The Harry Potter star Rupert Grint will return to the role of Ron Weasley, playing the adult character in the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in New York.
Grint was first cast as Ron in the original films at the age of 11. Now, at 38, he will join the cast of the Broadway production from February 2 and will perform for four months.
The play’s plot unfolds 19 years after the events of the original books and films and shows Harry, Ron, and Hermione as adults. Ron and Hermione are married and send their daughter to Hogwarts.
“Dusting off the old robes. New York — see you in February,” Grint wrote on Instagram.
Returning to the role of Ron
Last November, he told BBC News that he would hardly ever “come out of the shadow” of Ron Weasley. “I’m fine with it. I think it’s great,” he said.
On Wednesday, the British actor said that “Ron Weasley has been a part of me since I was 11, and I can’t wait to meet him again at this stage of life.”
“There’s something special about embodying Ron again at this stage of life when we are both parents now. It’s both very familiar and absolutely new. And the joy of returning to Broadway, this time in a role that has defined so much in my life, is truly exciting.”
Other actors from the original cast
Grint is the only one of the three main actors from the films to return to his role, although his colleague Tom Felton is currently playing Draco Malfoy again in the same play.
However, they will not appear on stage together: Felton will perform until January 3, and Grint will join the production on February 2. Grint’s performances are currently scheduled until May 30.
Grint starred in all eight Harry Potter films from 2001 to 2011, and later appeared in the TV series Sick Note, Snatch, and Servant. He also performed on Broadway in the comedy “It’s Only a Play” in 2014.
The producers of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender, said that Grint’s portrayal in the Potter films “defined for generations what it means to be a loyal and brave friend even in the face of adversity and hardship.”
They added: “Rupert is not just returning to a role from his past. He is continuing a journey he began in childhood and carrying it forward with all the life experience he has gained since the end of filming, including a career that has taken him from film to television and to acclaimed theater work both on Broadway and in the West End.”
Source: BBC
