Daniel Radcliffe
☼ Born on 23 December 1989, in Fulham, London, England, UK
Biography
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe was born on July 23, 1989 in Fulham, London, England, to casting agent Marcia Gresham (née Jacobson) and literary agent Alan Radcliffe. His father is from a Northern Irish Protestant background, while his mother was born in South Africa, to a Jewish family (from Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Germany). Daniel began performing in small school productions as a young boy. Soon enough, he landed a role in David Copperfield (1999), as the young David Copperfield. A couple of years later, he landed a role as Mark Pendel in The Tailor of Panama (2001), the son of Harry and Louisa Pendel (Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis). Curtis had indeed pointed out to Daniel's mother that he could be Harry Potter himself. Soon afterwards, Daniel was cast as Harry Potter by director, Chris Columbus in the film that hit theaters in November 16, 2001, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). He was recognized worldwide after this film was released. Pleasing audiences and critics everywhere, filming on its sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), commenced shortly afterwards. He appeared again as Harry in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and then appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) directed by Mike Newell. Shortly afterwards, he finished filming December Boys (2007) in Adelaide, Australia, Kangaroo Island, and Geelong, Australia which began on the 14 November 2005 and ended sometime in December.
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On January 27, 2006, he attended the South Bank Awards Show to present the award for "Breakthrough Artist of the Year" to Billie Piper. Daniel reprised his famous character once again for the next installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). In February 2007, he took on his first stage role in the West End play Equus, to worldwide praise from fans and critics alike. Also that year, he starred in the television movie My Boy Jack (2007), which aired on 11 November 2007 in the UK.
After voicing a character in an episode of the animated television series The Simpsons in late 2010, Radcliffe debuted as J. Pierrepont Finch in the 2011 Broadway revival How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a role previously held by Broadway veterans Robert Morse and Matthew Broderick. Other cast members included John Larroquette, Rose Hemingway and Mary Faber. Both the actor and production received good reviews, with USA Today commenting: "Radcliffe ultimately succeeds not by overshadowing his fellow cast members, but by working in conscientious harmony with them - and having a blast in the process." Radcliffe's performance in the show earned him Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations. The production itself later received nine Tony Award nominations. Radcliffe left the show on 1 January 2012. His first post-Harry Potter project was the 2012 horror film The Woman in Black, adapted from the 1983 novel by Susan Hill. The film was released on 3 February 2012 in the United States and Canada, and was released on 10 February in the UK. Radcliffe portrays a man sent to deal with the legal matters of a mysterious woman who has just died, and soon after he begins to experience strange events from the ghost of a woman dressed in black. He has said he was "incredibly excited" to be part of the film and described the script as "beautifully written".
In 2013, he portrayed American poet Allen Ginsberg in the thriller drama Kill Your Darlings (2013), directed by John Krokidas. He also starred in an Irish-Canadian romantic comedy film The F Word directed by Michael Dowseand written by Elan Mastai, based on TJ Dawe and Michael Rinaldi's play Toothpaste and Cigars and then he starred in an American dark fantasy horror film directed by Alexandre Aja Horns. Both of the films premiered at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival. Radcliffe also performed at the Noël Coward Theatre in the stage play revival of Martin McDonagh's dark comedy The Cripple of Inishmaan as the lead, Billy Claven, for which he won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actor in a Play. In 2015, Radcliffe starred as Igor in a science fiction horror film Victor Frankenstein (2015), directed by Paul McGuigan and written by Max Landis, which was based on contemporary adaptations of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein. In 2016, he appeared as a wealthy villain in the mystery/action film Now You See Me 2 (2016), and as an oftentimes mobile corpse in the indie fantasy Swiss Army Man (2016).
Now being one of the world's most recognizable people, Daniel leads a somewhat normal life. He has made friends working on the Harry Potter films, which include his co-stars Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.
In the role of actor
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story – TIFF 2022 (20/09/2022)
The absolutely true story of “Weird Al” Yankovic is told in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. Growing up seeking the approval of his father Nick (Toby Huss) and a love of polka secretly supported by his mother Mary (Julianne Nicholson), Al Yankovic (Daniel Radcliffe) dreams of having a music career where he can change to […]
Swiss Army Man (07/07/2016)
A stranded man receives assistance from a very skillful corpse in Swiss Army Man. Hank (Paul Dano) is a man marooned on an island, who has just about lost hope. Just as he is about to hang himself, Hank notices a corpse of man named Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) lying on the beach. Hank soon comes […]
Horns (01/11/2014)
From Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha 3D) comes this adaptation of the novel by Joe Hill. After his girlfriend Merrin Williams (Juno Temple) is found dead, Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) finds himself the number one suspect in her murder and he’s shunned by practically the entire community, with exception of his brother Terry […]
The F Word (04/01/2014)
Toronto is the backdrop for this romantic comedy from director Michael Dowse (Goon). Med school dropout Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe) hasn’t been in a relationship since he broke up with his cheating ex-girlfriend (Sarah Gadon). At a party, Wallace meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan), the cousin of his friend Allan (Adam Driver). Wallace is instantly attracted to […]
The Woman in Black (27/01/2012)
Tonight I saw and advance screening of this new ghost story staring Daniel Radcliffe, which has its regular release next week. This is Radcliffe’s first post-Harry Potter film and it is definitely a different type of role for him, being a gothic horror film. Radcliffe plays a lawyer, who comes to a small English town to […]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part Two (15/07/2011)
A decade of Harry Potter films ends with this very climatic final installment of the series. Since this is the second half of a two-part story, the action picks up pretty quickly and it is definitely the most action-packed film in the entire series. After being absent for Part 1, the action returns to Hogwarts, which […]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (20/11/2010)
The entire Harry Potter series so far had more or less the same formula with most of the action happening in and around Hogwarts. As such, it is a bit jarring that the first film the two-part finale doesn’t feature Hogwarts on screen at all. The decision was made to split the final book of […]
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (30/07/2009)
As the end of the series approaches, it seems that the main point of this film was to set-up a final chapter so large that it had to be split into two movies. This was definitely the darkest of the Harry Potter films, complete what will probably be the biggest downer ending of the series. […]
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (12/07/2007)
I’m not too big a reader, so I never really got into reading the Harry Potter novels. As such, I have always gone into these films with a fresh mind (minus the odd spoilers that are thrown about). I always thought the first film (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone) was the best in showing […]