10 Movies That Made Daniel Radcliffe Someone More Than Harry Potter
That actor's face is familiar to anyone who's ever turned on the television or visited a movie theater.
One of the most popular and high-paid actors of our time, Daniel Radcliffe is mostly known for his portrayal of Harry Potter. The role was both a blessing and a curse for Daniel, who was pretty much deprived of a normal childhood as a result of his worldwide fame.
After the Harry Potter franchise ended, the actor took up new roles, playing the most unexpected and extravagant characters — as if he set out to prove to the audience he was no longer the young wizard they once knew.
Rudyard Kipling's Son (My Boy Jack, 2007)
18-year-old Radcliffe starred as Jack Kipling, son of the English novelist Rudyard Kipling, during the break between filming the fifth and sixth installments of the Harry Potter series. While the public was puzzled by such a drastic change in character, the actor's talent gained much critical acclaim.
The biographical film depicts the horrors of war and the consequences of military propaganda on Redcliffe's young character. Fascinated by his famous father's ideas, the underage boy volunteers to go to the front despite his poor eyesight.
The Ghost-Seeing Widower (The Woman in Black, 2012)
The Woman in Black, based on the novel by Susan Hill, was Daniel's first horror film.
The grown-up actor plays a man who has lost his wife and is now raising his young son. The man is assigned to travel to a remote village, where he meets the ghost of a mysterious woman looking for her lost child.
Radcliffe delivers a convincing performance as a character going through dreadful trials, mystical revelations, and personal tragedy.
Friendzoned Guy (What If, 2013)
After he tried his hand at horror and drama, Daniel landed a role in a typical romcom.
In What If, the actor plays a broken-hearted guy named Wallace, who decides never to fall in love again — and then breaks his vow immediately. But he's out of luck again as his romantic interest already has a boyfriend.
Beatnik Allen Ginsberg (Kill Your Darlings, 2013)
Radcliffe's portrayal of the founding father of the Beat generation was so powerful, he earned unanimous acclaim from audiences and critics alike. At the Venice Film Festival, people would come to the theater the night before to line up and get to see the movie.
In Kill Your Darlings, some of the most prominent 20th-century writers and journalists come alive on screen — and their portrayal is sincere, believable, and void of clichés.
The Guy with the Horns (Horns, 2013)
With each of his new roles, Daniel seemed to be raising the bar for his characters' weirdness. Once he had finished working on the biographical drama, Daniel took up a role in a fantasy thriller based on the novel by Joe Hill.
His character is Ig Perrish, an ordinary man from rural America, who lost his lover and is accused of her murder. One day, Ig wakes up and finds two horns growing from his forehead, which give him the ability to compel people to confess their deepest secrets.
Humpbacked Frankenstein's sidekick (Victor Frankenstein, 2015)
In Frankenstein, Dan's character Igor is the friend and sidekick of the famous Dr. Frankenstein and also the narrator of the story.
At the beginning, he is a hunchbacked circus clown who has no hope of ever finding love or his place in society. But his life is changed when he meets the brilliant scientist, Victor, who relieves the boy of his physical defect, which eventually allows him to create a new better life for himself.
GTA Developer (The Gamechangers, 2015)
Once again, Radcliffe portrays a historical figure, the computer game enthusiast and developer of the GTA series Sam Houser.
As he launches the new GTA shooter, he has to deal with much pressure from public figures accusing the game of excessive violence and even "stealing the innocence of our children."
The Corpse (Swiss Army Man, 2016)
Here's another bizarre role for Dan Radcliffe: in Swiss Army Man, he plays a corpse thrown ashore by the tide after a shipwreck.
Despite being a dead man for the entire movie, the actor really got to show off his talent this time: his character turned out to be so fascinating and funny, he received a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival.
Undercover FBI Agent (Imperium, 2016)
Critics claim that, so far, this is Daniel Radcliffe's most remarkable role.
In Imperium, he plays an inexperienced FBI agent who has to go deep undercover and infiltrate a neo-Nazi gang to prevent a terrorist attack. Radcliffe's performance turns the crime thriller into an ingenious tragicomedy.
Lost Traveler (Jungle, 2017)
Based on a true story that happened in the 1980s, the film follows traveler Yossi Ghinsberg as he gets lost in the Amazon jungle and has to battle wilderness to survive.
Viewers commented that Radcliffe nailed the survivor role just as well as Leo DiCaprio did in The Revenant.