Chris Rankin

Christopher William "Chris" Rankin (born 8 November 1983) is a New Zealand-born British actor who is best known for playing Percy Weasley in the Harry Potter film franchise.

Early life

Rankin was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He lived in Rothesay Bay until he was six, attending Kristin School in Albany. He and his parents subsequently moved to Norfolk in the United Kingdom, where he attended Northgate High School in Dereham.

Career

Rankin began acting at the age of eleven. He attended Shipdham Primary School, Northgate High School, and Dereham Sixth Form College. At Northgate High School he appeared in school plays of Bugsy Malone and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. His professional acting career began when he won the role of Percy Weasley in September 2000 and he has since appeared in film, TV and theatre. In the Harry Potter series, he is a brother of Harry Potter's best friend, Ron Weasley.

Rankin is the co-founder of a theatre company, Painted Horse UK. He re-appeared in the final two films of the Harry Potter film franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2, after his character's absence from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and only a brief non-speaking role in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels and one play written by British author J. K. Rowling. The series chronicles the life of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's struggle against the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who aims to become immortal, overthrow the Ministry of Magic, subjugate non-magic people and destroy anyone who stands in his way.

Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, on 30 June 1997, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. They attracted a wide adult audience, and have remained one of the preeminent cornerstones of young adult literature. The series has also had some share of criticism, including concern about the increasingly dark tone as the series progressed, as well as the often gruesome and graphic violence depicted in the series. As of July 2013, the books have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide, making the series the best-selling book series in history, and have been translated into 73 languages. The last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final instalment selling roughly 11 million copies in the United States within the first 24 hours of its release.

Ministry of Magic

The Ministry of Magic is the government of the Magical community of Britain in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. First mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the Ministry makes its first proper appearance in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Throughout the books, it is generally depicted as either corrupt, incompetent, or both, with its high officials blind to actual events and dangers. It reaches a nadir of corruption before being effectively taken over by Lord Voldemort.

Composition and status

Connection to "Muggle" world

Each new Muggle Prime Minister receives a visit from the Minister for Magic, who informs him or her that the wizarding world exists. He explains that he will contact the Prime Minister only in circumstances in which the events of the wizard world may affect Muggles. For example, the Minister has to inform the Prime Minister if dangerous magical artifacts or animals are to be brought into Britain.

The Ministry keeps in touch with the British Prime Minister via a wizard's portrait in the Prime Minister's office at 10 Downing Street. The portrait, which cannot be removed from the wall (because of a Permanent Sticking Charm in place), notifies the Prime Minister of the Minister for Magic's arrival and, after they have been notified, the Minister for Magic appears in their office via the fireplace which has specifically been hooked up to the floo network.^[HP6] The Ministers for Magic who appear in the Harry Potter series, such as Cornelius Fudge and Rufus Scrimgeour, tend to act in a somewhat patronising manner towards the Muggle Prime Minister.

Chris

Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Unlike these names, however, it does not indicate the person's gender although it is much more common for males to have this name than it is for females.

It is the preferred form of the full name of such notable individuals as Chris Tucker and Chris Penn. To find an article about one of these people, see List of all pages beginning with "Chris".

The word is also part of phrases, including Tropical Storm Chris, Ruth's Chris Steak House, and many more which refer to notable people, places, and things. For a list of these, see All pages with titles containing chris.

People with the given name

Rankin

Rankin may refer to:

Places