Daniel Radcliffe

Name: Daniel Radcliffe
Birth Name: Daniel Jacob Radcliffe
Date of Birth: July 23, 1989
Place of Birth: Fulham, London, England, UK
Education: All-boys private school
Nationality: British
Occupation:  Actor
Claim to Fame: as Harry Potter in ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' (2001)
Nickname:  Dan

Daniel Radcliffe (born as, Daniel Jacob Radcliffe) was born on 23 July 1989. This 5' 6'' young Englishman 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.

Daniel Radcliffe previously attended the Sussex House School, an all-boys school, and for his AS levels at City of London School. He achieved A grades in the three AS-levels he sat in 2006, but then decided to take a break from education.

Daniel Radcliffe plays bass guitar (taught by Gary Oldman) and is a fan of punk rock music; he admires a diverse lineup of bands, from Sex Pistols to Arctic Monkeys. He is also a fan of Fulham Football Club. While on set, to keep busy, he enjoys playing table tennis and video games with his fellow cast members.

He 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 Daniel 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. Daniel Radcliffe's last performance in Equus took place on June 9, 2007; another production of the play will open in New York City in the summer of 2008, and Radcliffe may reprise his role.

Daniel Radcliffe was born in Fulham, London, 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. Daniel Radcliffe's mother is Jewish and grew up in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex; his father is a Protestant who grew up in Northern Ireland. He has two dogs, Binka and Nugget. Daniel 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.

Daniel 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 popular book series by J.K. Rowling. Daniel 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.

Daniel 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 released on July 11, 2007. He has signed on for the sixth and seventh films; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, scheduled for release in November 2008 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows expected sometime in 2010. The films continue to produce high box office results worldwide.

In 2002, Daniel Radcliffe appeared as a guest in the West End production The Play What I Wrote directed by Kenneth Branagh (who appeared with Daniel 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 recently bought by Warner Bros., is currently set for an August 2007 release. He is additionally signed on for the ITV drama My Boy Jack as Jack Kipling, a WWI-era soldier and the son of author Rudyard Kipling. Filming is scheduled for July 2007.

At the age of sixteen, Daniel 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. Daniel Radcliffe was fourteen at the time of the portrait's creation. On July 9th 2007, Daniel 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.

Award

MTV Movie Award

• Year : 2006
• Category : Best On-Screen Team (Shared with Rupert Grint & Emma Watson)
• For : Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Nominated

Critics Choice Award (Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards) 2002

• Category : Best Young Actor/Actress
• For : Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• Nominated

Saturn Award 2005

• Category : Best Performance by a Younger Actor
• For : Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Nominated

Saturn Award 2003

• Category : Best Performance by a Younger Actor
• For : Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Nominated

Saturn Award 2002

• Category : Best Performance by a Younger Actor
• For : Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• Nominated

PFCS Award (Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards) 2003

• Category : Best Acting Ensemble (Shared with 13 others)
• For : Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Nominated

PFCS Award (Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards) 2002

• Category : Best Newcomer
• For : Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• Nominated

MTV Movie Award 2006

• Category : Best Hero
• For : Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Nominated

Golden Apple 2001

• Category : Youth Male Discovery of the Year
• Won

Empire Award (UK) 2002

• Category : Best Debut (Shared with Rupert Grint & Emma Watson)
• For : Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• Nominated

Critics Choice Award (Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards) 2006

• Category : Best Young Actor
• For : Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Nominated

Critics Choice Award (Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards) 2005

• Category : Best Young Actor
• For : Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Nominated

Saturn Award 2006

• Category : Best Performance by a Younger Actor
• For : Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Nominated