For every generation of cinema goers, there are a select group of actors and actresses who are instantly recognisable. Every decade, new faces burst onto our screens and whilst many continue to star in movies for years to come, they will always be remembered for their first appearance when they were at their youngest. In the 1980s there was John Cusack and Tom Cruise. Throughout the 1990s, we got to know Leonardo DiCaprio and Will Smith. During the first decade of the new millennium a new name appeared, seemingly out of nowhere: Daniel Radcliffe.
It’s very difficult these days to find somebody who hasn’t heard of Daniel Radcliffe. For someone of such a relatively young age, he’s become famous the world over as the face of the highest grossing film series of all time – a central fixture in many lives throughout the 21st century. The Harry Potter franchise took a decade to produce and thrust Daniel to stardom at a very young age. We watched him grow on screen from a child into an adult. Now that the franchise has finished filming, you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about Harry Potter by visiting the legendary Hogwarts at the Harry Potter Tour. But how much do you know about his career overall?
Early Career
Radcliffe was born on the 23rd of July in the summer of 1989 in London. It seems only fitting that the summer of 1989 was a classic for movies. Just some of the best are, “When Harry Met Sally”, “Batman” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. His parents had both acted as children themselves and his mother was a casting agent who had worked on several BBC productions.
His first major acting role came in 1999, in the BBC production “David Copperfield” where he played the younger version of the titular character. It was this performance that director Chris Columbus saw, and eventually landed him the role of Harry Potter after a lengthy audition process. In 2001 came Radcliffe’s first film. “The Tailor of Panama” was an adaptation of a John le Carré’s spy novel starring some well-established English actors including Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush.
Harry Potter
In the same year, he received great acclaim in the title role of what was then a relatively unknown franchise. Radcliffe went on to star in all 8 Harry Potter films and became an international icon. The final film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” was released in 2011. The franchise has grossed over $7 billion worldwide and made Radcliffe a household name.
Theatre and Other Work
2007 brought us a different Daniel in the Australian film “December Boys”. The same year, he took to the stage. Having previously made his debut 5 years earlier, Daniel starred in the West End production of “Equus”. He impressed the critics and has since gone on to feature in several more stage productions.
With four more films already completed since the end of Harry Potter, you can guarantee that Daniel Radcliffe is here to stay.
