036 oc tober 2012 Words DanMasoliverGroomingJoeMillsSetTom Bird Photography NeilBedfordStylingWilliamarnes credit: name name is HarryPotter? FHMcatchesupwithRupertGrinttofindout How doyougo“backtonormal” whenallyou’veeverknown GREW UP THE MANWHO ON SET MONTH 2012 RUPERT GRINT 000 T “I couldn’t an alien” I fel relate friends RUPERT GRINT o my 000 MONTH 2012 t like

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credit: name name casting forthefilmversionofhisfavouritebook, it wasabitoffun.”ButlandingtheroleRonin I neverreallythoughtofitasacareer. Ijustthought fan ofthebooks,andI’dalwaysbeenintodrama,but Hertfordshire couldn’teverhavedreamtof. that thebright-eyed11-year-oldfromsmall-town Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone Philosopher’s The And Potter sat downtowatcha normal ifhe’dbeenraisedbychimpanzeesinajungle. this 25-year-old’slifecouldn’thavebeenfurtherfrom actually lookslike themost,well,normalonehere.Yet the roomtohavehadhisfaceprintedonalunchbox seemingly veryimportantroles,theonlypersonin publicists andseveralotherswithunidentifiablebut set-builders, stylists,make-up artists,photographers, as heistodayinacentralLondonstudio, byanarmyof inthepresenceofgreatness. immediately knowsthey’re perfectly coiffedhairandimmaculatestyling,everyone they walkintoaroom,withtheirchiselledfeatures, have ahaircut,orcontrolstupid stufflike that.” his 20s.“Icouldneverchange,” hesays.“Icouldnever teens wasoff-limits toGrintuntilhewaswellinto gel-induced alterationsthat everyonemakes intheir life. Ifeltlike analien.”Eventhemostbasicofhair of myfriendsanymore,because Ihadsuchadifferent really beentherefortwoyears.Icouldn’trelatetoany back toschoolinYear 9todosomeexams,andIhadn’t experiences thattherestofustake forgranted. was thathemissedoutonsomanyoftheshared every kid’sideaofadreamcometrue,butthereality shooting theshitwithGaryOldman.Itsoundslike bottle, Grintwaswavinghiswandatdementorsand you triedtohideyourbonerduringagameofspinthe getting shoutedatbyAlanRickman.ByYear 10,as out ofPE,Rupert Grint was ridingabroomstickand In Year 8,whileyouwerefakingtheflutotryget Potter bigger than in theeight of themostrecognisablefiguresonEarth,starring and histrademarkmopofredhair, would becomeone breaking history. Inthedecadethatfollowed,Grint, gingersidekickRonWeasley.part ofHarry’s he rappedthereasonsshouldbeconsideredfor sent anauditiontapetothefilm’sproducers,inwhich cameo asadonkey inanativityplay–theyoungGrint of schoolshowsunderhisbelt–includingadazzling film franchiseofalltime–biggerthan of anysemblanceanormalchildhood. of fameandfortuneand,ontheother, deprivehim that would,ontheonehand,sentencehimtoalife “It wasacompletefluke,” saysGrint.“Iwasahuge In theyear2000,an11-year-oldboyfromStevenage Rupert Grintisnotoneofthesepeople.Surrounded, That maysound trivial,butthere’sareason thatthe “My lifecompletelychanged,”herecalls.“Iwent The rest,asyouknow, ishighlylucrative,record- Childhood l filmsmarked adramaticforkintheroad,one T Harry Potter Harry Batman it “starpower”ifyouwill,butwhen as differentfromtherestofus.Call an A-listaura–thatmarksthemout special, whohaveanairaboutthem– here arepeopleinthisworldwho , biggereventhanBond.Something Newsround movies,thehighest-grossing reportaboutanopen ost . With ahandful Star Wars Star

