Saturday, September 15, 2007

Daniel Radcliffe(Harry Potter)


Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English film, television and stage actor. He is best known for playing school-aged wizard Harry Potter in each of the first five films based on the best-selling Harry Potter book series, and will also appear in the final two films of that series.
Biography

Early life
Radcliffe was born in Fulham, London, England, the only child of Alan Radcliffe, a literary agent, and Marcia Gresham (born "Marcia Gresham Jacobson"), a casting agent who was involved in several films for the BBC, including The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and, most recently, Walk Away And I Stumble. Radcliffe's mother is Jewish and grew up in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex; his father is a Protestant who grew up in Northern Ireland. Radcliffe first expressed a desire to act at the age of five. In December 1999, he made his acting debut in the BBC's televised two-part version of the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield, portraying the title character as a young boy.
Career
Radcliffe was asked to audition for the role of Harry Potter in 2000 by producer David Heyman, while in attendance at a play named Stones in His Pockets in London. In August of that year, after several auditions, he was selected to play the role in the big-budget adaptation of the award-winning book series by J.K. Rowling. Radcliffe made his film debut in 2001 with a supporting role alongside Pierce Brosnan in The Tailor of Panama, and the first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (United States title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) was released later that year. During the spring of 2002, the twelve-year old Radcliffe appeared in an episode of The Bill, playing the role of a young boy who helped his mother with voluntary work for a charity.

Radcliffe has also starred in the four subsequent Harry Potter film adaptations: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). He has signed on for the sixth and seventh films; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, scheduled to start filming in September 2007 for release on November 21, 2008, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, expected in 2010. The films continue to produce high box office results worldwide.

In 2002 Radcliffe appeared as a guest in the West End production The Play What I Wrote directed by Kenneth Branagh (who appeared with Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). In 2006, he began to make the transition from child to adult actor, appearing in the television series Extras as a parody of himself, as well as filming the independent Australian drama December Boys. The film, which was filmed in six weeks was released in North America by Warner Bros. on September 14, 2007. Radcliffe worked with a language coach for six months to perfect an Australian accent. Next, Radcliffe opened on 27 February 2007 in a revival of Peter Shaffer's play Equus as Alan Strang, a stable boy who has an obsession with horses. The role generated significant pre-opening media interest and advance sales topped two million pounds, as Radcliffe appeared nude in one scene in the play. Radcliffe's performance received positive reviews, as critics were impressed by the nuance and depth of his against-type role. Radcliffe's last performance in Equus took place on June 9, 2007. When the production transfers to New York City in 2008, Radcliffe may reprise the role; he has stated that he is nervous about repeating the role on Broadway because he considers American audiences more discerning than those in London.
During the summer of 2007, he filmed the ITV drama My Boy Jack, scheduled to air in the U.K. in November of 2007 and in 2008 in the United States. In it, he plays Jack Kipling, a World War I-era soldier and the son of author Rudyard Kipling. About this he said:
For many people my age, the First World War is just a topic in a history book. But I've always been fascinated by the subject and think it's as relevant today as it ever was.

At the age of sixteen, Radcliffe became the youngest non-royal ever to have an individual portrait in Britain's National Portrait Gallery. On 13 April 2006, his portrait, drawn by Stuart Pearson Wright, was unveiled as part of a new exhibition opening at London's Royal National Theatre, then moved to the National Portrait Gallery where it resides. Radcliffe was fourteen at the time of the portrait's creation.

On July 9, 2007, Radcliffe and fellow cast members Rupert Grint and Emma Watson left imprints of their hands, feet and wands in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

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