Daniel Radcliffe is best known as the wily wizard “Harry Potter”, who along with his friends “Ron Weasley” (Rupert Grint) and “Hermione Granger” (Emma Watson) brought to life the characters of J.K. Rowling’s books.
Both he and his sidekicks took on and defeated their foes and wowed audiences for over ten years before hanging up their cloaks and wands for good in 2011.
Since then Daniel Radcliffe has forged a very mature and successful acting career, appearing both in West End and Broadway productions.
He is also the youngest person to have their portrait hung in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Born 23 July 1989 in London, Daniel Radcliffe is the only child Alan Radcliffe, a literary agent and Marcia Greshman, a casting director.
Being from such an artistic background it is hardly surprising that Daniel became interested in acting at a young age.
After having convinced his parents to allow him to go into acting, he started his career at that age of ten, in the BBC television series “David Copperfield”, as the young David Copperfield.
In 2001 he starred as the son of Jamie Lee Curtis and Geoffrey Rush in “The Tailor of Panama”.
However, it was on seeing Daniel in “David Copperfield” in 2000 that the Harry Potter casting director, a friend of the Radcliffe family, decided that the twelve year old would be perfect to play the young wizard.
However, in order to get into this huge production, Daniel still had to go through five castings, and went into competition up against tens of thousands of other teenagers.
He scooped the role, which would make him an international star; the role of “Harry Potter”, a story about a young boy who discovers he is a wizard and enrols at “Hogwarts” a school of wizardry.
The first of the Harry Potter films, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, was released in 2001.
The following year saw the release of the second Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, then “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (2003), “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005), “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” (2007), “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” (2009), “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I” (2010) and the final film “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II” (2011).
Although there is much speculation that there will be another “Harry Potter” book, Radcliffe has confirmed that although it was difficult to leave a character he had been with for ten years, his wizard days are over.
It was during his time of filming “Harry Potter” that Radcliffe started to explore other acting projects.
In 2007 he made his West End debut in the production of “Equus”, where he plays the role of Alan Strang, an emotionally troubled young man with an unhealthy interest in horses, based on conflicting religious viewpoints he grew up with as a child.
Radcliffe won critical acclaim for his performance in the production and his fans (of all ages) were once again mesmerised by his performance.
There was also a huge amount of media interest in the play as part of his role in the play involved a nude scene.
The production’s success did not just remain in the UK. In 2008, the production went stateside to “Broadway”, with Radcliffe remaining as the lead role.
In December 2007 Radcliffe starred in the film “December Boys”, based on the novel by Michael Noonan, about four orphans who go on a trip to the seaside.
Whilst they are on holiday, two local residents look into adopting one of the orphans, creating divisions within the group.
Following the end of filming for the final “Harry Potter film” in 2011, Radcliffe joined the ca-st of the “Broadway” production “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”.
He received several awards for his performance in the play and much critical acclaim.
He left the show in January 2012. He is currently starring in the horror film “The Woman in Black”, adapted from the 1983 novel by Susan Hill. The film is currently showing in cinemas across the country.
His next film “Kill Your Darlings”, where he stars as poet “Allen Ginsberg”, is currently in pre-production and is due to be released in 2013.
Aside from his acting career, Daniel Radcliffe is involved in several charities, especially the “Demelza House Children’s Hospice”.
He has also participated in several charity auctions, where he has auctioned off clothing and film merchandise.
In his personal life, Radcliffe is currently in a relationship with Production Assistant, Rosie Coker.
Daniel Radcliffe is definitely someone many people can warm to. We watched him grow up as “Harry Potter” and he is proving himself to be a mature and very sophisticated actor.
His career can only go from strength to strength as he leaves the halls of “Hogwarts” behind him.
