Harry Potter Stars: Then and Now

Fresh-faced Daniel Radcliffe first stepped onto our screens at the tender age of 11, after auditioning for the role of Harry in the film adaptation of J.K.Rowling’s hugely successful children’s books. Having had only a small amount acting experience and no formal training, Daniel quickly became a household name, and took the movie world by storm.

Baby faced Rupert Grint landed his role in Harry Potter after seeing spotting an advert on children’s television show, Newsround. Producers were encouraging kids to send in audition tapes to the show, so resourceful Rupert set about making a rap video of how much he wanted the part. (No, really!) Unfortunately the tape has never surfaced, but Mr Grint has since starred in several hit films.

Burberry beauty Emma Watson arrived on the acting scene after landing the role of school swat Hermione, aged just nine. Despite having no formal experience, the pint-sized starlet was determined to land the role, and persuaded producers to give her the part. A star in the making, lovely Em wowed crowds around the world, going on to earn fabulous fashion credentials with her show stopping outfits, before taking up a place at US Ivy League university, Brown.

Blonde-haired bad boy Tom Felton made quite an entrance at Hogwarts, when he took up a place as Harry’s archrival Draco Malfoy. And what a difference 10 years makes. Tom’s since recorded several singles, and is looking forward to playing some more cheerful roles when the famous films are finished. ‘After the Potter legacy is over I look forward to playing a good guy or someone different anyway, someone not so spiteful,’ he revealed in an interview.

Flame haired Bonnie Wright (the daughter of celebrity jewellery designers Wright & Teage, no less!) landed her first acting role in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban aged just eight. Walking the red carpet with fiancé Jamie Campbell Bower recently, Harry Potter’s Hogwarts love interest looked every inch the elegant actress, proving her transition from child star to superstarlet was finally complete.

We all know Robert Pattinson as Twilight heartthrob Edward Cullen, but who’d have thought our favourite vampire started life as a wizard? R-Patz landed his Harry Potter role after several small TV parts and modeling jobs, and was named British Star of Tomorrow by the Times for his portrayal of Cedric Diggory. But it wasn’t until the Twi Saga that that the world really took notice. Enter the international star.

Terrible twosome James and Oliver Phelps performed side-by-side in several school plays before landing the roles of Fred and George Weasley in the Harry Potter movies. And if you ask us, they were absolutely made for the role!

Devon Murray AKA Seamus Finnigan starred in several high profile movies – including Angela’s Ashes and This is My Father – before landing his role in the Harry Potter films. The accident-prone star is known for larking around on set, and holds the record for breaking the most amount of prop wands on set. Whoops!

Katie Leung set pulses around the country racing when she landed the role of Harry’s first love interest, Cho Chang in 2005. Putting plans to go to art college on hold to take up the sought after part, Katie’s still said to be undecided about a career in acting after the end of the Harry Potter movies.

Otherwise known as Harry’s accident-prone friend Neville Longbottom, in real life Matthew Lewis couldn't be further from his unfortunate alterego. Landing his role after appearing in episodes of TV favourites Heartbeat and Dalziel and Pascoe, the star reportedly had to wear false yellow crooked teeth and shoes two sizes too big to make him appear 'clown like' for the duration of filming. Oh dear.