6 Facts About Incoming Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Star Rupert Grint That Will Have You Saying 'Blimey!'

Rupert Grint caught wind of Tom Felton's run in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and said, "Hold my wand." At least that's how we picture it going down. The original Ron Weasley reprises his role from all eight Harry Potter films at Broadway's Lyric Theatre beginning February 2, performing through May 30, 2027. Ahead of the 38-year-old actor's highly-anticipated return to the stage, here are six things to know about the Hogwarts alum.

1. It's Not His "Only Play"
Grint returns to the Broadway stage after making his debut as Frank Finger in 2014's It's Only a Play. The ensemble cast of Terrence McNally's comedy also included Nathan Lane, Stockard Channing, F. Murray Abraham, Matthew Broderick and Megan Mullally. Grint won two Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards: Favorite Featured Actor in a Play and Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male). He made his West End debut the year prior in Jez Butterworth's Mojo, alongside Brendan Coyle, Tom Rhys Harries, Daniel Mays, Colin Morgan and Ben Whishaw.

2. Weasley Is Our Scream King
On screen, Grint has leaned into the horror genre. His most recent film credit is the horror flick Nightborn, from Finnish director Hanna Bergholm. He previously appeared in M. Night Shyamalan's psychological thriller Knock at the Cabin (also starring Broadway favorite Jonathan Groff), as well as Shyamalan's Apple TV series Servant and Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities. Grint's comedic chops are on display in the crime comedy-drama television show Snatch and the British black comedy series Sick Note.

3. Art Imitates Life
Grint returns to the wizarding world in a story set 19 years after the events of the final Harry Potter book. Weasley's daughter, Rose Granger-Weasley, attends Hogwarts along with Harry's son, Albus Potter and Draco's son, Scorpius Malfoy. Grint is also a girl dad in real life. He and his longtime partner, actress Georgia Groome, share two daughters. Wednesday was born in May 2020, and Goldie in April 2025. Grint told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that the name Wednesday was "kind of" inspired by The Addams Family, adding, "I just always loved the name. It's a good name, it's memorable."

4. Ice Cream Dreams
Before he joined one of the biggest franchises in the world, Grint's ambitions had nothing to do with acting. In fact, his dream was to be an ice cream man. He ultimately achieved his goal—sort of—by purchasing a Mr. Whippy van with his Harry Potter film earnings. Not only was the nostalgic vehicle Grint's first car, but he also learned to drive in it. The only time he used it for its intended purpose was on the last day of filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, when he drove it to set and served ice cream to the crew as a sweet sendoff. "After we wrapped, I remember driving in the ice cream van on my own, kind of considering maybe this could be a career for me. Maybe I could just be an ice cream man now," Grint told British GQ.

5. My Goodness, My Guinness
Add this to his list of accolades: Grint is a former Guinness World Record Holder. He officially broke the record for the fastest time to reach 1 million followers on Instagram when he joined the social media platform on November 10, 2020. His time of 4 hours and 1 minute surpassed the previous record set by Sir David Attenborough. For Grint's first post, he shared a selfie with his daughter, captioned: "Hey Instagram....only 10 years late, but here I am. Grint on the Gram! Here to introduce you all to Wednesday G. Grint. Stay safe, Rupert." The post itself has four million likes. On December 6, 2021, BTS' Kim Tae-hyung (known as V) beat Grint's record with a jaw-dropping 43 minutes.

6. Potter Pride
Speaking to the BBC in November 2025 about the upcoming Harry Potter HBO original series, Grint reflected on playing the iconic character and what it means to forever be associated with the role. "I love it," he said. "It has a quite deep meaning to a lot of people of my generation, and even more to generations who are finding it now. It's great. It gives me a lot of pride. It was such a huge thing. I don't think I'll ever quite step out of his shadow, but I'm fine with that."

Get tickets to see Rupert Grint in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child!