Daniel Radcliffe

Biography:

After mesmerising millions of fans with his on-screen portrayal of the boy wizard Harry Potter, in February 2007 British actor Daniel Radcliffe worked his magic onstage with his performance in the London West End theatrical production of Peter Shaffer’s ‘Equus’.

In the challenging role of psychotically deranged teenager Alan Strang, whose unnatural love of horses drove him to blind six of them with a hoof pick, Radcliffe demonstrated the breadth of his acting skills, as well as his level of maturity as an actor. He also succeeded in literally shedding his childlike image when he was required to appear nude onstage during one scene. Radcliffe began acting at the age of six when he appeared as a monkey in a school play. After passing up an opportunity to audition for a television production of Charles Dickens’s ‘Oliver Twist’, he caught the attention of TV producer Kate Harwood, who was impressed by his “charm and simplicity”, and he was cast in the title role of ‘David Copperfield’ (1999). Two years later, Radcliffe appeared in the film ‘The Tailor of Panama’ (2001). His big break came when he was cast to star in the film ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ (2001). His parents initially refused to let him audition for the role, but a chance meeting with Sorcerer’s Stone director Chris Columbus and producer David Heyman at the theatre one evening led to an eventual audition. Those involved with the film, including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, were in overwhelming agreement that Radcliffe would make the perfect Harry, and the books’ legions of fans seemed to agree. He reprised his role in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ (2002), ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ (2004), and ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ (2005), in which he performed some of his own stunts. In addition to ‘Equus’, Radcliffe juggled numerous other onscreen projects, including 2007: ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’, the British TV movie ‘My Boy Jack’, and the Australian coming-of-age film ‘December Boys’. Radcliffe also signed on to complete the last two films in the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’, which went into production in 2007 released in late 2008, and ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’. Part 1 of the final films in the Harry Potter series was released in 2010, while the second instalment is due to hit cinema screens on 15 July 2011, and will feature the decisive battle between the central character played by Radcliffe, and Ralph Fiennes’ Lord Voldermort.

In an interview for US TV show ‘The View’, Radcliffe admitted that he was brought to tears filming the final scenes for the Harry Potter series. He said: “It was very emotional, I wept like a child.” He also explained that he finds it more relaxing to appear on stage, rather than screen, as “with film there is more time for self-doubt to creep in”, whereas he implied that stage is more immediate. 2011 will also see Radcliffe star in a film version of Susan Hill’s ‘The Woman in Black’, a role which the 21-year-old said he was “incredibly excited” to be part of. The script was written by Jonathan’s Ross’ wife, Jane Goldman, perhaps best known for writing the script for the super hero action film, ‘Kick Ass’.

Radcliffe praised Goldman’s ‘The Woman in Black’ script, describing it as “beautifully written – both tender and terrifying in equal measure”