Hot Gallery: Daniel Radcliffe’s Career from “The Boy Who Lived” to Shirtless Heartthrob

Radcliffe’s debut found him playing a shaggy-haired boy trying to find his way after the death of his parents, in a movie also starring Maggie Smith…sound familiar? (Smith, who plays Professor McGonagall in the Potter films, was David’s eccentric Aunt Betsey in Copperfield.) No wonder director Chris Columbus, who was deeply involved in casting, said, "This is who I want! This is Harry Potter" upon seeing the David Copperfield video box.

Released just months before the first Harry Potter, this movie based on a John le Carré novel featured Radcliffe as the son of Geoffrey Rush’s titular tailor. (That’s him eating breakfast in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance at 0:46 in the trailer.)

Despite director Chris Columbus’s early interest in Radcliffe for the lead, it took a while for him to actually be cast; Radcliffe’s parents were reportedly reluctant to let him audition. When they finally relented, it was an easy decision—and from that point on, his fate was inextricably linked to the wizarding wonders of the magical Potter universe.

The movie that introduced the world to Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson—who played the ill-fated Cedric Diggory—also marked a turning point in the Potter series. With a darker look and story than the previous three installments, Goblet of Fire gave us our first glimpse of the returned Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in all his evil glory.

It was undoubtedly a conscious career decision for Radcliffe to poke fun at himself in Ricky Gervais’s biting comedy that guest-starred famous people as less-than-flattering versions of themselves. Painfully awkward pickup lines, a farcically juvenile offer of cigarettes, and a hilarious bit with a condom proved that Radcliffe was aiming for different kinds of roles after Harry Potter.

His risqué turn on Extras was just the start—a year later, Radcliffe took on the role of Alan Strang in a critically acclaimed revival of Equus in London and then on Broadway. Opposite Richard Griffiths (Harry’s horrible Uncle Vernon in the Potter franchise), Radcliffe played a disturbed young man with an unhealthy sexual and spiritual love of horses. Oh, yeah—and he bared all onstage.

Having gone the daring route, Radcliffe returned to a more wholesome image—and proved that he’s adept at singing and dancing—in this award-winning revival of a beloved classic. Now that he’s appeared in two Broadway hits in a row, he’s clearly taken a liking to New York, buying a brownstone and enjoying city life.

"It all ends": That’s the tagline for this final chapter in the Harry Potter saga. When the decision was made to divide J.K. Rowling’s last book in half, many hard-core fans were outraged; how could they stop the story midstream? But remaining true to so many of the novel’s details in action-packed, visually lush film form has likely silenced the critics. Besides, don’t we want all the Potter we can get?

Wearing a natty three-piece suit, Radcliffe—along with his costars Emma Watson (in an ethereal frock and pixie haircut) and Rupert Grint (with his signature ginger mop)—attended the premiere of the movie that says goodbye to all things Potter. It was, by all accounts, an emotional experience.