Rupert Grint

Rupert Grint was born on August 24, 1988, in Hertfordshire, England. As a schoolboy, Grint was an avid fan of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Hearing about an open casting call for the first Potter film, 10-year-old Grint submitted a self-made audition video and landed the role of Ronald Weasley. He has also acted in a handful of non-Potter roles including Driving Lessons (2006) and Cherrybomb (2009).

Rupert Grint's father, Nigel Grint, is a racing memorabilia dealer, and his mother, Jo Grint, is a homemaker. Rupert Grint says that his first ambition in life was to become an ice cream man.

Grint attended the Richard Hale Secondary School in Hertfordshire. As a schoolboy, he gained a lot of attention for his unruly bright red hair. His great-grandfather nicknamed him "Copper Knob," and his friends at school called him "Ginge" (short for "ginger," British slang for redhead). Grint was an avid fan of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series, so when he heard about an open casting call for the film adaptation, he decided to audition for the part of Harry Potter's redheaded best friend, Ronald Weasley. At the time, Grint's only acting experience had been in a handful of school plays, including one performance as a fish in a play about Noah's ark.

Grint speaks with awe about his first experiences on the set of Harry Potter. "Walking into the Great Hall for the first time was absolutely incredible," he recalls. "All these effects with all the candles floating in the air, all lit and everything, food on the table, all the flambeaus were litit was just incredible, it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life." Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone opened in 2001, smashing single-day box office records for U.S. ticket sales.