Daniel Radcliffe

***Daniel Jacob Radcliffe*** (July 23, 1989, London, England) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name. Over his career, Radcliffe has received various awards and nominations.

Radcliffe made his acting debut at age 10 in the BBC One television film David Copperfield (1999), followed by his feature film debut in The Tailor of Panama (2001). The same year, he starred as Harry Potter in the film adaptation of the J.K. Rowling fantasy novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Over the next decade, he played the eponymous role in seven sequels, culminating with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). During this period, he became one of the world's highest-paid actors and gained worldwide fame, popularity, and critical acclaim.

Following the success of Harry Potter, Radcliffe challenged himself acting in a variety of genres such as the romantic comedy What If? (2013), the horror films The Woman in Black (2012) and Victor Frankenstein (2015), the comedy-drama film Swiss Army Man (2016), the heist thriller film Now You See Me 2 (2016), and the action comedy The Lost City (2022). He earned critical acclaim for his portrayals of poet Allen Ginsberg in the drama film Kill Your Darlings (2013), FBI agent Nate Foster in the thriller film Imperium (2016), and Weird Al Yankovic in the comedy Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022) earning a Critics' Choice Television Award for the latter. Since 2019, he has starred in the TBS anthology series Miracle Workers.

Radcliffe branched out to stage acting in 2007, starring in the West End and Broadway productions of Equus. From 2011 to 2012 he portrayed J. Pierrepont Finch in the Broadway revival of the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He continued in Martin McDonagh's dark comedy The Cripple of Inishmaan (2013–2014) in the West End and Broadway and a revival of Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (2017) at The Old Vic. He also starred in the satirical plays Privacy (2016) and The Lifespan of a Fact (2018), respectively off and on Broadway. In 2022, he starred in the New York Theatre Workshop revival of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along. Radcliffe has contributed to many charities, including Demelza Hospice Care for Children and the Trevor Project; the latter awarded him its Hero Award in 2011.

Daniel Jacob Radcliffe was born at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in Hammersmith, London, England on 23 July 1989, the only child of Marcia Jeannine Gresham (née Jacobson) and literary agent Alan George Radcliffe. His Jewish mother was born in South Africa, traces her ancestry to Jewish immigrants from Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and Russia, and was raised in the English town of Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex. His Northern Irish father was raised in a "very working-class" Protestant family in Banbridge in County Down. In 2019, he explored both sides of his family history in the BBC genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? Radcliffe's parents had both acted as children. As a casting agent, his mother was involved in BBC productions including The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.

Radcliffe was educated at three private schools for boys in London: Redcliffe School, Sussex House School, and the City of London School. After the release of the first Harry Potter film, attending school proved difficult for him as some fellow pupils became hostile, though he states they were just trying to "have a crack at the kid that plays Harry Potter" rather than acting out of jealousy. As his acting career began to consume his schedule, he continued his education through on-set tutors. He has admitted to not being a very good student, considering school useless and finding the work "really difficult". He achieved A grades in the three AS level exams that he took in 2006, but decided to take a break from education and did not attend university. Part of his reasoning was he already knew he wanted to be an actor and screenwriter, and it would be difficult to have a normal college experience.

Radcliffe first expressed a desire to act at age five. After one of his mother's casting agent friends secured him an audition, he made his acting debut at age ten in BBC One's two-part adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield (1999), portraying the title character as a young boy. He made his film debut in The Tailor of Panama (2001), an American film based on John le Carré's 1996 spy novel, which was a moderate commercial success.

In 2000, producer David Heyman met Radcliffe while he was at the theatre with his father, a well-known literary agent who Heyman was friends with. He asked him 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. Rowling had been searching for an unknown British actor to personify the character, and the film's director Chris Columbus recalled thinking, "This is what I want. This is Harry Potter" after he saw a video of the young actor in David Copperfield. Eight months later, following several auditions, Radcliffe was selected to play the part. Rowling endorsed the selection, saying: "I don't think Chris Columbus could have found a better Harry." Radcliffe's parents originally turned down the offer, as they had been told that it would involve six films shot in Los Angeles. Warner Bros. instead offered Radcliffe a two-film contract with shooting in the UK; Radcliffe was unsure at the time if he would act in more than two Harry Potter films.

The release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone took place in 2001. Radcliffe received 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 was highly popular and was met with positive reviews, and critics took notice of Radcliffe: "Radcliffe is the embodiment of every reader's imagination. It is wonderful to see a young hero who is so scholarly looking and filled with curiosity and who connects with very real emotions, from solemn intelligence and the delight of discovery to deep family longing," wrote Bob Graham of the San Francisco Chronicle.

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 polarising opinions on the film overall. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) was the third film in the series. Radcliffe's performance was criticised by The New York Times film critic A. O. Scott, who felt that co-star Emma Watson had to carry him with her performance. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) was the second-highest grossing Harry Potter film at that point, and Radcliffe singled out the humour as a reason for the film's creative success.

Radcliffe starred as Igor in a science fiction horror film Victor Frankenstein (2015), directed by Paul McGuigan and written by Max Landis. The film was based on contemporary adaptations of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein. He also starred as Sam Houser, one of the founders of Rockstar Games, in the biographical drama film The Gamechangers.

In 2019, Radcliffe starred as Craig in the TBS comedy limited series Miracle Workers based on the book by Simon Rich. The show's second season premiered on 28 January 2020. He voice–starred as Rex Dasher, a secret agent who helps Marla, in the animated film Playmobil: The Movie directed by Lino DiSalvo. In 2020, Radcliffe starred as Miles in the action comedy film Guns Akimbo directed by Jason Lei Howden and co-starring Samara Weaving and Natasha Liu Bordizzo. He also starred as Tim Jenkin in the thriller film Escape from Pretoria, based on the real-life prison escape by three young political prisoners from jail in South Africa in 1979. He also played the role of Prince Frederick in the Netflix special Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt opposite Ellie Kemper.