Rupert Trivia

Similiar Pages: The 411 on Rupert | Rupert, A History | Career Trivia

About his Name:

His parents picked his name (Rupert) out of a hat! Among several other names they put in a hat— “Rupert” was the first name they pulled out.
His name (Rupert) is of Germanic origin and means “bright fame”.

About his Heritage:

His nan (Grandmother) is half-Irish.
Claims he doesn’t have Scottish blood, though he looks like a Scot.

About his Hair:

Is a natural redhead.
Has been called ‘ginger’ and ‘ginge’ and ‘carrot–top’ and said he’s been mildly teased about his hair.
His great-grandfather used to call him ‘copper knob’ or ‘Ginge’.
Likes his hair because it got him the Ron Weasley role.
Stated that Warner Brothers “pretty much owns” his hair.

About his childhood:

Wanted to be an ice-cream man when he grew up.
Had a childhood collection of yoyos.
His favorite Simpsons character is Bart because he “kinda reminds me of Fred and George”. 

Known pets are a basset hound named Sergeant Montgomery, a black Labrador named Ruby, a chocolate Labrador named Fudge, a ginger cat, 2 tortoises, and the 2 rats (one named Mosh Pit) that played Scabbers in the 3rd Harry Potter movie.

Got a unicycle for his 14th birthday.
Can ride a unicycle.
Considers his childhood good, but not normal.

Pet peeves and Weaknesses:

Hates spiders (just like Ron).
Claimed, as a child, that he’s also afraid of the dark.
Considers his worst habit as giggling/laughing really inappropriately for no reason at all, particularly on set (of Harry Potter films) and usually during the more serious scenes.

About Food:

Once claimed that he’s not the healthiest eater – doesn’t like vegetables.
Not much of a cook (can make himself a bowl of cereal though).
Likes Hawaiian pizza because its filling, easy to cook or heat up, and he can just order one in if he’s feeling really lazy.

Quote From British Magazine “High Life” 2008: Food is a huge part of my life. I went on a haggis fest in Scotland recently. I had haggis and tatties, haggis soup and, weirdly, haggis pizza. I’ve got my own ice-cream van, so I’ve become quite a connoisseur of Mr Whippy, which is my favourite dessert. I love to try different foods. In Kyoto, we stayed in a traditional hotel and enjoyed an authentic Japanese meal, which was certainly very memorable, if not a little puzzling at times.

Puberty and girls:

Doesn’t like shaving (or didn’t when he first started).
The girl fashion trend that confuses him most are leggings – thinks they’re insane and said his 3 sisters wear them in bright colors.
Has kissed a girl off-screen but currently has no girlfriend.
Likes a girl with a sense of humour.
Said he has lots of friends who are girls, and is holding out for a girl who “likes him for himself.”
Has no problem about dating a fan.
Says that he is quite saavy when it comes to understanding girls because he has a lot of sisters so it helps him a little bit!
 

Hobbies:

Can draw expressive caricatures within 60 seconds.
Likes hot-rods and classic cars.
Likes gadgets – iPod Nano, cellphone, golf ball finder, etc.
Said he is famous for losing things – especially his cell phone.
Builds model airplanes.

Sports:

Avid golfer. 
His golf handicap (currently) is 15, which he gained after only around 2 years of playing.
Plays golf because he likes it and because his Grandfather, Dad and mates play, as well as some of the cast and crew of Harry Potter.
He says that golf is a good way of “chilling out.”
Says he’s competitive.
Also known to be good at bowling, pool (billiards) and table tennis.
Also does a bit of Karting.
Also likes football (soccer) – and cheers for the Tottenham Hotspurs.
Likes swimming and enjoyed the diving lessons given for the 4th Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) but says he’s not a strong swimmer.
His whole family is into motor sports – his dad, Nigel, was a rally driver.

Music:

Has a didgeridoo and “can make a noise on it.”
Revealed he really can’t play guitar but maybe two songs. (Played “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes at his 18th birthday party according to The Somethings.)
Once said he wasn’t much of a ‘rocker at heart’ in spite of his long hair.
Likes all kinds of music, mostly listens to rock (his favorite is classic rock and roll) and liked rap when he was younger.
His Dad is a Queen fan, his Mom was into 70s punk, and his littlest sister was in a “goth phase.”
Went to the George Benson Jazz concert while in Portugal (attended with his Dad, who’s a Benson fan too).
Likes Salsa Celtica now that’s he’s heard them.
Was seen at a Shakira concert with Emma Watson when they were younger (during CoS era).
Attended a Zootopia concert in New York (during the PoA promo) in 2004.
Was at a Foo Fighters concert with James and Oliver Phelps.
Met Slash backstage at a Velvet Revolvers concert.
Went to the NME awards with James and Oliver Phelps in 2006 and 2007 (on their own it seems, not representing Harry Potter).
Revealed in a recent interview that he now has a Banjo.

