Daniel Radcliffe biography

Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series adapted from the book series of the same name. Radcliffe has also made appearances in stage productions and a number of TV shows and films, including the ITV film My Boy Jack and the stage show Equus, for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award.

Radcliffe was born in Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Hammersmith, West London, England, the only child of Alan George Radcliffe, a literary agent, and Marcia Jeannine Gresham (née Marcia Gresham Jacobson), a casting agent who was involved in several films for the BBC, including The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and, most recently, Walk Away And I Stumble. Radcliffe's mother is Jewish and a native of Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (her family's surname was anglicised from "Gershon");his father, originally from Northern Ireland, is Protestant.

Radcliffe first expressed a desire to act at the age of five. In December 1999, aged ten, he realised his ambition and made his acting debut in the BBC's televised two-part adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield, portraying the title character as a young boy.

Radcliffe was educated at two independent schools for boys: Sussex House School, a day school in Cadogan Square in Chelsea in London and the City of London School, a day school in the City of London, where he studied for AS levels. He achieved A grades in the three AS-levels he sat in 2006, but then decided to take a break from education, and did not go to college or university.