Rupert Grint shot to fame as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter film series. The actor was cast in one of the three main roles at the age of 11 despite the fact his only previous acting experience was appearing in his school play, and being cast as a fish and a donkey in local theatre productions.
While still working on Harry Potter, Rupert played a leading role in Thunderpants, before starring in films like Driving Lessons, Cherrybomb and Wild Target. He has voiced a character in Postman Pat: The Movie and appeared in hit TV shows Sick Note, Snatch, The ABC Murders and most recently Servant season 2 on Apple TV+.
But what else is there to learn about the much-loved actor? Here are a few things you might not know.
1. He sent an audition tape with a difference for the part of Ron in 'Harry Potter'.
After hearing about the auditions for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on CBBC's Newsround, Rupert, who was already a huge fan of J.K.Rowling's books asked his drama teacher to help him with his audition. In the end his teacher filmed him rapping about why he wanted the role so much, hoping that it would make him stand out from the crowd. In the end producers were so taken with his unique idea that they asked him in for an audition almost immediately.
2. He is terrified of spiders.
Rupert is so scared of spiders that he can't even watch his own scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that sees Ron and Harry venture into the Forbidden Forest to face giant spiders. He told Newsround in 2002: "I hate them, even the rubber ones I get scared of. Luckily, some of them were CGI. But that car-size one, that was actually there unfortunately. So that wasn't my favourite scene to film!"
3. He owns an ice cream van.
Before he ever dreamt of becoming an actor, Rupert set his heart on becoming an ice cream man. He told The Daily Mail: "It was my first ambition, which is why I bought the Bedford van. Not long after I first got it, I pulled into a pub to do a U-turn and there were eight kids with their pocket money out, hoping to buy a 99. But I had nothing to give them.
"I've learnt my lesson since then and keep the van stocked up. I even drove it up to the set on the last day of filming on Harry Potter. The cast and crew were having a barbecue and I supplied the lollies and ice creams."
4. He gets mistaken for Ed Sheeran.
Despite being world-famous in his own right, people still stop Rupert in the street thinking he is British singer Ed Sheeran. But Rupert has revealed that he usually plays along with it. The pair have actually worked together before, with Rupert appearing in the music video of Ed's 2011 song Lego House.
5. He has an unusual hobby.
One of Rupert's hobbies is beekeeping, which he apparently does because it is good for the environment. He told The Sun during an appearance at Glastonbury Festival in 2019: "I considered coming to Glastonbury in disguise, like I used to. I was going to bring my beekeeping outfit because I'm in to beekeeping lately. I might be bringing my own honey out soon!"
6. He carried the 2012 London Olympic torch
On July 25th 2012 Rupert was given the great honour of carrying the London Olympic torch as part of the relay through Hendon in North West London, to outside Middlesex University. He told The Telegraph at the time: "It was amazing, it was really overwhelming. It's just such an honour to be a part of this. I'm really proud."
7. He almost broke the internet in 2020.
After vowing to never join social media, Rupert broke a world record when he joined Instagram in November 2020 and gained more than one million followers in four hours and one minute. The previous record holder was Sir David Attenborough who reached the social media milestone with four hours and 44 minutes.
The first image that Rupert shared was a picture of him holding his baby daughter, Wednesday, who was born on 6th May 2020. The actor told Entertainment Tonight: "I think Wednesday actually broke the internet, personally. She gets all the credit. I don't believe it, it's very surreal. I never thought I would join Instagram. I always said that I wouldn't, and then just thought, 'It's been such a crazy time, so why not?' It's insane."
Rupert Grint's fact file.
Answers to the most frequently asked questions about the actor.
How old is he?
Rupert Grint is 32 years old. He was born on 24th August 1988.
Is he married?
Rupert Grint has been in a relationship with actress Georgia Groome since 2011.
Does he have children?
Rupert Grint and girlfriend Georgia have a baby daughter called Wednesday who was born in May 2020.
Where was he born?
Rupert Grint was born in Harlow, Essex.
How tall is he?
Rupert Grint is 1.73 metres tall.
Instagram: @rupertgrint
We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the last article update.
