Rupert Grint

Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint (born 24 August 1988) is an English actor.

Grint rose to fame for his role as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter film series, for which he was cast at age eleven, having previously acted only in school plays and his local theatre group.

Since then, he has continued his work on film, television, and theatre.

Grint was born on 24 August 1988 in Harlow, Essex, to Nigel Grint, a dealer in racing memorabilia, and Joanne Grint (née Parsons).

He is the eldest of five siblings.

He has said that his earliest goal in life was to become an ice cream man.

He grew up in Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire, and was educated at Richard Hale School, in Hertford.

Grint was raised a Catholic and said he "feared God" as a child.

While in school, he took an avid interest in theatre.

He began performing in school productions and joined the Top Hat Stage and Screen School, a local theatre group that cast him as a fish in Noah's Ark and a donkey in a nativity play.

He continued participating in school plays as he moved into secondary school.

Nonetheless, he had never acted professionally prior to the Harry Potter series.

He left school at sixteen to focus on his acting career, saying he "didn't really like school that much".

Starting in 1999, casting began for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the best-selling novel by J. K. Rowling.

Rowling insisted the cast be British and assisted Susie Figgis and director Chris Columbus in casting the roles.

Grint, a fan of the book series, chose to audition for the role of Ron Weasley, one of Harry Potter's best friends at Hogwarts.

Having seen a Newsround report about the open casting, he sent in a video of himself rapping about how he wished to receive the role, and the casting team asked for a meeting with him.

In August 2000, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Grint were selected to play Harry, Hermione Granger, and Ron.

Grint is the oldest member of the trio.

The release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2001 was Grint's debut screen performance.

Breaking records for opening-day sales and opening-weekend takings, it was the year's highest-grossing film.

With a total of US$974 million in its theatrical run, it stands as the series' second most commercially successful entry.

It was critically well-received, scoring mainly positive reviews.

However, a number of critics found the adaption's faithfulness to the book both its best and worst quality.

Grint won a Satellite Award in the category of Outstanding New Talent, and a Young Artist Award for Most Promising Young Newcomer.

Beginning in 2002, he began to work outside of the Harry Potter franchise, with a co-leading role in Thunderpants.

A year later, Grint again starred as Ron in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).

It opened to positive reviews and critics generally enjoyed the lead actors' performances.

Both Los Angeles Times and New York Magazine observed that Grint and his peers had matured between films, with the latter pointing out that Grint had become "more proficient" and said they missed "the amateurish ardour" the actor and Watson carried in Philosopher's Stone.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) was released on 31 May in the UK.

The film sees all three of its lead characters hover on the brink of adolescence, "and while they look braver and more capable than before, the dangers they face seem far more grave and their vulnerability more intense."

Alfonso Cuarón took over direction for Prisoner of Azkaban, which remains the lowest-grossing Harry Potter film with US$795 million in revenue.

Nonetheless, it was the second highest-grossing movie of 2004, behind Shrek 2.

In 2005, Grint reprised his role for the fourth film in the series – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The adaptation, unlike previous films, explored romantic elements and included more humour.

He starred in the dramedy Driving Lessons (2006) and the drama Cherrybomb (2009) and co-starred in the comedy Wild Target (2010).

After the Harry Potter series concluded, he appeared in the films Into the White (2012), Charlie Countryman (2013), CBGB (2013), and Moonwalkers (2015).

He made his stage debut in 2013 in Mojo at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

He executive-produced and starred in the television series Snatch, based on the film of the same name.

He has also starred in the black comedy series Sick Note, the mystery thriller miniseries The ABC Murders, and the psychological horror series Servant.