During the early 2000’s, Disney Channel and One Tree Hill fans alike united in their obsession with the epic teen rom-com A Cinderella Story. The film which stars Hilary Duff and OTH alum Chad Michael Murray, put 21st century twist on a timeless fairy tale. We followed Duff’s character Sam as she slaved away at her step-mother’s diner and inadvertently grabs the attention of the school hottie, Austin Ames (Murray). If you were alive and kicking in 2004, then you get just how perfect this casting was. However, what if we told you that originally, another actor had the role of Austin Ames? That is correct, Murray was only offered the role after Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint aka Ron Weasley dropped out of the film.
Now that you’ve recovered from that mind f*ck let’s get into why Grint in the role of Austin would have given us a totally different A Cinderella Story. Back in 2004, Grint was in-between shooting Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Back then, our favorite red-headed wizard was just getting a bit of bass in his voice, so he and Duff together in Cinderella would have brought in a super young crowd.
According to Teen Vouge, Rupert Grint actually had the role in the bag, but turned it down only after learning that he would miss the Hogwarts Express for year three if he stayed aboard the Cinderella train. This was all probably for the best, especially considering the fact that we can’t even image Grint in a football uniform, let alone giving us the suave and dimpled broodiness that Murray has mastered under the course of his career.
What do you think? Could Rupert Grint pull off Austin Ames in A Cinderella Story?
