Rupert Grint

He auditioned for Ron Weasley by recording a homemade rap video, figuring a letter alone wouldn't cut it. That tape got him the part at 11. Ten years and eight films later, he had a global franchise on his resume and a sidekick problem. Every offer after Deathly Hallows was some variation on the goofy best friend, and he knew it. He bought an ice cream van and briefly considered making that his career instead. Good sidekicks are hard to escape. He managed.

He plays his career at a deliberately slow pace now, one project a year, which he attributes to the financial cushion Harry Potter left him. Four seasons of Servant on Apple TV+ proved he can carry a psychological horror series without being comic relief. The HMRC case is the more revealing story: in November 2024, a tribunal ruled he owed £1.8 million after he tried to classify future earnings as capital rather than income. Being set for life, it turns out, doesn't exempt you from a tax accountant with bad ideas.

The ice cream van isn't a cute anecdote. After Harry Potter wrapped, he genuinely bought one and briefly weighed making it his actual career. He's also a beekeeper. His arachnophobia is severe enough that he's never watched the Aragog scenes from Chamber of Secrets, even knowing the spider is completely CGI. The homemade rap audition tape that landed him the Ron Weasley role became a minor internet artifact over the years, which is a fitting origin for someone who cold-called his way into a decade-defining franchise.