Dancing:

Had some dancing lessons for the 4th Harry Potter movie (Goblet of Fire) and his movie Driving Lessons – but said he does not dance well in spite of that because they were both supposed to be awkward.

About Movies, Plays, TV Shows:

Likes to watch movies, especially comedies.
Has been seen watching local pantomimes and plays.
Was spotted watching the play “Wicked” in London.
Likes to watch “Big Brother” on TV.
Is really into documentaries – “weird and wonderful ones.”
Favorite movie is Eraserhead, a surrealist-horror film written and directed by David Lynch, and released in 1977.

About School / Education:

Went to a Catholic primary school.
Went to Richard Hale School, an all boys-school in his hometown.
Likes to draw and did well in art.
Did some animation in art class.
Also liked chemistry.
Took German as his foreign language in school.
Can speak a bit of German, such as numbers and short phrases.
Has always been interested in drama, and took part in school plays.
Did not enjoy school and found it hard to balance school and filming.
Was sometimes unable to do his homework and his professors weren’t happy about it.
Said that being in Harry Potter did not give him any special treatment at school.
Had to revise/review for his GCSEs while making the third Harry Potter movie (Prisoner of Azkaban).
Had several hours of detention when he returned to school, after he finished shooting the third Harry Potter movie (Prisoner of Azkaban) in 2004, because he had not done his schoolwork.
Said he would like to be invisible so he could sneak out of detention at school.
Preferred tutoring to regular school since, as he said, he was never top-of-the-class — and with tutoring there were fewer distractions.
Took his GCSE exams between PoA and GoF (May/June 2004) at Richard Hale, Hertford.
Chose to finish school after he completed his GCSEs at the age of 16, and did not wish to pursue further schooling in order to focus on his role in the Harry Potter films.
Feels he can return to school if he needs/wants to, later.

About his Family:

Lives with his family.
Said his family are all quite close, and he’s closest to all his siblings.
Spends Christmas together with his family (eating and opening presents) – he takes time to personally find a special gift for each member of his family.
Claims his family is not too religious.
Says his family is very supportive of him, treats him “normally” and keeps him “grounded.”
Describes his parents as “pretty easygoing.”
His mom makes good lasagna, and his dad makes a “mean” Barbie (barbecue).
His Dad (Nigel) once ran a motorcar racing memorabilia company, which sells Formula-1 memorabilia, while his mom looks after the family.
His dad accompanies him on his tours and events.
His whole family usually attends the premieres of his movies.
He often brings one or more family members/siblings (and even friends, sometimes) to movie premieres and various other events.
The death of his Grandfather kept him from the Japan Press Conference promoting GoF in 2005.
Claimed his nan did not approve of all the swearing in his movie Driving Lessons and when asked about Cherrybomb thankfully she had not seen it yet!
Says his brother (James) is bigger than him so, just like his character Ron, he occasionally does get “hand-me-down” clothes too (from James) – but is quick to add/joke that, fortunately, none are as bad as Weasley clothes.
He still has arguments with his brother.
When his youngest sister Charlotte was only 3 years old, she thought that the magic in the first Harry Potter film was real – but fortunately, hasn’t asked Rupert to do any magic.
Says that life in such a big family can get “hairy” – but that he and his siblings don’t fight so much now that they’re all growing older.
Revealed his sister once scratched his eye by accident and that it caused the tissue in his eye to tear. Claims it was a very painful experience.

Travels:

Known places/countries he has visited on vacation with his family are: New England in 2005, Portugal (Algarve) in 2006, Disneyland-Paris, Switzerland, and just recently— Lanzarote-Canary Islands in Spain.
When he was in Portugal, he only went to the beach one day because he’s not used to the sun, but thought that the sea was “awesome”.
When he and his family was on vacation in Switzerland – it wasn’t very snowy and they didn’t get to ski.
Enjoyed his visit to Tokyo with his family where he visited the traditional japanese area of Kyoto.
Has attended official Harry Potter premieres in Japan, France, Canada, and New York/Los Angeles in the USA.
He attended a Harry Potter Movie Marathon in Rome, Italy with James and Oliver Phelps in March 2006.
Did a long tour promoting his movie “Driving Lessons” in America in 2006.
Did an entire North American promotional tour on his own for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Cities included New York and Toronto Canada.
Thinks America would be a good place to live but thinks he’d miss his family.

About himself:

Considers himself as very laid back
Admits that he is not massively confident.
Enjoys not having a high-profile.
Considers himself to be very thoughtful and not very selfish
Uses the words ‘cool,’ ‘sort of’ and ‘cool’ often.
Says he doesn’t really take things seriously, which is why he likes to play a funny character like Ron.
Like his main character Ron, Rupert “likes a laugh.”
Would choose John Heder to play him in a movie version of his life.
Would choose to be a Formula 1 (race car) driver – if he could trade places with anyone in the world for one day.
When asked how much money is in his wallet at the moment, he replied “I don’t even have a wallet on me now.”
When asked to fill in the blank: “When I was 17, I was ____________” – his answer was “Filming and learning to drive.”

