Oliver Phelps (placeholder)

Oliver Phelps was born on Febuary 25th 1986 in Sutton Coldfield, about 13 minutes before his twin brother James Phelps. Both showed a special interest in acting at an early age as they performed side by side in several high school drama productions at Sutton Coldfield’s Arthur Terry School. In 2000 they were again to act together, but on a much bigger stage, when Oliver Phelps and his brother were picked to play Fred and George Weasly in Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone. “Our Mum had heard open auditions for the characters were being held in Leeds. We were seen by the casting director, Janet Hircheson. We were asked to meet the Director, Producer and Writer. That happened about six times including the screen test. Then we were told we had the parts.”

Both Oliver Phelps and his brother James are huge music fans and enjoy going to concerts and festivals, they recently attended the V Music Festival, where some of their favorite music artists like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Foo Fighters, David Gray, and Feeder were playing. Sport is another one of their passions, they say that what little sibling rivalry that exists between them is mainly caused by them supporting rival football teams. Oliver supports Aston Villa and James supports Birmingham City. Their rivalry also spills onto the golf course, with both of them boasting low handicaps although James insists that he’s the better golfer!

Being identical twins they are often mistaken for each other, however you can tell them apart if you look closely, Oliver Phelps has a mole at the top of his nose and James has a scar on his right cheek. Their mum never gets them mixed up except on the phone because their voices sound similar. Recently the twins planted trees at the National Forest, in Leicestershire. Oddly enough, the wood that helped make the Harry Potter broomsticks were replanted by the boys, the trees being birch and ash.

Asked if their lives had changed much since starring in the films Oliver Phelps said, “Yes, almost everyone knows who we are! But we still go about our day-to-day lives like any other teenagers. We still go out with friends and hang around with the same people.” Yet not everyone knows who they are, on a recent holiday they were swimming in a pool and someone remarked about their red hair. Jokingly saying they could be Fred & George Weasley not realising they do in fact play their characters. When asked if they are like the red headed twins they portray, Oliver Phelps said, “No, not really, we like a good laugh but we don’t get up to as much mischief!”