, Harry Harry Potter thefirst London’s BrentCrossshoppingcentreafter in public,whenhewasoutwithhisfamilyNorth attracts acrowd.Sometimesit’sbitoverpowering.” of drunkpeople,andonceonepersoncomesover, it and that’squitetough,becausethere’sahugeamount to acoupleofmusicfestivalsinthepastfewyears, go there’ssomeonetakingapictureofyou.I’vebeen “I’m quiteashyperson,”saysGrint,“andwhereveryou that culminatesinhisposingforphotoswithfans. to dealwiththesameall-intrusivefame. got theheroic,scene-stealinglines,buthe’sstillhad duvet coversandpencilcases.Grintmayrarelyhave Watson, Rupert Grint’sfaceisplasteredonposters, andEmma but alongsideco-starsDanielRadcliffe Potter merchandising. Theseriesmaybecalled alone, andcountlessmillionsmoreinDVD salesand grossed almost$8billiondollarsinbox-officetakings ofwherethefilmsweremade,they Regardless Potter Harry the onlyconstant thinginhislife So whenfacedwiththefinale of fatigue, Grintlearnedtolove acting. and aself-confessed mid-franchise that.” There’s noturningbackafter of Ron,Ididn’thavemuchchoice. man,” hesays.“After gettingthepart ideas: Iwantedtodesignhats,orbecomeanice-cream irreversible pathtoeverlastingfame.“Ihadsomeother tape toacastingdirectoreffectivelysethimonan Rupert Grint.Onechildhood whimtosendanaudition Ron Weasley thanhehadspentactuallylivinghislife as of thenormalitythathe’sbeendeniedhisentirelife. is simplyattemptingonadailybasistoregainsome and yougettheimpressionthatthisissomeonewho but thisisn’tsomecryforattention;talktoGrint, and itwasreallyhot,soIcouldn’tkeep itonforlong.” invigorating –Ifeltfree.Butitwasalatexduckmask I woreamaskatVFestival two yearsago, anditwas I dohideawayfromitandwearhoodsmasks. – you’realwaysonshow,” hesays.“Itputsmeonedge. heads everywherehegoes.“You can’tjustbeyourself contained, inourownlittlebubble.Imean,wefilmed throughout ourconversation.“And wewerequite it,” saysGrint,inthefriendly, familiartoneheretains strong fearofdeath,sothat’salwayskept meawayfrom the pullofsex,drugsandtabloidcolumninches. from hisbottleofCoke, Grintseemstohaveavoided takingasip rails. Butsatonasofathisafternoon, Lohans andMacaulayCulkinsofthisworldgooffthe imaginable vice,it’shardlysurprisingthattheLindsay and introducedtoalifeofmoney, glamourandevery their friends,whilebeingthrustintothelimelight endures tothisday. Pulled outofschoolandawayfrom long-standing stereotypeofthechild-star-gone-bad Grint stillremembersthefirsttimehewasspotted Everywhere hegoesthere’sarippleofrecognition Despite theoccasionalrough patch, This isamanwhospentmoreyearspretendingtobe Wearing alatexduckmaskmaysoundlittleextreme, “It’s notsomethingthat’sswayedme.Ihavequitea PENCIL , andthetraumaofhaving filmcameout.Sincethatday, Grinthasturned inWatford. It’snotexactlyHollywood.” -CASE FACE COM; shoe,£175,Russ ell pol Jacket, £290,Schott.eu; Jumper, £165,Kenzo AT Harry Potter Harry o shirt, £80,Sunspel. com; jeans, £75, Levi. andbromley.co.uk Previous page Liberty.CO.UK opposite

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cloak ofthe for himselfinthegrown-upworldofproperacting. Like andWatson, Radcliffe he’scarvingoutaplace from thesortinghatsandgoldensnitchesofHogwarts. flashing hispastyarse–isnolessofadeparture a foul-mouthedanarchistrocker withapenchantfor playing theleadrolein 034 Mojo West Endrunofthegangster-plottedblackcomedy way towardsexpandinghisthespianhorizonsisanew The upcomingprojectthatGrinthopeswillgosome expect ittodoaswell,soit’squiteafreeexperience.” there’s notthesamekindofpressure–youdon’t acknowledges Grint.“Inawayit’squitenice,because never goingtoreplicateorexperiencethatagain,” “Harry Potter isaveryuniquethingandI’mprobably from scratch.Morethanalittledaunting,surely? audience ofmillions,he’dhavetostarteveryproject instead ofstarringinafilmwithguaranteedglobal and make itasaseriousactor. Theonlycatch:now, try toshake theassociationswiththatgingerwizard sit androllaroundinmountainsofbanknotes,or decade offilming,hewasfinallyfacedwithachoice: whipped outfromunderhisfeetattheendofa upcoming cinemarolein one shot,notloadsoftakes. Thatexcites me.”His and there’ssomethingquitethrillingaboutonlyhaving “I thinkIneedtodoit,”headmits.“It’srealacting, young actorshespentallday everydaywithonsetfor what it’slike towalkin his world-famousshoes:the Grint. Thereareonlytwopeoplewhocanreallyknow may try, we’ll nevertrulybeabletounderstandRupert know aboutthemostdown-to-earthmaninfilm. of whomadethem,tellsyoueverythingneedto recognised fortheirmeritalone,andnotbecause the facthe’ssokeen tohave hiscreativeendeavours He probablywouldn’tturnhisnoseupatanOscar, but ultimate achievementtogetonemade,”headmits. hard togetsomethingonthere,anditwouldbethe to legendaryteewebsitethreadless.com.“It’sreally source, Grint,underafalsename,submitshisdesigns who’d buytheirusedtissuesifitcamefromareputable exploit their“brands”tosellsub-parwaresfans T-shirts. Butwhereassomefamoustypeswould In hissparetime,hemakes artworkanddesigns – orthemassivemansionhe’dboughtforthemanyway. where doyougofromthere? same famousconcrete.Nopressureoranything,but theirpalm,feetandwandprintsinthe left Radcliffe Grint,Watsonyear; that’safullsixyearsafter and Los Angeles’HollywoodWalk ofFame inFebruary this hisprintson behind yourback.RobertDeNiroleft performing anexpelliarmusspellwithyourhandstied shoe, £145,Loa ke.co.uk £85, Pepe at Liberty.co. uk; jeans, co.uk; jumper,£165,APC Jacket, £319,p OPPOSITE That’s notaseasyitsounds.Droppingtheinvisible Though ashardinterviewers,criticsandfans Grint wentbacktohisparents’placeinHertfordshire . ItwillbeGrint’sfirstappearanceonstagesince LIFE AFTER POTTER jeans.com; OC a ulsmith. TOBER 2013 Harry Potter Harry

