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Chris Rankin

Chris Rankin is a British actor whose career has moved between film, television, theatre and behind-the-scenes production work. Born in Auckland on 8 November 1983, he lived in Rothesay Bay until the age of six, when he and his parents moved to Norfolk in the United Kingdom. Rankin began acting at eleven, appearing in school productions including Bugsy Malone and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. His professional career arrived in September 2000, when he was cast as Percy Weasley in the Harry Potter films. He later returned for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2, following the character’s absence from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and a brief non-speaking appearance in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Rather than following a single, tidy route through the industry, Rankin built a varied working life. Alongside acting, he worked in kitchens and a bar, and in 2002 was an usher at UCI Cinemas. He co-founded Painted Horse Theatre Company with Jim Rymer in 2004 and has performed in pantomimes as well as stage productions of Wuthering Heights, Hedda Gabler and Salomé. His television work includes the miniseries The Rotters’ Club and Channel 5’s Victoria Cross Heroes, in which he played Evelyn Wood. He also starred in and produced the 2009 YouTube video LifeHack, directed by TomSka, and appeared as Mycroft Holmes in the Hillywood Show’s Sherlock parody in 2016. Rankin completed his studies at the University of Lincoln in 2011. His understanding of screen work also extends beyond performance: he has worked as a production coordinator on Atlantis and Downton Abbey. It is a career shaped not only by a well-known early film role, but by sustained involvement across several sides of theatre and screen production.