The Harry Potter series has, undoubtedly, been one of the most memorable phenomena of our generation with millions of kids, teens, and adults burying their faces in the books or watching the magic on-screen in suspending disbelief. And while the themes of Hogwarts and magic are still kept alive with the Fantastic Beast series just unfolding, it’s hard to deny that the original feeling of wizardry started fading the moment everyone watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
Despite the fact that many of the young actors started their careers with the Harry Potter film series, they grew up in front of the entire world as the sequels came out, and as things reached their end, they had to raise their wings and find new heights to conquer. Many of them did, some… found themselves on completely different paths. And for those not as young as the main trio, well, Harry Potter was neither a beginning nor an end. So, if you were curious where the actors who played the iconic wizards, muggles, and all those in between are, this list is perfect for you! Scroll down below to see where the Harry Potter actors are now and don’t forget to comment and vote for your favorites!
Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
The main star of the series, Daniel Radcliffe, jumped into the role in 2000 when after auditioned at the age of eleven. While at first the actor and his parents were reluctant to accept the role, once Daniel became Harry Potter, his life was changed forever. Radcliffe basically grew up on the series, spending ten years working on eight films that brought him fame, fortune, and praises from critics. It’s no wonder the actor went on to have a splendid career in the movie scene, starring in a wide variety of roles including lawyer Arthur Kipps in the horror film The Woman in Black, famed beat poet Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings, Victor Frankenstein’s assistant Igor in the science fiction fantasy Victor Frankenstein, Manny, a sentient corpse in Swiss Army Man, and more. Radcliffe also dabbled in Broadway scene, working on such musicals as How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Currently, the actor is finishing work on a thriller Escape from Pretoria, in which he plays real-life South African escapee Tim Jenkin.
Emma Watson (Hermione Granger)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
One part of the main trio, Hermione Granger was brought to life by Emma Watson when she was only eleven. Just like Radcliffe, Watson spent ten years working on the Potter films that brought her popularity and international recognition. After the final movie in the series came out in 2011, Watson continued her acting career, starring in movies like My Week with Marilyn, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Bling Ring. Her next big role came in 2017, when she was cast as Belle in a live-action adaptation of the Beauty and the Beast. The actress also managed to split her time between acting and studying, acquiring a bachelor’s degree in English literature. In 2014 she was appointed as a UN Women Goodwill ambassador and helped launch the campaign HeForShe, calling for men to advocate gender equality. She has recently finished work on Greta Gerwig’s film adaptation of Little Women, alongside Saoirse Ronan and Meryl Streep.
Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Rupert Grint landed his lucky role of Ron Weasley in 2011, at the age of eleven. Not unlike the rest of the Golden trio, Grint was recognized for his acting and the series that took ten years of his life launched a successful acting career. Even while working on the Potter films, the actor took roles on the side, including one in films Driving Lessons and Cherrybomb. After the last Potter movie, Grint starred in the 2012 anti-war film, Into the White, as well as the 2015 French comedy film Moonwalkers. Currently, the actor is working on a project called Instruments of Darkness, alongside Charles Dance, Sean Bean and James D’Arcy.
Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Although not part of the main trio, Tom Felton’s Draco Malfoy had just as important a role in the films as Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Felton stepped into the Slytherin role when he was 14 and spent ten years working on the series. Acting as one of the series’ villains, Felton won two consecutive MTV Movie Awards for Best Villain in 2010 and 2011. After the Potter films concluded, the actor worked on the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, as well as the period drama film Belle and The Apparition. In 2018, Tom Felton worked on sci-fi horror series Origin, alongside his Harry Potter co-star, Natalia Tena. Currently, Felton has just wrapped work on a comedy Whaling.
Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Coming from a family full of actors (his maternal grandfather was actor Patrick Troughton a.k.a the Second Doctor in Doctor Who!), Harry Melling brought Harry Potter’s spoiled cousin Dudley Dursley to life. The actor worked on five Potter films, making his big screen debut in 2001. While the first few movies saw Melling as the perfect fit for a round child, by 2009, the actor had lost so much weight that the producers were considering recasting the role. Harry Melling, however, reprised the role wearing a fat suit. Melling has commented on it by saying that his weight loss was a very freeing experience, allowing him to seek different roles and distance himself from his Potter role: ” “I can now shed the child actor thing, like the fat, and start a new career, because no one sees me as Dudley.” Since the last Harry Potter film, Melling has worked on projects like Coen brothers’ Western The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, where his performance was praised by critics.
Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
When Bonnie Wright first stepped into the shoes of Ginny Weasley back in 2001, it didn’t seem like her character or portrayal had much impact in the overall movie. After all, it was only a brief scene where the focus lied on the anticipation f adventures. However, as Ginny’s importance grew in the series, Wright showed more and more character in her portrayal, receiving praises from several critics. While filming the final two installments of the series, Wright focused on her studies and by 2012 had a Bachelor of Arts degree from London’s University of the Arts: London College of Communication. After the series concluded, the actress kept working on her acting career as well as branching out to modeling, directing and producing. At the moment, Wright is working on a comedy titled Those Who Wander.
Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Matthew Lewis has stunned everyone with his incredible ‘glow-up’ as the Harry Potter films were ending as he looked nothing like the kid that we all watched at the beginning of the series. Lewis was acting since he was five, but only at the age of 12 did he finally land the role that became one of his signatures. Awkward, wide-toothed and round-faced boy was no other than Neville Longbottom and Lewis seemed to fit that role beautifully. But ten years later, Neville’s journey was not only from fear to courage but also quite an ugly duckling story where in the end he emerged a beautiful swan. The actor has since made himself known outside the Potter world by playing Jamie Bradley in The Syndicate and Corporal Gordon “Towerblock” House in the BBC Three comedy drama Bluestone 42. As of 2019, Lewis has reportedly wrapped works on a comedy titles Baby Done where he plays a character named Tim.
Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Alfred Enoch was 13 when he was cast as Dean Thomas in the Philosopher’s Stone. He played the role in seven of the eight Harry Potter films and although it wasn’t as big of a role as the Golden trio’s, it was definitely a quite significant one in Enoch’s career. After the Potter films, the actor went on to star in a critically-acclaimed Shonda Rhimes’ series How to Get Away with Murder, where he played one of the main roles of Wes Gibbins, alongside Viola Davis’ Annalise Keating. He played the main role in season 2 of Trust Me, as well as numerous theatre plays. Currently, Enoch is working on a project titled Provisional Measure that’s set to be released in 2020.
Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
While the rest of the cast had some kind of acting gigs before landing a role in Harry Potter, Evanna Lynch had no experience in the field prior being cast as Luna Lovegood at all. She was obsessed with the books as a child and wrote many letters to the author before hearing about open casting for the role of Lovegood. She was picked out of 15,000 girls and producers have claimed that while many could play Luna, Evanna was, in fact, Luna, especially with her deep knowledge and affinity to the character.
After the Potter series was finished, Lynch went on to to play in several other movies, including a 2015 Irish independent drama film My Name Is Emily where she was a lead. Lynch also played alongside her Harry Potter co-stars James and
Oliver Phelps in Danny and the Human Zoo. Currently, the actress has just wrapped work on a crime comedy Madness in the Method.
James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Two 14-year-old twins who had no previous acting experience took a risk and skipped school to attend Harry Potter auditions back in 2000. The result? They were cast as Fred and George Weasley, an iconic prankster duo that turned to be their most memorable role so far. After coloring their hair back to brunette, the actors went on to star in different roles after series, as twins and individually. They starred in Own Worst Enemy, as well as drama Danny and the Human Zoo, alongside Evanna Lynch. As of 2019, both brothers worked on short film 7 Days: The story of Blind Dave Heeley where they played Dr. Mathews and Captain Williams.
Jamie Waylett (Vincent Crabbe)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Jamie Waylett had quite a rough life before starring in the Potter series. At the age of nine, he was in an accident that had doctors believe Jamie would die or suffer severe brain damage. To their surprise, the boy made a full recovery. Initially, Waylett was considered for the role of Dudley Dursley, however, he was ultimately cast as Vincent Crabbe, a boy who was part of Draco’s gang and bullied Potter and his friends. Unfortunately, at the time the final movies were shot, a co-star Joshua Herdman announced that Waylett would not return for them. That was because Waylett had had legal trouble after police found cannabis in his possession for which he was sentenced to 120 hours of community service. His legal troubles didn’t end there, however, as Jamie was arrested during the 2011 England riots after which he was sentenced to two years in prison for taking part in the riots. Since then he’s been laying low, for obvious reasons.
Josh Herdman (Gregory Goyle)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
As he was the son of actor and former professional rugby league footballer Martin Herdman, it was no surprise that Josh started acting when he was only 7. He landed the role of Gregory Goyle at the age of 13, acting alongside Tom Felton as his character’s sidekick. He stayed with the character for 10 years and played him for all the remaining films. After the series wrapped, Josh started practicing jiujitsu and after five years began his MMA career in 2016. However, after spending his time fighting for a couple of years, Herdman returned to acting with roles in the 2018 film Robin Hood as well a British “Nordic”-noir detective series titled Marcella. As of now, the actor seems to be juggling both, fighting and acting, gigs and working on action TV series Alex Rider .
Domhnall Gleeson (Bill Weasley)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
The son of actor Brendan Gleeson, Domhnall
Sean Biggerstaff (Oliver Wood)
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Katie Leung (Cho Chang)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Scarlett Byrne (Pansy Parkinson)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Unlike the child stars of the series, many of whom started their careers in the magical world of Hogwarts, Petunia Shaw was already an established Irish actress and theatre and opera director. Although her role of Petunia Dursley wasn’t that prominent, Shaw’s portrayal of the protagonist’s aunt was definitely memorable. Currently, Fiona Shaw is working on many projects, including BBC America’s Killing Eve, 2020 drama Ammonite and upcoming thriller Corvidae.
Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Emma Thompson (Sybill Trelawney)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Natalia Tena (Nymphadora Tonks)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Julie Walters (Molly Weasley)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley)
Image credits: Warner Bros.
by Giedrė via Bored Panda - Source
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