Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Rupert Grint said there was something "so special about stepping back into Ron's shoes now when we are both fathers"
Harry Potter star Rupert Grint is to return to the role of Ron Weasley - playing the character as an adult in the spin-off play in New York.
Grint was first cast to play Ron in the original films at the age of 11. Now 38, he will join the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway for four months from next February.
The play catches up with Harry, Ron and Hermione as grown-ups, 19 years after the end of the events in the original books and films - with Ron and Hermione now married and sending their daughter to Hogwarts.
"Dusting off the old robes. New York - see you all in February," Grint wrote on Instagram, external.
Last November, he told BBC News he was unlikely to ever "step out" of Ron Weasley's shadow. "I'm fine with that. I think it's great," he said.
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In a statement on Wednesday, the British actor said: "Ron Weasley has been a part of me since I was 11 years old and I can't wait to meet him again in this stage of life.
"There is something so full-circle and so special about stepping back into Ron's shoes now when we are both fathers; it is somehow both very familiar and completely new.
"And the joy of being back on Broadway, this time in a role that defined so much of my life is truly exciting."
Grint is the only one of the main three stars from the films to return to their roles, although co-star Tom Felton is currently reprising his role as Draco Malfoy in the same play.
They are not due to appear on stage together, however - Felton will appear until 3 January, with Grint joining on 2 February. He is currently scheduled to appear until 30 May.
Grint appeared in all eight Harry Potter films between 2001 and 2011, and has since starred in TV shows including Sick Note, Snatch and Servant.
He also acted on Broadway in the comedy It's Only a Play in 2014.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender said Grint's performances in the Potter films "defined for generations what it meant to be a loyal and brave friend even in the face of adversity and hardship".
They added: "Rupert is not simply revisiting a role from his past. He is continuing a journey he began as a child and carrying it forward with all the life and experience he has gained since filming concluded, including a career that has taken him from film to television to acclaimed stage work on both Broadway and the West End."
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