Daniel Radcliffe

Birth Name

Daniel Jacob Radcliffe

Birth Day

23 July 1989

Nationality

British

Height

5' 7" (1.70 m)

Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series. His work on the series has earned him several awards and more than £60 million.
Radcliffe made his acting debut at age ten in BBC One's television movie David Copperfield (1999), followed by his film debut in 2001's The Tailor of Panama. Cast as Harry at the age of eleven, Radcliffe has starred in eight Harry Potter films since 2001, with the final instalment released in July 2011.


Early life:
Radcliffe was born on 23 July 1989 in West London, England, the only child of Alan George Radcliffe, a literary agent, and Marcia Jeannine Gresham (née Marcia Gresham Jacobson), a casting agent who was involved in several films for the BBC, including The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and Walk Away And I Stumble. Radcliffe's mother is Jewish and a native of Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (her family's surname was anglicised from "Gershon"); his father, originally from Northern Ireland, is Protestant. Radcliffe first expressed a desire to act at the age of five. In December 1999, aged ten, he made his acting debut in the BBC One's televised two-part adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield, portraying the title character as a young boy.Radcliffe was educated at independent schools for boys,including Sussex House School, a day school in Cadogan Square in Chelsea, London.

Following the release of the first Harry Potter movie, attending school became hard, with some students becoming hostile. Radcliffe said it was people just trying to "have a crack at the kid that plays Harry Potter" rather than jealousy. As his acting career began to consume his schedule, Radcliffe continued his education through on-set tutors. The actor admitted he was not very good at school, considered it useless, and found the work to be "really, really difficult." However, he did achieve A grades in the three Advanced levels he sat in 2006 but then decided to take a break from education and did not go to college or university.

Career:
Harry Potter
In 2000, producer David Heyman asked Radcliffe to audition for the role of Harry Potter for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the best-selling book by British author J.K. Rowling. The author had been searching for an unknown British actor to personify the character. However, Radcliffe's parents did not want him to audition for the role as the contract required shooting all seven films in Los Angeles, California, so they did not tell him. Once the movie's director Chris Columbus saw a video of the young actor in David Copperfield, he recalled thinking, "This is what I want. This is Harry Potter". Eight months later, after several auditions, he was selected to play the part. Rowling also endorsed the selection, saying the filmmaker could not "have found a better Harry". Warner Bros offered him a two-movie contract, with shooting in the UK, and assured his parents he would be protected. When signing up, Radcliffe was unsure if he would do any more pictures.

The release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (released as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States) took place in 2001. The story follows Harry, a young boy who learns he is a wizard and is sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to begin his magical education. He got a seven figure salary for the lead role but asserted that the fee was not "that important" to him. His parents chose to invest the money for him. The film broke records for opening-day sales and opening-weekend takings and became the highest-grossing film of 2001. With a total of US$974 million in ticket sales.
A year later, Radcliffe starred in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second instalment of the series. Reviewers were positive about the lead actors' performances but had polarised opinions on the movie as a whole.
The 2004 release Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban marked the third in the series. While garnering the highest critical acclaim of the series and grossing US$795.6 million worldwide, the film's performance at the box office ranks the lowest in the series.
Radcliffe reprised his role for the fifth time in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), which details Harry's return to Hogwarts after his recent encounter with Lord Voldemort. It opened to positive responses from the press. IGN movie critic Steven Horn found Order of the Phoenix to be one of "those rare films that exceeds the source material" and Colin Bertram of New York's Daily News publication dubbed it the best movie in the series. Radcliffe has stated that he had formed a special bond with actor Gary Oldman while working with him on set and that director David Yates and actress Imelda Staunton made Order of the Phoenix the "most fun" film in the series to work on. His performance earned several nominations, and he picked up the 2008 National Movie Award for "Best Male Performance". As the fame of the actor and the series continued, Radcliffe and fellow Harry Potter cast members Rupert Grint and Emma Watson left imprints of their hands, feet, and wands in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
On 15 July 2009, the series's sixth instalment, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was released.

 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) was released in November and grossed over US$950 million. Its most lucrative territory was the UK, where it reportedly had the highest-grossing three-day opening in history. Overseas, its earnings of US$205 million in 91 markets made it the top-grossing foreign opening for a non-summer picture. The movie received mostly favourable reviews in the media.
The final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, was released worldwide starting on 13 July 2011 in Australia. It was named the most highly anticipated film of 2011 by Fandango users and won the National Movie Awards's "Must See Movie of the Summer" accolade.



