Young actors who star in blockbuster hits, whether in movies or television, run the risk of being typecast for the rest of their lives. Some will eventually learn to embrace being forever known as an iconic character, like Mark Hamill. Some child actors will walk away the business entirely, either because they didn't want to act anymore, like Peter Ostrum, or because they were hopelessly typecast, like Shirley Temple. A few benefit from a few years away, like Jack Gleeson, who took nine years away from acting after playing Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones, but is back in the business. Daniel Radcliffe took a different route.
Daniel Radcliffe was eleven years old when he first auditioned to play the role of Harry Potter. He grew up making the eight Harry Potter films, and was inextricably linked to the character. But not for life. Radcliffe wanted to be an actor since he was five years old, and was determined not to be typecast, which would shorten his professional career. He latched onto all kinds of roles during and after Harry Potter, and became most noted for the weirdest ones- roles that were totally opposite what you would expect from the child wizard in a child's literary series. Let's see how Daniel Radcliffe deliberately set out to stretch his abilities and our expectations after establishing a name for himself in an iconic role.