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Rupert Grint

Rupert Grint’s screen career began with the sort of role that can define an actor for life. Born in Harlow in 1988, Grint had performed in school productions and local theatre but had never acted professionally when he auditioned to play Ron Weasley. A fan of the Harry Potter books, he sent the casting team a video in which he rapped about wanting the part. By 2000, he had been selected alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone became Grint’s screen debut in 2001. Across all eight films, he made Ron more than the friend standing beside the central hero. Grint’s dry reactions, nervous energy and instinct for comedy gave the character his own rhythm, while the later entries asked him to bring out Ron’s insecurity, anger and growing confidence. That progression is especially clear from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire through to Half-Blood Prince, where Grint enjoyed playing a more emotional and self-assured version of the character. The two-part Deathly Hallows finale gave Ron some of his most strained and consequential material. Part 1 leaned into the tensions within the central trio, allowing Grint to show the value of restraint and a slow-building response. Part 2 returned him to the larger sweep of the series for its conclusion in 2011. Seen together, the films preserve an unusual screen journey: a young performer and his character growing up across a full decade. Grint also worked beyond Hogwarts during those years, appearing in Thunderpants, Driving Lessons, Cherrybomb and Wild Target. His later career has moved between film, television and theatre. He made his London stage debut in Mojo, followed by a Broadway appearance in It’s Only a Play, and starred as Julian Pearce in the psychological horror series Servant. Further screen roles have included Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities and M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin. It is a varied body of work, but Ron Weasley remains the best place to see the qualities Grint brought to the screen from the beginning: comic unease, warmth and an ability to make the supporting friend feel essential.