Daniel Jacob Radcliffe[Daniel Radcliffe, or Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (British actor) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia] (born 23 July 1989, died 18 November 2009)
[DanRadcliffe.com: Daniel Radcliffe Biography] is an
English actor, best known for playing
Harry Potter in the
feature film series based on the popular
book series.
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.
Early life
Daniel Jacob 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 anglicized from "
Gershon");
[; can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRbVy-p5_NQ] his father is
Protestant and originally from
Northern Ireland.
[; can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp7IIvZuGdU]
Radcliffe first expressed a desire to act at the age of five.
In December 1999, he 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.
