Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint (born 24 August 1988) is an English actor best known for playing Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films. In December 2007, Grint was ranked #16 in the list of Forbes Top twenty earners under 25 with an annual earning of $4 million (US).

Early life

Grint was born in Harlow, Essex and grew up in Hertfordshire. His mother, Joanne Grint (née Parsons), is a housewife, and his father, Nigel Grint, is a memorabilia dealer. He has one brother, James (born in 1990), and three sisters: Georgina (born in 1993), Samantha (born in 1996) and Charlotte (born in 1998). Before being cast in Harry Potter, he had only appeared in plays for school and his local theatre group, Top Hat Stage School. As a young child, he was once cast as a fish in a play based on the story of Noah’s Ark. He also played Rumpelstiltskin in another school play.

Career

A self-proclaimed fan of the Harry Potter book series, young Grint was interested in getting a role in the film. For his audition, he sent a video he made of himself, in which he dressed as his drama teacher while rapping about how much he wanted the part; Grint won the casting selection with the video. After completing the first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, he appeared as science-whiz Alan A. Allen in the British film Thunderpants (2002) which received mainly negative reviews[citation needed] and was considered a flop[by whom?]. In 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009 he again starred as Ron Weasley in the Potter sequels Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Grint also starred in the coming-of-age story Driving Lessons with Laura Linney and Julie Walters (who acted as his character’s mother, Mrs Weasley, in the Harry Potter movies), which was released in the summer of 2006. Grint got excellent reviews for his first leading role: the critics praised the realism he brought into the role of shy teenager Ben Marshall, as well as his “riotous comedic timing” and “fantastic screen chemistry” with Walters.

Also known for his radio and television voice-over work, he appeared as Nigel Molesworth in the Baggy Trousers series for BBC Radio 4 and voiced Peter Pan in a BBC documentary.

On 9 July 2007, Grint and fellow cast-mates Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson left imprints of their hands, feet and wands in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.