Rupert Grint Enjoying New Career Direction With First Stage Role


Ruper Grint is making his stage debut in the play Mojo and it’s an experience completely different for him.

In his dressing room, lozenges to soothe his sore throat are piled high, it’s tough work to use those vocal cords on a daily basis eight-days-a-week.

“I’ve had to have vocal massages, which are extremely painful. You basically get strangled.” Rupert Grint shares of his new stint.

In Mojo –the story of rival gangs in Soho during the 1950?s– Rupert Grint plays a drug dealer called Sweet.

At age 25, the young actor, who played Ron Weasley in the mega successful franchise Harry Potter alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, is starting a different chapter in his career.

Rupert Grint has enjoyed the demanding theater work and he would like to do more of it in the future, like Radcliffe has.

The young actors are trying hard to leave their alter-egos from the movies that turned them from unknowns into household names and superstars.

However, when it was first announced that Grint would play a drug dealer from the 50s, some were skeptical, to say the least.

Now, after receiving praise for his performance Rupert Grint has been nominated for the What’s On Stage.com award as the newcomer of the year.

The play’s run has also been extended due to the good reception.

“I love the fact that it’s not a play for the theater elite. Young people are camping out for the £10 day tickets,” Rupert Grint says.

Coming out of the Harry Potter series, which is most of which its young cast members had ever done, the 25-year-old felt lost and he credits director Ian Rickson for introducing him to Mojo.

“That cockney language is almost Shakespearean. And it’s a proper ensemble cast. Danny [Mays] gives me so much energy to bounce off and Ben Whishaw is amazing.”

Rupert Grint says they’re all food friends offstage as well. “Everyone in the theater plays aisle volleyball at 6 pm.”

Even though the play is humorous and moves quickly, the topic is sad:

“All the characters are trapped. They’re the lost boys. And there’s an abuse storyline that is quite relevant today, with all these allegations about 70s TV stars coming out.”

Rupert Grint is learning to deal with the stage door fans who camp out in hopes to get a glimpse and chat with the red-headed star:

“The crowd are usually quite manageable. There’s one blonde girl who has a photo with me every night but she’s never actually seen the play, which is a bit weird.”

The worst thing is cameraphones when he’s eating. “People set up a fake friend next to you and pretend they’re taking a picture of them. You can spot it a mile away.” Rupert Grint says.

He is not purposely trying to shock his fans doing something which is the polar opposite of what he has done thus far in his career:

“It’s not really that I am trying to shock people or make a big statement. It’s just part of moving on,” says Rupert Grint. “This is a completely new thing, a whole new level. It does scare me. That’s kind of a reason why I want to do it.”

Rupert Grint has also been cast in a new version of Macbeth called Enemy Of Man also starring Sean Bean.

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