Daniel Radcliffe: No Ordinary Wizard

by Grace Norwich

When the millions of Harry Potter fans close their eyes and picture the world- famous wizard with the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, they immediately picture Daniel Radcliffe. Since the age of eleven, Daniel has been the face of Harry Potter, bringing the beloved character and his hair- raising adventures to life on the big screen. Though sometimes it might seem like Daniel and Harry are one and the same, when Daniel takes off those famous round glasses he has a style that is entirely his own. From his favourite bands to his favourite cartoon, find out everything you ever wanted to know about this young star: how Dan got cast as Harry, what life is like on the set, and how he spends his time when he's not battling the dark arts.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Harry Potter, Biography Memoir

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2005

About the author

Grace Norwich has written many books for young readers on a variety of topics, including health, fashion, animals, and more. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

[Kaelyn H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've had this book for the longest time. I picked it up a long time ago and only made it to page 8 (that's where I found my old bookmark). It's safe to say that 10-year-old Kaelyn would have loved this book if she would have kept reading this back in the day when she first picked this book up. Now not so much. Some of it was interesting, while the rest of the book was just boring and lackluster.

[Moe · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book is outdated, it captures a certain period of time during the Harry Potter film days, one that I personally find quite nostalgic. This read was mostly due to curiosity and also to take myself back in time to a more memorable time in my life when these films were the best thing ever. Although, this book itself, while containing some interesting trivia here and there, felt like a longer version of a teen gossip magazine, so much so I felt a tad bit guilty for reading it, out of respect for Dan. Admittedly its something that my 10 year old self would have probably enjoyed more. I don't really recommend it, but if you're in need of a throwback, then it'll do the job.

[Phaer Penales · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading this right now for my Autobiography task for school. From what I've read it's a really good book. It's not just about Daniel Radcliffe, but also how the Harry Potter books were written and it shows you how Daniel Radcliffe became the face of Harry Potter. It contains the up's and down's of the making of Harry Potter.I'm looking forward to continue reading this book.

[Declan Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

just a bunch of quotes from articles

[PurplyCookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Not only myself, but I think everybody can relate to Harry in some way. It's the idea of magic, when magic kind of comes to life, there's so much opportunity for absolutely anything to happen."

When millions of fans who are into the Pottermania think of the image of Harry Potter, they immediately think of young Daniel Radcliffe. He has been the one to bring to life (both on the big screen and various merchandise) the icon that is the hero of Rowling's novels, enjoyed immensely by kids and adults worldwide.

Granted that Radcliffe hasn't got that much of acting experience yet given his young age but with enough time and range (and maybe stepping out of Harry's shadow) he might be able to merit a biography.

That being said, I still enjoy reading this book to find out more about the movies inspired by the Harry Potter series.

The book's written in a simple way, owing to the fact that its target audience are that of Daniel's generation and below. But it is enough to whet the appetite of those who seek to find out how Radcliffe landed this phenomenal role, how he gets along with his co-stars (both the veteran actors and the fresh faces), how he and Harry Potter are similar to each other, his favorites in terms of music and what-not, what life is like on the set when they're not acting, etc.

Temporarily stepping out of his Hogwarts robes, Dan (as his family and friends call him) has branched out from his image as Harry by taking on eclectic and daring new roles, both in film and on stage. I'm just crossing my fingers that he gets to stay and continue to star as the lead of the Harry Potter movies til the end.


Book Details:

Title Daniel Radcliffe: No Ordinary Wizard
Author Grace Norwich
Reviewed By Purplycookie

[Andrew ✝️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel Radcliffe was one of my teenage crushes. I thought he was incredibly sexy and much like heterosexual girls who were fans of the series, wondered about his sexual orientation. Much to my dismay, but to the relief of those girls, he's only into girls. I was okay because I also had a huge crush on Rupert Grint. ...Yeah, I know. It kinda sucks when most of your cute male stars are heterosexual when you're a bisexual male.

I've never actually read a biography of Daniel till this one; learned a bunch of stuff about him that I never knew. I probably would've enjoyed this book if I'd bought it 15 years ago when it came out, but the implication of heterosexuality being the norm would've still not rubbed me the right way as it doesn't today. There were at least a couple parts where Norwich mentioned fans in a genderless fashion when mentioning that a lot of them thought he was cute.

This is mostly about his life before Harry and his quick rise to fame and was written before the fifth movie came out. There's even parts where Norwich wrote of rumors that allegedly circulated that Daniel wasn't going to stay on beyond movie 5, but I never heard those rumors. 🤷‍♂️ Its interesting to read how much he enjoyed himself with the movies when in more recent years, he called his acting mediocre and admitted he didn't always enjoy it.

It was very nostalgic. 4 stars. It loses one for the implication.

[Sam Kobberdahl]

This book is a book all about Daniel Radcliffe and the things he has done and been through throughout his life. It talks about how his parents are both involved in tv and movie producing, which made him interested in it to. When he was little he got into his very firt tv show series. It wasnt very poplular so he wasnt very know but he loved it. He loved the fine arts. He liked to act in plays so when the opportunity came to try out for a part in the famous Harry Potter book series written by J.K. Rowling, he jumped at it. At first he tryed out for the part of Ron Weisley but the directer thought he had a resemblence to Harry and soon enough he had the part. The rest of the book talks about the adventures Daniel had and all of the fame he got afterwards.
The author organized this text like a novel. This organization creates a very enjoyable text because it is different than your regular non-fiction book. Its set up like a story instead of just a list of facts. This is more enjoyable because overall i think that most people enjoy reading stories instead of just dates and facts and times. It helps me to remember whats happenng better. If its in a story/novel set up I am more likely to remeber it.

[Duane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a excellent bio on Daniel. Filled with honest trivia, you get to hear the good and bad about his career and life. I really admired the author's use of fellow castmates to describe their personal thoughts on who Daniel really is off-camera. My only gripe would be the photo pages are of only current pics and there are none of his earlier days. A great book for anyone interested in Daniel Radcliffe.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided a lot of interesting information about Daniel Radcliffe both as a part of acting as Harry Potter, his outside interests, and his prior acting experiences; even though it was written like a fan magazine instead of a more professional biography, I still learned new facts about his life and the behind the scenes details about the amazing film series.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book years ago, and just happened to see it on Goodreads. I'd completely forgotten about it until I saw it on this site. I don't remember much about the book, but I remember enjoying it.

[Jessie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting but i found the author to be quite funny. The wasn't a strong writer and had interesting choice of words. I read this just for the heck of it. A one day read and better for the younger generation who want to learn more about the boy behind the glasses.

[Paulina Delgado · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was 14 when it came out and as a teenager with less internet information about celebrities and with a huge crush on him I loved it,it has a lot of information about him but you can find all that on wikipedia now

[Christie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn't that much about Dan in it, it was more like how much money the films had made and how much he got...it wasn't very informative.

[Nasrin Nadhirah(f5)]

This book is about Daniel Radcliffe's life.He is the actor of Harry Potter.It is a nice book with photographs inside.

[Judy E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A readable but ordinary celebrity biography for Harry Potter fans.

[Sitara · Rating 5 out of 5]

:P i ♥ dan!

[Jane Potter]

A light read. A collection of what the actors have said in interviews.