What’s Next For The Harry Potter Cast

BY GABI TABIB

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson will always be remembered by their roles as Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Their roles have become icons of Hollywood, but who’s to say that these roles are all they will be known for? After the final movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the cast of the Harry Potter series began to break away from their characters. In celebrating the final installment of the franchise, we look at the past and future of these eternal witches and wizards.

Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter throughout the series, started his film career in 1999. He played young David Copperfield in the BBC television film, David Copperfield. While Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone director Chris Columbus was searching for an unknown British actor to play Harry, he stumbled upon Radcliffe. After grueling months of auditioning, Radcliffe nailed the part as Harry. However, his parents were originally against him being in the movie because he would have to film in Los Angeles. It wasn’t until Warner Bros. offered them a two-year deal with UK locations that Radcliffe’s parents allowed him to be part of the Harry Potter franchise.

With the release of the first three Harry Potter films, Radcliffe received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Harry. At 17, Radcliffe broke away from his innocent image with the lead in Peter Shaffer’s play Equus. It was there, starring as Alan Strang, a stable boy who has an obsession with horses, did Radcliffe prove his ability to portray a deeper character. Critics raved about how sinister Radcliffe could become, and began to truly see him as a great actor.

When the Harry Potter project ended in 2011, Radcliffe starred in The Woman in Black, a movie adapted from Susan Hill’s 1983 novel of the same name. He also starred on Broadway, singing and dancing in the revival of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. The film and play received mostly positive reviews, which prompted Radcliffe to continue his career in movies and theater.

Radcliffe will always remember the Harry Potter cast and crew as family. During an interview, he admitted that he once pulled a prank on the make-up department. He put a fake blood capsule in his mouth and pretended he fell down the stairs and smashed his face in. The whole department fell for it, and once finding out it had just been a prank chased after him with a water pistol.

To the world, Radcliffe will be remembered as the Boy Who Lived, the first and hopefully the only Harry Potter.

Rupert Grint

Rupert Grint played Harry Potter’s best friend, Ronald Weasley. After being part of many school plays (a fish in Noah’s Ark, a donkey in a nativity play) Grint decided that he would audition for the part as Ronald Weasley, considering he had the “ginger-colored hair.” Grint admitted he was also a great fan of the series. He auditioned very simply, rapping to the casting director, asking them to put him in the movie. It worked, and Grint was cast to play Ronald Weasley.

While filming the Harry Potter series, Grint worked on a variety of other projects. In 2002, he was in Thunderpants, the story about a boy named Patrick Smash (Bruce Cook) who has an uncontrollable flatulence problem. Grint played his best friend, Alan Allen. In 2006, he was Ben Marhsall in the film Driving Lessons, starring with Julie Walter and Laura Linney.

Grint enjoyed his time as Ronald Weasley. He has become close with cast members, Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Tom Felton. After filming the fourth installment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Grint admitted to “knicking” the golden egg that was part of the second challenge of the Triwizard Tournament. “I couldn’t resist!” he said in an interview with People Magazine.

His first project after the Harry Potter franchise will be Into the White. Directed by Petter Næss, Into the White tells the true story about two fighter planes, one German, one English, during the beginning of World War Two. After both planes are shot down, the pilots must learn to survive with one another against a Norwegian winter. The film will be released on November 24, 2012.

Emma Watson

Emma Watson played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise. Although Watson has committed herself to playing roles in other movies, it is the bushy head of hair and overly pompous scowl of Hermione Granger that we will remember.

She started her acting career early, studying at the Oxford Stagecoach Theatre Arts, a part-time theater school. She was cast as Hermione Granger after eight grueling audition sessions ignorant of how big the series would become.

During filming, Watson got involved with modeling. At the age of fifteen, she was the youngest girl ever to be featured on Teen Vogue magazine. She was the face of Burberry during their Autumn/Winter campaign in 2009, as well as appearing in their 2010 Spring/Summer campaign.

Watson was also in many other movies, including Ballet Shoes (an adaptation of the novel by Noel Streatfeild) and The Tale of Despereaux (an adaptation of the novel of by Kate DiCamillo). This earned her the stereotype of portraying literary characters.

Watson admitted to having a crush on co-star Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy.

Her hardest scene, according to IMDB was with co-star Mathew Lewis (Neville Longbottom.) “Neville comes up to me with his toad, Trevor, and says, “Do you want to kiss Trevor goodnight?” Every time I burst into laughter. I was supposed to give him an “I hate you” look, but I couldn’t help myself. It took me eight takes to get it.”

After the Harry Potter series, Watson was cast as Lucy in My Week With Marilyn. Watson will also star in the movie adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, in which she is cast as Sam the beautiful, the friendly senior that main character Charlie (Logan Lerman) falls for. She is also cast in 2013’s The Bling Ring (as Nicki), and Emma Forrest in Your Voice in My Head (2013).

Tom Felton

Tom Felton was Harry Potter’s school rival, Draco Malfoy. Felton was the most experienced actor out of the children who obtained the main leads. After acting in commercials for Barclaycard and Commercial Union, he voiced the character “James” in the British television series Bugs. In 1997, Felton starred in The Borrowers as “Peagreen Clock”. In 1999 he also made two other appearances in the movies: Anna and the King, and Second Sight.

