Daniel Radcliffe has just won his first Tony award for best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical for his performance as Charley Kringas in the Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along.
Radcliffe referred to his co-stars during the acceptance speech, “I’m going to talk fast and try not to cry... I don’t even have to act in this show. I will never have it this good again.”
When the Stephen Sondheim musical opened on Broadway in 1981, it was a notorious failure, ending after just 16 performances. Three years following Sondheim's passing, director Maria Friedman revised the production, which was led by an all-star cast that included Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, and Radcliffe.
Radcliffe didn’t forget his roots in his speech, “When I finished Potter, I had no idea what my career was going to be. Playing one character for so long kind of builds up in you a desire to do as many things as you possibly can.”
It’s been more than two decades since the first Harry Potter film hit the big screen and conquered hearts across the globe.
The franchise that became an unbeatable pop culture phenomenon spanned from 2001 to 2011, propelling many of the actors in the movie to stardom.
Since the release of the last Harry Potter masterpiece, the actors from the Harry Potter family have each gone on to blaze their own trails, whether that meant building their on-screen careers, becoming parents to little ones, or going to Ivy League universities.
Here is a comprehensive look at where the child actors we spent years loving are now.
Daniel Radcliffe
Radcliffe has won his first ever major award at the 2024 Tony Awards.
Since the play's off-Broadway debut at the New York Theatre Workshop (2022), Radcliffe has been a member of the Merrily We Roll Along ensemble. July 7 is the projected closing date for the production, which moved to Broadway in October.
The Harry Potter movies’ hero, also recently became a dad, after welcoming his first child with his long-term partner Erin Darke last year. The 34-year-old and his family were spotted in New York City, according to the Daily Mail.
But that’s not all he has been up to since the fan-favourite films. From movies like The Woman in Black and Swiss Army Man to TV series including Rick and Morty and Miracle Workers, Radcliffe has been busy appearing in project after project.
Emma Watson
Upon finishing her work on the franchise, the actress decided to split her time between working on films and completing her higher education. She studied English Literature at America’s leading Ivy League facility, Brown University.
Following her graduation, she was appointed as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, helping the United Nations launch HeForShe, a campaign advocating for gender equality. In 2018, she became a founding member of Time’s Up UK and, in 2019, she became a consultant for the G7 advisory body for women’s rights.
Meanwhile, her acting career has flourished, with Watson playing Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Meg March in Little Women, Sam in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and more.
That’s not all. The star, who was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2015, also had a successful modelling career as the face of Burberry and Lancôme. She even made her directorial debut with a Prada fragrance campaign back in 2022.
Rupert Grint
The red-haired little boy that played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films has grown up to become a successful actor, making a name for himself on stage and screen.
He welcomed his first child with his long-time girlfriend Georgie Groome in May 2020. Their daughter, Wednesday, is now four.
Grint first joined Instagram in November 2020, with his first post seeing him holding his newborn daughter. He broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to reach one million followers on the platform, with four hours and one minute.
Tom Felton
Felton, who played the bleach-blond Draco Malfoy in the movies, has since appeared in a number of projects. Some of the notable ones are his portrayal of James Ashford in Belle, his role as Rufus Lancaster in A United Kingdom, and as the eponymous Logan in the TV series.
In 2022, he made his West End debut in London with his part in 2:22 A Ghost Story.
The star added author to his list of accolades when he published his memoir, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard in October 2022, which debuted at number one on The New York Times non-fiction bestseller list.
More recently, the star appeared in the 2023 thriller Some Other Woman, while his upcoming projects include Altered and Gandhi.
Evanna Lynch
The actress behind the eccentric Luna Lovegood has grown up to become an award-winning activist and podcaster.
Upon finishing third on Dancing with the Stars in 2018, the celeb has joined Robbie Jarvis in joining a vegan-focused podcast called The ChickPeeps and created her own beauty line called KinderBeautyBox.
Lynch has also taken on some acting and voice-over gigs, and released her memoir The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting.
Robert Pattinson
Undoubtedly, one of the biggest successes to come out of the Harry Potter franchise has been Robert Pattinson.
After playing Cedric Diggory in the films, the actor went on to become the beloved Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise, before appearing in a long list of acclaimed movies like Water for Elephants, Tenet, and The Batman.
According to reports, he will be remaking the original 1981 horror film Possession.
The actor also welcomed a baby with singer Suki Waterhouse in early 2024.
James and Oliver Phelps
The twins who won viewers’ hearts with their mischief and cheeky one-liners appeared in other movies together after the Harry Potter franchise wrapped up.
They also have their podcast Normal Not Normal, which has welcomed a number of fellow Hogwarts alumni. And the twins are currently working on their own travel show.
In April 2023, James Phelps ran the London Marathon in support of Endometriosis UK, in honour of his wife who was diagnosed with the ailment in 2013.
