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Early life
Radcliffe was born on 23 July 1989 in West London, England,[1]
the only child of Alan George Radcliffe, a literary agent, and Marcia
Jeannine Gresham (ne 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.[2][3] Radcliffe's mother
is Jewish and a native of Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (her family's surname
was anglicised from "Gershon");[3][4] his father, originally from Northern
Ireland, is Protestant.[5] Radcliffe first expressed a desire to act at the
age of five.[6] 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.
[7]
Radcliffe was educated at independent schools for boys, [8] including
Sussex House School, a day school in Cadogan Square in Chelsea,
London.[9]
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. [10] As his acting career began to
consume his schedule, Radcliffe continued his education through on1
set tutors. The actor admitted he was not very good at school,
considered it useless, and found the work to be "really, really
difficult."[8] 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. [11] Part of the reason was he
already knew he wanted to act and write. Another reason was it would
be difficult to have a normal college experience. "The paparazzi, theyd
love it, he told Details magazine in 2007. "If there were any parties
going on, theyd be tipped off as to where they were, and it would be
all of that stuff."[10]
Career
Harry Potter
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. [18] His
parents chose to invest the money for him. [14] 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, Philosopher's Stone stands as the most commercially successful
in the series.[19] The adaptation met with strong reviews, [20] 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.[21]
Radcliffe at the July 2009 premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince
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. Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post labelled it
"big, dull and empty", whereas Desson Thomson of the same
publication had more positive feelings.[20] Observing that Radcliffe and
his peers had matured, Los Angeles Times's staff writer Kenneth Turan
believed the novel's magic could not be successfully duplicated in the
film.[22] Nonetheless, it still managed to earn US$878 million, taking the
second spot of the highest-grossing 2002 films worldwide behind The
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers[23]
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[20] and grossing US$795.6 million worldwide, the
film's performance at the box office ranks the lowest in the series. [19]
3
David Yates directs Radcliffe for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 in 2009.
For financial and scripting reasons, the last book was divided into
two films that were shot back to back, [39][40] drawing criticism from the
book's fanbase. The actor defended the split, pointing out that it would
have been impossible to properly adapt the final novel into a single
film.[41] He added that the last movie was going to be extremely fastpaced with a lot of action, while the first part would be far more
sedate, focussing on character development. Had they combined
them, those things would not have made it to the final cut. [42] Filming
lasted for a year, concluding in June 2010. On the last day of shooting,
like most of the cast and crew, Radcliffe openly wept.[43] Harry Potter
and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) was released in November and
grossed over US$950 million.[19] 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. [44] The
movie received mostly favourable reviews in the media.[20]
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[45] and won
the National Movie Awards's "Must See Movie of the Summer"
accolade.[31] Radcliffe admitted that some people would never be able
to separate him from the character but also said he is "proud to be
associated with this film series forever." [46] Despite positive feelings
about the movies, he has no interest in doing more Harry Potter films.
After Rowling suggested writing an eighth book, Radcliffe was asked if
he would do another film; he replied: "[It is] very doubtful. I think 10
years is a long time to spend with one character." [47] Despite devoting
so much time to the series, Radcliffe has asserted that he did not miss
5
out on a childhood like other child actors: "Ive been given a much
better perspective on life by doing Potter.[48]
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.[72] He is an atheist and has also stated that he is
"very proud of being Jewish."[73][74][75] 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. [76] In August 2010, he
stopped drinking alcohol after finding himself becoming too reliant on
it.[77]
Radcliffe is a supporter of the Liberal Democrats.[78] 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.
[78]
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.[79]
He is a fan of underground[80] and punk rock music,[81][82] and is a
keen follower of cricket.[83] Writing short stories and poetry is also a
passion.[84] 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.[74][84] He enjoys a close
friendship with his fellow Harry Potter co-stars Emma Watson[85] and
Tom Felton[80] and is tight-knit with his family, whom he credits for
keeping him grounded.[86]
than Princes William and Harry.[99] Despite his wealth, Radcliffe has said
he does not have expensive tastes. His main expense is buying books:
"I read a lot."[100] He also stated that money would never be the focus
of his life.[8]