MAIN Art & ... Pop Culture Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe

Most recently in the news for his return as Harry Potter in the last film version in the J.K. Rowling book series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, as well as the future child actor - who brought Harry Potter to life on screen - was born Daniel Jacob Radcliffe on July 23, 1989 in a London suburb, the only son of casting agent Marcia Gresham and literary agent Alan Radcliffe.

By age 6, Dan Radcliffe was reported to have seriously caught the acting bug after playing the part of a monkey in a school play.

Radcliffe's parents, reluctant to indulge their son's desire to persue a career in show business, had apparently relented by 1999, as the young actor made his first appearance on the small screen in a BBC production of a Dicken's classic, David Copperfield.

In 2001, he made his big screen debut as Mark Pendel in The Tailor of Panama, a Hollywood film based on John Le Carre's spy novel and starring James Bond actor, Pierce Brosnan.

Meanwhile, a movie based on the 1997 worldwide publishing phenomenon, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was about to begin production under director Chris Columbus, when Radcliffe auditioned for the plum role as Harry Potter.

Among hundreds of boys to test for the part, it was Dan Radcliffe who caught the attention of producer Columbus, and the book's author, J.K. Rowling.

Both story creator and director were quite impressed by the young actor's mix of innocence and naturalness during audition tapings, as well as the chemistry between him and co-stars, fledgling actress Emma Watson (playing Hermione Granger), and Rupert Grint (as Ron Weasley).

Subsequently appearing in movie versions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Radcliffe has since become synonmous with the role.

The actor has also appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire released in November, 2005, and the fifth in the film series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which premiered on July 11, 2007.

Meanwhile, Radcliffe took on his first movie role outside the Harry Potter franchise in December Boys, which tells the story of four orphans growing up in 1960's Australia. The film opened in the U.S. on September 14, 2007.

In February, the "boy wonder" also wowed audiences in London upon making his stage debut (complete with a nude scene) playing the disturbed stable boy, Alan Strang, in Equus, to rave reviews.

Radcliffe's next move was to New York City bringing his critically-acclaimed performance in Equus for a limited Broadway run which again opened to rave reviews from New York theater critics.

More Broadway accolades came in 2011 when the young actor next starred in a revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

His next appearance in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince will mark his last film performance in the title role,

Not resting on his laurels, Radcliffe follows his string of Harry Potter successes with a starring role in The Woman in Black playing a lawyer who travels to a mysterious house to be confronted by a ghostly presence. The film is slated for an early 2012 release.

More about Daniel Radcliffe around the Web:

DanielRadcliffe.co.uk - One of the more polished 'Dan Fan' sites offering a biography, fan mail address, extensive picture galleries including screen captures, magazine scans and promo shots, streaming video movie trailers and TV appearances, screensavers, wallpapers, related links.

Daniel Radcliffe Online - Another major fan site with news and updates, busy message board, extensive biography with photos, picture galleries, magazine scans, video clips.

Dan Radcliffe - Yahoo! Movies - Several pages dedicated to the teen actor including a biography, photo gallery, filmography, plus related Web sites and message boards.

Daniel Radcliffe - Complete bio, pictures, career highlights, filmography, awards and related links to more, from Wikipedia.

IMDb: Daniel Radcliffe - Brief biography, filmography, picture gallery and list of TV and movie appearances.