving him with little time for a girlfriend!
With more than half of the Potter films now done, Rupert continues to enthuse about the remaining films and also possibilities once the series ends. He says; "
I want to do as many as I can because they really good fun to do and obviously we've got to know each other really well, the whole cast and some of the crew, we're really close." It's little suprise that the cast and crew of the films have become a tight-knit family.
Drive of a Lifetime
Driving Lessons was the project which was waited for with baited breath by Rupert's fans. His second film aside from Potter was classed as a contemporary Harold and Maude - this small independent film couldn't be further from the massive commercial franchise in which Rupert has made his name.
After receiving much critical aclaim from fans and critics at festivals such as Tribeca and Dublin International Film Festival, the movie was widely tagged as "one to watch". Driving Lessons' cinematic release in the UK was September 8th 2006 and the film was both a domestic and international success. Rupert's credentials are growing and bit by bit he is cementing his way to becoming one of the UK's finest stars.
RupertGrint.net was fortunate enough to catch up with Rupert at the Edinburgh International Film Festival where he was promoting Driving Lessons. You can read the site's first ever interview with him here and check out our EIFF exclusives page here. Meeting Rupert only confirmed what we already knew to be true: no matter how much fame he may achieve, he is the most down-to-earth and friendly person you could hope to find.
Rearranging into Order
Order of the Phoenix hit cinemas on July 13th, 2007 to resounding praise from fans and critics alike. Though it was noted by many that Rupert's character, Ron, was not given a lot of screen time, his comedic timing and acting prowess ensured that when he did appear, he stole the limelight from his Potter co-stars.
Being his first Harry Potter film since working on Driving Lessons, Order of the Phoenix displayed a definite maturing of Rupert's acting: "Grint is the superb middleman between Harry and Hermione, and has nearly switched places with Hermione to be the "levelheaded" one of the group." (The Movie Boy) and showed that experience gained outside J.K Rowling's enormously successful franchise hasn't hurt one bit. "..while Grint lost his virginity in the indie film "Driving Lessons" -- his extra experience shows in Order." (Hollywood.com).
RupertGrint.net was again lucky enough to be able to interview Rupert, not just one but twice, at both the London and LA premieres for the film.
The Bomb Goes Off
Rupert's next project may have come as a shock to a few fans, as he picked up the role of Malachy in thriller Cherrybomb. This feature, which is clearly the furthest stretch away from his Potter alter-ego of Ron Weasley to date, revolves around the relationship between two male friends turning very ugly once a shared love interest moves in to their small Irish town. Loaded with sex, drugs and violence, the arty and stylish Cherrybomb was exactly the gritty type of role which many fans had waited for.
Although the film has not yet been scheduled for a general release, fans trekked to screenings all over the world, most noticeably at the 2009 Berlinale Film Festival, where the premiere sold out in a mere matter of minutes.
Praise rang in for Grint's performance in this role, with critics lauding it as "an impressive transformation", noting that "Grint brings a touching sincerity and warmth to the role of Malachy" and congratulating him for "giving a very subtle and realistic performance". Even the film's screenwriter Daragh Carville remarked that "we'd been auditioning for a while but Rupert really blew us out of the water". It seems that Grint's efforts to break out into other films are proving to be nothing other than a huge success.
Weasley is Our King
"Finally!", we thought. After 8 years of waiting, Ron Weasley is about to get his turn in the spotlight.
After hitting cinemas on July 15 2009, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince brought fans the storylines we have all been dying to see on the big screen. Ron and Lavender. Ron and Hermione. Ron as Quidditch King! "Harry who?" we say! Co-star Daniel Radcliffe even mentioned in several interviews that Rupert's performance during Ron's Quidditch try-out was his favorite scene in the film.
Despite the torrential downpours at the London premiere, fans remained as loyal and dedicated as ever to see their favorite stars. After signing so many autographs, Rupert especially looked to be as wet as the fans in the crowd!
The Future and Beyond
With Rupert set to star in the black comedy Wild Target - pending release early 2010 - fans of the actor will be treated to a broad range of his acting abilities throughout the course of the year. Going so far as to dub this "The Year of Rupert", it seems as though there really are no boundaries to what Rupert can do, or where he can go from here.
It is certainly unimaginable to think of anyone else playing the role of Ron now, as
Rupert has certainly made the part his own. We look forward to seeing him develop
as an actor in future Harry Potter films, and in any other projects he takes
on. He has proved to fans that you can succeed in anything, even something you
dream of, if you take your best shot at it.
We know, that with this attitude, he will continue in the industry for many
years to come.
© RupertGrint.net 2002-Present: No part of this biography may be duplicated without
prior permission.
Thanks goes to CBBC Newsround for their source of interviews on Rupert.
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