Radcliffe andWatsonRadcliffe have in connection, andthat’simportant.” says Grint.“We’ll alwayshavethat the threeofuswerelike astronauts,” a wholedecade.“Someone oncesaid One ofthemajorthingsGrint, Rumpelstiltskin franchiseisharderthan CBGB CBGB – inwhichheplays , aged10. gigantic That’s nottosayhe’skeeping allhiscashinsome this onabitof afluke. I’mjustenjoying theride.” easy, laid-backspirit.Inhisownwords, “Icameinto at it.Andhedoesitallwith asmileonhisface,andan challenge, andbecausehe’s actuallyprettydarngood man whonowcontinuesto actbecauseherelishesthe fame, buthaditthrustupon himasayounglad; just fine.Thisisamanwho didn’tgooutlookingfor aura ofaHollywoodstar, butthatseemstosuithim man asyou’relikely tomeet. Hemaynothavethe but Rupert Grintisabout asniceandnormalayoung wealthier thanyou,andownsomeprettyweirdshit, constantly interruptedbycamera-wieldingfans). beat you),andchattooverapint(thoughyou’dbe could enjoyaroundofgolfwith(thoughhe’dprobably sheds, Grintisatotallyregularchap.Someoneyou and skipschoolsmoke acigarettebehindthebike make mistakes andlearnthehardway, spike hishair someone whonevergottobeakidlike therestofus, it’s fun,andbecausehecan.Mostsurprisinglyfor out ofsomeweirdfixation;he’sjustbuyingitbecause childhood heneverhad.Butisn’tbuyingthisstuff on itemsthatcouldhardlybemoresymbolicofthe these purchases.Grintseemstospendalotofmoney to miniaturesouvenirletterboxes. Royal Mailmemorabilia–fromfleecesandpostbags through aparticularlyunusualeBayphase,buying spending spreeinHollywoodhistory, herecentlywent some complaints.”Andinperhapstheleastglamorous to thefloorbelow,” hesays. “But it’snotupyet.I’vehad flat –it’sgotaroofgardenandtheslidewillgodown project? “I’mtryingtoputaslideonthesideofmy Andhislatest home, andafullyfunctionalhovercraft. purchases haveincludedanindoorice-rinkathisfamily bought asecond-handVWCamperVan. Other jolly jingle.To gettoVFestival afewyearsback,he cream van–completewithMrWhippymachineand When hepassedhisdrivingtest,boughtanice- spent itonslightlymore,let’ssay, unusualthings. he says.“It’snotreallyme.” on privatejetsandstufflike thatseemsabitweird,” uncomfortable, thewholemoneything,sowastingit the veryfirst the samemanwhohasbeendrivinghimaroundsince a baggywhiteT-shirt, andwasdrivenherebyJim, shootinblackjeansand In fact,hearrivedattoday’s wearing designerlabelsandtravellingbyhelicopter. say theman’stotallyminted. with anestimatedfortuneof£20million,it’ssafeto on totheSundayTimesRichListofyoungmillionaires, there is.”Well, consideringthatby2010he’dmadeit known whattodowithit.Idon’tevenknowhowmuch embarrasses mealittlebit,”hesays.“I’veneverreally do with.“I’vegotaweirdrelationshipwithmoney; it wizard, he’shadmoreofitthanheknowswhatto as longhecanremember, thankstoacertainboy of fivesiblings,Grintdidn’tcomefrommoney, yetfor common iscash,andplentyofit.Growingupasone He maybeunimaginablyfamous,ahelloflot It doesn’ttake apsychoanalysttospotthepatternin You mightexpectGrinttobelivingthehighlife, UNIMAGINABLE RCHES Harry Potter Harry Harry Potter Harry -headed piggybank.He’sjust film.“Ifinditallabit

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