About Fame:

Had no idea things would be “this big” so it was a bit of a shock to him at first.
Says that having people come up to him is weird, “surreal” and hard to get used to.
Says his friends and family treat him “normally” and have helped keep him “grounded” throughout all the films.
He just kept living the same way – things at home didn’t change much and he still has to clean his own room.
Tries to stay “normal” by staying in touch with his “mates” who treats him as they always did – he says his friends don’t think he’s changed.
Admits that recognition does bring some perks – like discounts in stores, free stuff and backstage privileges sometimes.
Acknowledges that he gets way more attention from girls than he would without star status.
Says that the glamorous aspects of filming don’t appeal to him, and said he finds that he distances himself from “everything.”
Is uncomfortable at premieres and parties, and says “the whole red-carpet thing is crazy.”
In one article, he stated that he felt like he was “fooling people” (meaning he feels that some people might be thinking he’s a perfect superstar when he’s just a regular guy with faults).
Is getting recognized more these days, especially when he’s in America.
Says he won’t ever get used to the recognition.

About Fans:

When he was younger, people come up to him when he’s in the supermarket with his mom, the sort of place it usually happens.
Claims everyone who approaches him are usually really positive and nice about the films, so he doesn’t mind being stopped.
People often call him Ron – he’s gotten used to it now and answers to Ron. 
Used to try several disguises when he went out, but stopped because “it didn’t work.”
Said he does get recognized sometimes, but it’s usually fun and “cool.”
Thought that fans asking for his autograph was really weird, but he “sort of” got used to it and it seems normal after a while.
Has had fans send him pajamas, a lot of origami, and other odd things.
Keeps the things people send him and tries to reply.
Revealed that some fans send birthday presents to his siblings too.
Claims that fans in America and Japan are much crazier than those in Britain.

About his driving lessons:

He took driving lessons from a school of motoring – his Dad said he was a good driver.
Failed his driving test on his first attempt (3-point turn).
Was embarrassed by how many lessons he had to take for his driving lessons.
Says he thinks he got his driving genes from his Dad (who’s a bad driver) not from his Mom (who’s a good driver).
Wishes people would take more notice of learner drivers.
Passed his driving test in the fall of 2006, his 2nd attempt.
Wishes the speed limits were higher.

Cars and indulgences:

Bought a house for his parents/family after the 2nd Harry Potter movie.
Bought a Quad Bike, one of the first things he bought with his Harry Potter earnings.
Also bought a Go-Kart.
Bought himself a black mini-cooper, his first car, which he says “suits him” – Emma Watson describes it as “really cool.”
Also known to own an orange/gold Land Rover, and a golf buggy.
Bought an Ice-Cream Van.
Bought himself a Hummer style golf cart

About his Ice-Cream Van:

Considers his Ice-cream van as the coolest thing he bought.
Enthusiastically describes his Ice-cream truck as semi-stocked, having a big freezer in the back and a soft ice cream “whippy” machine.
He bought stuff on eBay for his ice cream van, including light-up ice cream cones.
We hear that his van’s jingle is “Three Blind Mice” and it’s decked out with telletubby stickers!

About acting and his acting career:

Does not mind seeing himself on screen, but he thinks his voice when he was younger was unbearable and finds it strange seeing himself younger because he feels it’s a little like watching old family videos.
He likes to hide behind a character – likes to be someone else.
Says focusing on scripts and learning lines can be hard work.
Finds filming getting easier now that he knows the routine.
His memorable moment during Cherrybomb was filming the love scene with Kimberley Nixon. He remembers how awkward it was for them but proud that it turned out so good.
Thinks that all things Quentin Tarantino are billiant.
If he was making a film himself though it would probably be quite surreal, and he says he’d cast Bill Murray!
Recognizes that being around all the top-notch actors is a cool thing, they don’t teach things particularly but kids learn from watching them.
Hopes he has made progress as an actor – at first he just acted instinctively, now he tries to interpret more.
Just had his very first stylized photo shoot with UK trendy/hip BlagMagazine in February of 2009.

About his dreams and future:
Would like to do more small-budget films.
Would like to do an animated film.
Would like to play a character who is ‘evil’.
Is not fussy about what kind of leading lady he would like to act with.
Says he hasn’t really had much experience with stage aside from a couple of school plays but considers doing stage plays “maybe later.”
Would do any type of film but prefers comedies.
Would be interested in doing animation and even directing one day!
He said that getting into a character, traveling and meeting people – is what he enjoys most about being an actor.
Says that he would be happy if he is fortunate enough to just carry on with acting and keep going for diverse and interesting roles-and being successful in getting them.
Stated (jokingly) that if his career falls out after the end of the Harry Potter series, he will make use of the ice-cream van he recently purchased.

He is currently signed by the Hamilton Hodell Agency