When auditioning for Harry Potter, Felton originally wanted to be cast as either Harry or Ron. But upon being cast as Draco Malfoy, Felton decided it was best and cons a lot more fun.

Felton became close to many of the actors onset. Being a fan of Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), the two would talk for hours about Rickman’s role in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Felton also received advice from Helena Bonham Carter when he had to cry in a scene. “She said tell your brain you’re not allowed to cry, and then it’s more likely to happen.”

Immediately after the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Felton appeared in Rise of the Planet of the Apes as the character Dodge Landon. From there, he has starred in seven movies and a prospective television series.

Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman played one of the main villains, Severus Snape, in the Harry Potter series. He began his acting career in his late twenties after joining the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1972. He is most famously (or in this case infamously) known for his portrayal of Hans Gruber in Die Hard alongside Bruce Willis.  When casting for Harry Potter began, Rickman auditioned for the role of Severus Snape, but only got the part after actor Tim Roth (The Incredible Hulk, The Last Sign) backed out.

Throughout the filming of the Harry Potter series, Rickman was part of many movie projects. After the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, he was John Gissing in The Search for John Gissing. In 2005, Rickman lent his voice to the depressed robot “Marvin” in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. One of his more notable voice acting roles was the Blue Caterpillar in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010).

After Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Rickman narrated the short film The Boy in the Bubble. Now, Rickman is working on the movie Gambit in which he will be playing Lionel Shahbandar, the world’s richest man. Gambit is set to premiere in theaters January 11, 2013.

Matthew Lewis

Matthew Lewis, who played the bumbling Neville Longbottom, has grown more popular since the end of the final film. Lewis’s acting career began at the age of five as Johnathan Taylor in the television series Some Kind of Life.  From there, he made appearances in three television series: Dalziel and Pascoe (as Davy Plessey), Where the Heart Is (as Billy Bevan), and in Heartbeat (as Alan Quigley).

After reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Lewis pretended to play “Harry Potter.” But when he went to audition for the role, he went for Neville Longbottom. During filming, Lewis did not work on any other projects besides the Harry Potter series.

While working on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Lewis’s eardrum was ruptured after co-star Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) accidentally stuck her wand in his ear.

Today, Matthew Lewis is one of the cast members that has mostly separated himself from the Harry Potter franchise. Arguably better looking, Lewis was in the theater production Agatha Christie’s Verdict (2011), The Night of the Loving Dead (2011), and the television series The Syndicate (2012). Lewis is now working on Wasteland (directed by Rowan Athale) in which he plays the main character “Dodd.”

Michael Gambon

After Richard Harris—the original Dumbledore—died of Hodgkin’s Disease on October 25, 2002, Warner Bros. had to find a replacement for the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Gambon began his career in 1958 when he joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first role was in Othello, the Shakespeare tragedy, in which he played the minor role of the “Second Gentleman”, in 1965.

From 1965 to 1986, Gambon starred and made cameo appearances in 36 different television series. During this time he also worked in theatre in productions like Macbeth (1968), A View from the Bridge (1987), and Old Times (1985). By 2003, Gambon had such an extensive career in theatre, film, and television that he knew what director Alfonso Cuarón (The Harry Potter series had four different directors: Chris Colombus, Alfonzo Cuarón, Mike Newell and David Yates) wanted.

Gambon is currently working on two movies. The first is Quartet, which is set to premiere late this year. Gambon will also be narrating Ivan the Fool for its 2015 release.

Ralph Fiennes

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Ralph Fiennes was cast as Lord Voldemort. Like Rickman, Fiennes is infamous for playing sinister characters, so this was a no-brainer. Fiennes like Gambon, and Rickman, began his training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, in 1983. His acting career began when he was part of the Open Air Theatre, and later the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Fiennes’s debut in film was Wuthering Heights, based on a novel of the same name, in 1992. In this movie he played Heathcliff, the lovesick gypsy. Arguably, Fiennes’s greatest role came in 1993 when he portrayed Nazi concentration camp commandant Amon Göth in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List.

When first approached by Warner Bros. to play Lord Voldemort in the fourth Potter installment, Fiennes was hesitant. He had been unimpressed with the first three movies. But after being shown concept sketches of what He Who Must Not Be Named would look like, he was quick to accept.

Because of his storied career, Fiennes has kept busy since the ending of the series. In the 2012 release of Great Expectations based on the Charles Dickens classic, Fiennes will be portraying Magwitch. In Skyfall, the newest James Bond film (yes, Daniel Craig will be Bond) Fiennes will be playing the character Gareth Mallory. In 2013, Fiennes is set to play Charles Dickens in The Invisible Woman, telling the tale of Charles Dickens’s secret mistress.

Wherever the cast of Harry Potter will go, they have become some of the many recognized names and faces of Hollywood. It does not matter what role they will be cast in, they will always be remembered as their witch and wizard counterparts, good and bad.