Alfonso Cuarón once famously fingered Harry Potter star and recovering swine flu victim Rupert Grint as the Hogwarts alumnus most likely to succeed. Now comes a report out of Britain (originating at the not-entirely-trustworthy Mirror, repeated by The Guardian) suggesting he may be ready to take up top-billing -- and his first non-Weasleyian role would require him to be airborne without the use of a Quidditch stick. The craziest part of the story: He'd be replacing Steve Coogan.
The film is a comedy based on the true story of Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, a former construction worker turned hopeless ski jumper who represented the U.K. at the '88 Winter Olympics. Edwards finished dead last in both events, earning the appraisal "ski-dropper" by one reporter and later becoming something of an underdog celebrity in the vein of the Jamaican bobsled team.
How Grint, 21, could realistically find himself standing in the boot bindings of a role designated for an actor well over twice his age -- Coogan is 44 -- raises flags. On the other hand, it was well established by scramble-brained grunge matriarch Courtney Love following Owen Wilson's ... incident ... that his pal Coogan was a big fan of hitting the slopes. So that lends the story a little more credence. Go get em, Rupe!
· Rupert Grint could fly as Eddie the Eagle [Guardian]