Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor, best known for playing Harry Potter in the feature film series based on the popular book series. Radcliffe has also made appearances in stage productions and a number of TV shows and films, including the ITV film My Boy Jack and the stage show Equus, for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award.

Radcliffe was born in Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, Hammersmith, 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, most recently, 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 realised his ambition and made his acting debut in the BBC’s televised two-part adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield, portraying the title character as a young boy.