Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the title character in the
Harry Potter film series. Radcliffe made his acting debut at age ten in BBC One's 1999 television movie
David Copperfield, followed by his film debut in 2001's
The Tailor of Panama. At age eleven he was cast as the title character in the first
Harry Potter film, and starred in the series for ten years until the release of the eighth and final film in July 2011. He also began to branch out to stage acting in 2007, starring in the London and New York productions of the play
Equus and in the 2011 Broadway revival of the musical
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. In addition, he has starred in 2007's
December Boys and the 2012 sleeper hit horror film
The Woman in Black. He will play beat poet Allen Ginsberg in the 2013 indie film
Kill Your Darlings.
Radcliffe has contributed to many charities, including Demelza House Children's Hospice and The Trevor Project. He also made public service announcements for the latter. In 2011, he was awarded the Trevor Project's "Hero Award".
In 2008, Radcliffe 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," Radcliffe commented.In August 2010, he stopped drinking alcohol after finding himself becoming too reliant on it.
In a 2012 interview, Radcliffe stated, "There was never [religious]
faith in the house. I think of myself as being Jewish and Irish, despite
the fact that I’m English."He has also said, "I'm an atheist, and a militant atheist when religion starts impacting on legislation",and that he is "very proud of being Jewish".
Radcliffe is a supporter of the Labour Party.Until 2012 Radcliffe had publicly supported the Liberal Democrats,and before the 2010 UK general election Radcliffe endorsed Nick Clegg,
the Lib Dem leader. In 2012, however, Radcliffe switched his allegiance
to Labour, citing disappointment with the performance of Nick Clegg and
the Lib Dems in government, and approving of the Labour leader, Ed Miliband.At the age of sixteen, Radcliffe became the youngest non-royal ever to have an individual portrait in Britain's National Portrait Gallery (NPG). 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; it was then moved to the NPG where it resides.
He is a fan of underground and punk rock music,and is a keen follower of cricket, including cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.Writing short stories and poetry is also a passion.
In November 2007 Radcliffe 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.He enjoys a close friendship with his
Harry Potter co-stars Tom Felton
and Emma Watson,and is tight-knit with his family, whom he credits for keeping him grounded.
Speaking out against homophobia, Radcliffe began filming public service announcements in 2009 for The Trevor Project, promoting awareness of gay teen suicide prevention.He first learned of the organisation while working on
Equus on Broadway in 2008
and has contributed financially to it. "I have always hated anybody who is not tolerant of gay men or lesbians
or bisexuals. Now I am in the very fortunate position where I can
actually help or do something about it," he said in a 2010 interview. In
the same interview, he spoke of the importance of public figures
advocating for equal rights.Radcliffe considers his involvement to be one of the most important things in his career and,for his work for the organisation, he was given the "Hero Award" in 2011.
Radcliffe has supported various charities. He designed the Cu-Bed for
Habitat's VIP Kids range (a cube made of eight smaller ones which can
be made into a bed, chaise-longue or chair)with all the royalties from the sale of the bed going directly to his favourite charity, Demelza House Children's Hospice in Sittingbourne, Kent.Radcliffe has urged his fans to make donations, in lieu of Christmas
presents to him, to the charity's Candle for Care program. In 2008 he
was among several celebrities who donated their old glasses to an exhibit honouring victims of the Holocaust.During the Broadway run of
Equus
he auctioned off a pair of jeans he wore in the show for "thousands of
dollars", as well as other items worn in the show, for the Broadway
Cares/Equity Fights AIDS "a New York-based nonprofit HIV/AIDS
grant-making organisation".He has also donated money to Get Connected UK, a London-based free confidential national helpline for troubled youth.
Sources disagree about Radcliffe's personal wealth; he was reported to have earned £1 million for the first
Harry Potter film
and around £15 million for the sixth.Radcliffe appeared on the
Sunday Times Rich List in 2006, which estimated his personal fortune to be £14 million, making him one of the richest young people in the UK.In March 2009 he was ranked number one on the
Forbes "Most Valuable Young Stars" list,and by April
The Daily Telegraph measured his net worth at £30m, making him the 12th richest young person in the UK.Radcliffe was considered to be the richest teenager in England later that year.In February 2010 he was named the sixth highest paid Hollywood male star
and placed at number five on
Forbes's December list of Hollywood's highest-grossing actors with a revenue of US$780 million, mainly due to
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows being released that year.Despite previous predictions that Radcliffe would have amassed £70m by the time the
Harry Potter series concluded,the actor was reported to only have a wealth of £28.5 million in 2010. This still makes him richer than Princes William and Harry. Despite his wealth, Radcliffe has said he does not have expensive
tastes and that his main expense is buying books: "I read a lot."He also stated that money would never be the focus of his life.
