In The Beginning...

Daniel Jacob Radcliffe was born on 23rd July 1989 in the London suburb of Fulham. From the tender age of five, Dan expressed an interest in acting, although his early experience was limited to playing a monkey in a school production. (Today, Dans perspective on his first role today is "I hope no one ever finds any pictures of that!"). He became officially involved in the acting profession "by accident". He had missed out on auditioning for a part in a television production of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist his parents didn't think it would be a very good idea - but he was destined to make his small screen debut as another of Dickens' famous titular characters: David Copperfield, starring alongside Maggie Smith and Bob Hoskins. "A friend suggested that I audition, as a bit of fun, for the role of David Copperfield. I never expected to actually get the part as I knew there would be hundreds of boys trying for it, so when I did, it came as a huge surprise." The annual Christmas BBC period drama is very popular in the UK and this 1999 adaptation of the classic novel was particularly well received. Copperfield producer Kate Harwood had these comments after working with Dan: "He has a particular quality of naturalness and innocence. One normally dreads working with child actors, but in his case he was wonderful. He has a great deal of charm and simplicity." Dan followed up his appearance in "David Copperfield" by taking a small part, to gain some experience, in the film "The Tailor of Panama" released in March 2001. He played Mark Pendel, the son of Harry and Louisa Pendel, who were played by Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis. While the filming was taking place, a major talent search was underway in the UK to find someone to portray a certain popular literary character and Curtis was struck by a particular insight: "One day I was looking at Daniel, who was standing beside the swimming pool. I turned to his mother and said: 'He could be Harry Potter.' "

The Role Of A Lifetime

It was Dan's "charm and simplicity" that caught the eye of Chris Columbus and David Heyman whilst on the search for a young British actor to bring to life the lead character of what is arguably the modern literary world's most successful phenomenon: Harry Potter. This was going to be no mean feat for whoever won the role and superb casting of the part was, of course, vital to the film. Director Columbus had seen a tape of "David Copperfield" and had badgered his casting director into calling its young star in for an audition. However, Dan's understandably protective parents were reluctant to subject their son to any gruelling audition process only to have his hopes dashed and so the life-altering role was at first turned down. But serendipity smiled down on Dan one evening in a theatre: producer David Heyman and screenwriter Steve Kloves spotted him with his parents in the audience while watching the play 'Stones in his Pockets'. Heyman knew Dan's father through business connections and introduced himself to Dan during the interval. He then spent the second half of the play totally distracted by his potential Harry. The next morning, Heyman called Dan's parents to try to persuade them to change their minds about letting him audition and... discovered that they had already had the same idea! They agreed to an informal meeting between Dan and David Heyman and, once they were confident that he would be protected as much as possible from the media glare if offered the role, agreed that Dan should go for an audition. Then one night while taking a bath, Dan heard his father answer the phone: "My dad came in and told me I'd got the part of Harry Potter. I cried, I was so happy. I woke up in the middle of the night, around half two, and I woke up my dad too, just to check with him that it wasn't all a dream. That I really was going to be Harry Potter." The casting of Dan, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in the lead roles of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger was subsequently announced in August 2000. Importantly, Potter author Joanne (JK) Rowling gave Dan her seal of approval - when she saw Dan's screen test, she claimed that she felt that "it was like being reunited with [her] long-lost son": "Having seen Dan Radcliffe's screen test I don't think Chris Columbus could have found a better Harry... I think Dan nailed it, and I am really pleased." Production of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone" began in September 2000 and the worldwide interest in the film was unprecedented. It was released on 16th November 2001 and was praised widely for its faithful adaptation of Rowling's book, going on to become the second-highest grossing film of all time, behind "Titanic". Also praised widely was its young star ("... a wonderful Harry... young Radcliffe is perfect as Harry... seems to have been born to play the part...") who found himself on the cover of practically every entertainment magazine of the moment. Numerous TV appearances in the UK and US followed and curious audiences began to discover the boy behind the lightning-bolt scar. Fan sites began to spring up across the Internet. A star was born.