Ron Weasley: Who He Is, Who Plays Him and His Story

Ron Weasley is one of the three leads of the Harry Potter saga, the loyal friend who stands beside Harry Potter and Hermione Granger in every film from 2001 to 2011. Rupert Grint plays him throughout, and the credits read simply "Ron Weasley". Grint is billed second in the first six films and third in the two Deathly Hallows films, which tells you how the ensemble shifted as the story darkened.

He first appears in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), directed by Chris Columbus, where Harry meets him on the Hogwarts Express on the way to his first term. The character comes from J.K. Rowling's novels, and the differences between page and screen are covered on our books versus films page.

Ron belongs to the Weasley family, whose home becomes a refuge for Harry. In the second film his father's flying car and his twin brothers, Fred and George, are what carry Harry away from a miserable summer with his relatives. He is the funny, nervous and fiercely loyal member of the trio, and the films give him a pet rat, Scabbers, who matters more than anyone expects.

For the full lineup, see the Harry Potter cast page.

Ron appears in all eight main films, and his arc runs from nervous sidekick to the friend who returns when Harry needs him most. His arc follows the release order, which is also the order the story runs.

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Ron and Hermione join Harry in discovering the three headed dog guarding a trapdoor. When the friends set out to reach the Stone before Snape can, they cross a series of magical traps, among them a giant living chess game. Ron and Hermione are left behind along the way, and Harry goes on alone to face Quirrell. Gryffindor wins the House Cup at the end, after a last-minute award of points.

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), also directed by Chris Columbus, Ron and his twin brothers fetch Harry in their father's flying car. When the platform barrier is sealed, Harry and Ron fly the car to school and crash it into the Whomping Willow. Later the two boys follow Hagrid's clue to the spider Aragog, and they find the entrance to the Chamber in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Ron, Harry, Ginny and a memory wiped Gilderoy Lockhart escape the Chamber together.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), directed by Alfonso Cuarón, a large black dog pulls Ron into a tunnel under the Whomping Willow. The dog is Sirius Black, and the pet rat Ron has kept for years, Scabbers, turns out to be Peter Pettigrew in hiding. That puts Ron at the center of the film's biggest secret.

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), directed by Mike Newell, Ron turns jealous when Harry is forced into the Triwizard Tournament and stops speaking to him. He makes up with Harry after seeing the danger Harry faces. In the second task, Ron is the hostage Harry must rescue from underwater. The Yule Ball then strains several friendships, his included.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), directed by David Yates, Ron joins Harry and Hermione in forming Dumbledore's Army when Dolores Umbridge bans real defensive magic. He is also among the friends who travel with Harry to the Ministry of Magic after Harry sees a vision of Sirius in danger.

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Ron has a short, awkward relationship with Lavender Brown, which leaves Hermione hurt. While Harry and Ginny grow close, the film closes with Ron and Hermione promising to go with Harry on the hunt for the remaining Horcruxes.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), the locket Horcrux makes Ron jealous, and after a quarrel with Harry he leaves. He returns, saves Harry from the frozen pond and destroys the locket with the Sword of Gryffindor.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), Ron breaks into Bellatrix's vault at Gringotts with Harry and Hermione and escapes on the vault's dragon. Back at Hogwarts, he and Hermione destroy Helga Hufflepuff's cup with a Basilisk fang.

Ron's most important relationships are his friendships with Harry and Hermione, and the films build every major turning point around the three of them. They meet in the first film, face the Triwizard year and the Ministry together in the middle of the series, and form Dumbledore's Army in the fifth film. In the seventh film the trio is on the run alone, which is where the friendship is tested hardest.

Harry and Ron have two clear breaks. In the fourth film Ron stops speaking to Harry out of jealousy and makes up only after seeing the danger Harry faces. In the seventh film the locket Horcrux feeds that same jealousy and he leaves, then returns in time to save Harry. In my opinion the pattern is consistent: Ron is stung by being overshadowed, and he comes back when it counts.

With Hermione, the films work in quieter ways. Ron and Hermione are left behind together on the trap filled route to the Stone in the first film. When Ron has a short, awkward relationship with Lavender Brown in the sixth film, Hermione is hurt. In the last film they destroy the cup together with a Basilisk fang, and the epilogue shows both of them seeing their children off at King's Cross.

His family appears through the series as well. His father's flying car rescues Harry in the second film, and his twin brothers Fred and George are the ones who gave Harry the Marauder's Map seen in the third. His pet rat Scabbers is revealed as Peter Pettigrew, which makes Ron an unwitting host to one of the saga's major secrets. Other characters in his orbit include Hermione Granger, Hagrid and Draco Malfoy, and his story is told alongside the Harry Potter character page.

Ron Weasley survives the war with Voldemort and is shown alive nineteen years later in the epilogue of the final film. The last battle is fought at Hogwarts, where Ron and Hermione destroy the cup Horcrux, and Voldemort is defeated when his own killing curse rebounds on him.

The epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 closes the series at King's Cross station, where Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Draco watch their children board the Hogwarts Express. It is the film's quiet note after the war, and the last time Rupert Grint appears as Ron.

The films never say what job Ron takes up after Hogwarts.

For what comes next on screen, HBO's Harry Potter series is reported to premiere on Christmas Day, 2026, according to TODAY (TheWrap gives only Christmas 2026). The tv-series page covers it, and the new Harry Potter movie page tracks whether any further film is announced.

In my opinion, Ron's best moments are the ones where the films let him be frightened and brave in the same scene, and the strongest of those comes in Part 1. When Ron returns to save Harry from the frozen pond and then destroys the locket with the Sword of Gryffindor, the film pays off a jealousy that has been building since the Triwizard Tournament. It could be argued that this is the finest single beat in Rupert Grint's run, because it asks him to play shame and courage at once.

My second pick is the second task in Goblet of Fire. Ron stops speaking to Harry out of jealousy, makes up after seeing the danger Harry faces, and then becomes the hostage Harry must rescue from underwater. The staging matters: the friend who was shut out is the one Harry goes under the water to save, which is a neat reversal of how the saga usually works.

Third, the flying car crash in Chamber of Secrets. It is the first time the films let Ron lead a set piece, and the comedy of the Whomping Willow landing is the sort of practical, slightly chaotic scene that suits him better than any spell battle.

Fourth, the Azkaban tunnel. Ron is dragged under the Whomping Willow by the dog, and the later reveal of Scabbers makes the scene retroactively sad. Paradoxically, he is the most vulnerable member of the trio in a film that is mostly about Harry.

Finally, the Gringotts escape on the dragon in Part 2. It is a spectacle scene, and it puts Ron on the vault's dragon beside Harry and Hermione, a long way from where he started on the Hogwarts Express in the first film.

If you want to see these in order, start with the Harry Potter movies in order guide and the Harry Potter timeline.