Early Life
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe was born in London on July 23rd, 1989. He is the only child of Marcia Jeannine Gresham and literary agent Alan George Radcliffe. Confusingly, one of the schools he went to was Redcliffe School.
He showed an early interest in acting from the age of five, and his first TV role came five years later in BBC One’s 1999 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield. His big screen debut came two years later in the 2001 adaptation of John le Carré’s spy novel, The Tailor of Panama.
It’s Who You Know
In 2000, around the time Daniel filmed his first movie, his literary agent father took his 11-year-old boy to the theater. There, they bumped into Alan’s good friend, David Heyman.
The British film producer suggested that young Daniel audition for the role of Harry Potter for the film adaptation of J. K. Rowling’s best-selling book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. In America, the book and the film are known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Winning the Role of a Lifetime
Producers had been searching for a young, unknown British actor to play the bespectacled boy wizard. When director Chris Columbus saw a video of the young actor in David Copperfield, he said, “This is what I want. This is Harry Potter.”
J.K. Rowling was equally delighted, stating, “I don’t think Chris Columbus could have found a better Harry.” Eight months later, after several auditions, Daniel eventually won the part. His parents got the phone call and delivered the good news when he was at home in the bath!
Refusal of the Call
If you’re a fan of Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey/monomyth, you’ll know that – through internal or external devices – the hero has to refuse the call to adventure. And that’s exactly what happened with Daniel Radcliffe. He very nearly didn’t play Harry Potter.
Radcliffe’s parents initially turned down their son’s offer, as he would have to shoot six films in Los Angeles. Warner Bros. wanted Harry so much that they moved the production to England and offered the young actor a two-film contract.