AceShowbiz - Martin Scorsese wants "Harry Potter" star Rupert Grint to play a gangster in one of his movies, insisting he has the potential to be as successful as Leonardo DiCaprio. The 21-year-old actor, who has played Ron Weasley in all of the wizard films, recently wrapped up shooting the last installment of the franchise.

He has already started to shake off the longrunning character by appearing in small independent films including "Driving Lessons" and "Cherrybomb". Scorsese has advised Grint to take on a variety of villainous characters to show fans he won't be typecast, in the same way that DiCaprio - who has starred in several of the director's movies - managed to turn his back on playing romantic roles at the start of his career.

The legendary movie-maker says, "I thought he (Grint) was a great actor in the Harry Potter movies. In a lot of scenes, the boy stole the show. He will always have respect for the movies that gave him such a huge break, but at his age it's important he doesn't become typecast."

"He has to do something really out of his comfort zone in the next few years - play a gangster, play a dirty cop, play a kid with learning difficulties. I would be interested in working with him. I would have no issues in casting him as a gangster, he is a very talented young man."

"When Leo was in 'Titanic' and 'Romeo and Juliet', nobody saw him becoming a bad a** in movies like 'The Departed'. But he has become one of the greatest actors of all time. The very same could be true of Rupert."