Other acting work:
Prior to Harry Potter, Radcliffe made his film debut in The Tailor of Panama, an American 2001 film based on John le Carré's 1996 spy novel and a moderate commercial success. In 2002, he made his stage debut as a celebrity guest in the West End production The Play What I Wrote directed by Kenneth Branagh, who appeared with him in the second Harry Potter movie. In 2007, he appeared in December Boys, an Australian family drama about four orphans that was shot in 2005 and released to theatres in mid-September 2007. Also in 2007, Radcliffe co-starred with Carey Mulligan in My Boy Jack, a television drama film shown on ITV on Remembrance Day. The TV film received mostly good reviews, with several critics praising Radcliffe's performance as an 18 year-old who goes missing in action during a battle. Radcliffe stated, "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."



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 Rose Hemingway and Mary Faber. Both the actor and production received favourable reviews, with the latter receiving 9 Tony Award nominations. His first post-Harry Potter project will be the 2012 supernatural thriller The Woman in Black, which is adapted from the 1983 novel by Susan Hill and set for a February release in the UK. Radcliffe portrays a man sent to deal with the legal matters of a mysterious woman who has just died. Soon after, he begins to experience strange events and hauntings from the ghost of a woman dressed in black. He said he was "incredibly excited" to be part of the film and described the script as "beautifully written". Variety confirmed Radcliffe will star in the indie comedy The Amateur Photographer, a film adaptation of the book of the same name, directed by Christopher Monger. Set in 1970, it follows a man (Radcliffe) who discovers his calling after being drafted by the residents of a small England mill town to serve as a photographer for their most personal moments.

Personal life:

In 2007, Radcliffe was in a relationship with Laura O'Toole, an understudy for one of his co-stars in a play. Following the break-up, they remained friends. He is an atheist and has also stated that he is "very proud of being Jewish." In 2008, he revealed that he suffers from a mild form of the neurological disorder dyspraxia. The motor skill disorder sometimes gets so bad that he has trouble doing simple activities, such as writing or tying his own shoelaces. "I was having a hard time at school, in terms of being crap at everything, with no discernible talent," the actor commented. In August 2010, he stopped drinking alcohol after finding himself becoming too reliant on it.
Radcliffe is a supporter of the Liberal Democrats. He has voiced support for the political party's Nick Clegg and pledged to spend more time in the UK to help increase his profile to a younger audience. At the age of 16, 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 the Royal National Theatre, then moved to NPG where it resides.



He is a fan of underground and punk rock music, and is a keen follower of cricket. Writing short stories and poetry is also a passion. In November 2007, the actor published several poems under the pen name Jacob Gershon – a combination of his middle name and the Jewish version of his mother's maiden name Gresham – in Rubbish, an underground fashion magazine. He enjoys a close friendship with his fellow Harry Potter co-stars Emma Watson and Tom Felton and is tight-knit with his family, whom he credits for keeping him grounded.


Awards:
Won:

• 2001 Hollywood Women's Press Club                 Male Youth Discovery of the Year                 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• 2007 National Movie Awards         Best Male Performance         Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• 2009 Broadway.com Audience Award       Favorite Leading        Actor in a Broadway Play   Equus
• 2009  Broadway.com Audience Award     Favorite Breakthrough Performance Equus
• 2011 Broadway.com Audience Award       Favorite Actor in a Broadway Play           How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• 2011 Broadway.com Audience Award             Favorite Onstage Pair (with John Larroquette)     How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Nominated:

• 2001 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards          Best Young Performer           Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• 2001 MTV Movie Awards         Best Breakthrough Male Performance       Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• 2001 Young Artist Awards         Best Ensemble in a Feature Film (shared with the movies cast)       Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• 2005 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards           Best Young Actor      Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• 2006 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards             Best Young Actor     Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• 2006 MTV Movie Awards    Best On-Screan Team (shared with Rupert Grint and Emma Watson)    Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• 2006 MTV Movie Awards  Best Hero    Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• 2008 Empire Award       Best Actor   Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• 2008 MTV Movie Awards   Best Kiss (shared with Katie Leung)    Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• 2008 Saturn Awards         Best Performance by a Young Actor            Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• 2009  Drama Desk Awards    Outstanding Actor in a Play    Equus
• 2009 Drama League Award     Distinguished Performance Award    Equus
• 2010 J-14's Teen Icon Awards    Iconic Movie Star
• 2010 MTV Movie Award      Best Male Performance     Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• 2010 MTV Movie Award      Global Superstar
• 2011 Drama Desk Award      Outstanding Actor in a Musical     How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• 2011 MTV Movie Award   Best Kiss (shared with Emma Watson) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
• 2011 MTV Movie Award       Best Male Performance   Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1