Rupert Grint has been a household name ever since he was 11 years old, when it was announced he would be playing Ron Weasley in the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Since the final movie was released in 2011, Rupert has done everything from playing a fan turned stalker in the music video for Ed Sheeran's "Lego House" to starring in and executive-producing a TV adaptation of Guy Ritchie's Snatch.
In his newest project, Sick Note, Rupert plays a man who is misdiagnosed with a terminal illness, and decides to keep up the charade when he realises everyone around him starts treating him better.
1. Tea or coffee?
Rupert Grint: Coffee.
2. How do you take it?
RG: I like it black.
3. Have you ever been mistaken for another celebrity?
RG: Yeah. It’s always… Well, it’s only Ed Sheeran. Oh, and there was a guy in Lord of the Rings – one of the hobbits.
4. Have you ever intentionally pretended to be another celebrity?
RG: Yeah, Ed Sheeran. I play along, I rarely deny it.
5. What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told?
RG: My lies are usually quite innocent, there’s never anything major, but I did do this one thing where I told everyone I was in a Mr Blobby music video for Children in Need. It was from the ’90s, and there’s a choirboy in it who looks exactly like me. A lot of people still think that’s me.
6. Puppies or kittens?
RG: It’s hard, because I have both. Puppies.
7. What animal are you most like?
RG: I would say a tortoise.
8. Which Hogwarts house are you in?
RG: Officially?
What do you identify as?
RG: I quite like the idea of Slytherin, but I am actually a Hufflepuff.
9. What’s the weirdest possession you own?
RG: Oh god, my gauge on weird is a bit hazy. Most things I have are probably quite weird. I have a jar of taxidermy mole butts. And it’s got a label on it that says “molasses”. Like…mole-asses. That’s quite weird. I don’t know why I have that.
10. What’s your favourite pizza topping?
RG: Pepperoni or, like, Costco pizza.
11. What’s your drink of choice?
RG: Tequila.
12. What’s your favourite drunk food?
RG: [laughs] I think everything I eat could be classified as drunk food. I really like pizza.
13. What advice would you give to your younger self?
RG: Maybe think a bit more about your hair.
14. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
RG: I don’t know, I don’t feel like anyone’s ever given me advice. I feel like I need some advice. [laughs]
15. Have you ever freaked out about meeting a celebrity?
RG: I’m quite unfazeable with stuff like that, but occasionally someone catches me out. It’s usually people that really wouldn’t be a big deal, like Alan Titchmarsh. For some reason, I don’t know what it was, but he got me a little bit tongue-tied.
16. What’s the craziest fan encounter you’ve ever had?
RG: I’ve had a few. I think every encounter is a little bit strange. I’ve had some people come to my house, which is a bit scary because they always seem to know where you live. There was another guy, in New York – this was when one of the first Potter films came out – a guy in a wheelchair grabbed on to the back of our car and we pulled him along for a few miles. I think he was alright.
17. Do you have a secret talent?
RG: I can carve things into crayons. Almost anything. Into a crayon.
18. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
RG: I’d like to teleport.
19. What’s the most challenging role you’ve ever played?
RG: Maybe this one, Sick Note, because he pretends to have a terminal illness. It was quite hard for me to understand why someone would do that, and also keeping up with all the lies he tells was quite hard.
20. What’s the most fun you’ve had playing a character?
RG: I think they’ve all been pretty fun. The first Potter film was amazing, because I was a huge Harry Potter fan, and suddenly to be in that world blew my mind.
21. What’s your biggest pet peeve?
RG: I don’t know, I’m pretty chill. It takes a lot to really get me peeved.
22. What’s your most-used emoji?
RG: Do you know what, I never use emojis. I just never naturally think, “Yeah, this will say what I want to say.” Maybe I should, maybe I’m not that fun.
23. What’s the last song you listened to?
RG: It was probably something from the Hamilton soundtrack. It’s so good.
24. What TV show have you been binge-watching recently?
RG: I’ve got into – I’m so behind [laughs] – Lost. I never watched it, I always kind of avoided it because it was such a big thing. But I’m working my way through that. It’s pretty cool.
25. What was the last book you read?
RG: I haven’t finished a book in a while. The last book I read fully was called Rant, it’s by Chuck Palahniuk.
26. What was the last movie you saw?
RG: It was this really weird horror film called Be My Cat. It’s about this guy who’s obsessed with Anne Hathaway.
27. What would you be if you weren’t an actor?
RG: Probably something to do with art. I had some plans a long time ago. I wanted to design hats.
28. Do you have a favourite joke?
RG: I’m not a big fan of jokes.
You’re really serious.
RG: [laughs] Yeah, I’m really serious – I don’t like emojis, I don’t like jokes, I don’t like anything fun.
29. What’s your signature dance move?
RG: I don’t dance a lot, but it’s the Worm. Or some people call it the Caterpillar.
30. What’s one ambition you have yet to accomplish?
RG: I think I’ve done– [stops to think] No, surely not.
Making hats.
RG: Well, yeah, it’s on the list. Design and make a hat.
31. What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
RG: I’m related to Robbie Williams.
Are you actually?!
RG: I actually am. Very distantly.
That’s a claim to fame.
RG: Isn’t it?!
