 and the movie 's director Chris Columbus recalled thinking , " This is what I want . This is Harry Potter " , after he saw a video of the young actor in David Copperfield . Eight months later , and after several auditions , Radcliffe was selected to play the part . Rowling also endorsed the selection saying , " I don 't think Chris Columbus could have found a better Harry . " Radcliffe 's parents originally turned down the offer , as they had been told that it would involve six films shot in Los Angeles . Warner Bros. instead offered Radcliffe a two @-@ movie contract with shooting in the UK ; Radcliffe was unsure at the time if he would do any more than that .   The release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher 's Stone ( released as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer 's Stone in the United States ) took place in 2001 . Radcliffe received a seven figure salary for the lead role , but asserted that the fee was " not that important " to him ; his parents chose to invest the money for him . The film was highly popular and was met with positive reviews , and critics took notice of Radcliffe : " Radcliffe is the embodiment of every reader 's imagination . It is wonderful to see a young hero who is so scholarly looking and filled with curiosity and who connects with very real emotions , from solemn intelligence and the delight of discovery to deep family longing , " wrote Bob Graham of the San Francisco Chronicle .   A year later Radcliffe starred in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , the second installment of the series . Reviewers were positive about the lead actors ' performances but had polarised opinions on the movie as a whole . The 2004 release Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was the third film in the series . Radcliffe 's performance was panned by New York Times journalist A. O. Scott , who wrote that Watson had to carry him with her performance . Next was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005 . The film was the second @-@ highest grossing Harry Potter film at that point , and Radcliffe singled out the humour as being a reason for the movie 's creative success .   The future of the franchise was put into question when Radcliffe and his co @-@ leads Emma Watson and Rupert Grint hesitated signing on to continue their roles for the final two episodes ; however , by March 2007 Radcliffe had signed for the final films , which put an end to weeks of press " speculation that he would be denied the role due to his involvement in Equus " , in which he had performed nude on stage . Radcliffe reprised his role for the fourth time in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ( 2007 ) . Radcliffe stated that director David Yates and actress Imelda Staunton made Order of the Phoenix the " most fun " film in the series to work on . His performance earned several award nominations , and he received the 2008 National Movie Award for " Best Male Performance . " As his fame and the series continued , Radcliffe , Grint , and Watson left imprints of their hands , feet , and wands in front of Grauman 's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood . In July 2009 Harry Potter and the Half @-@ Blood Prince was released , the series ' sixth instalment . Radcliffe received nominations for " Best Male Performance " and " Global Superstar " at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards .   For financial and scripting reasons the last book was divided into two films , shot back to back , which drew criticism from the series ' fanbase . Radcliffe defended the split , stating that it would have been impossible to properly adapt the final novel into a single film . He added that the last movie was going to be extremely fast @-@ paced with a lot of action , while the first part would be far more sedate , focusing on character development ; he added that , had they combined them , those things would not have made it to the final cut . Filming lasted for a year , concluding in June 2010 and on the last day of shooting , like most of the cast and crew , Radcliffe openly wept .   The final film , Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 , was released in July 2011 . Radcliffe , along with the film , was critically acclaimed : Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post asked , " Who could have predicted that Radcliffe , Grint and Watson would turn out to be good actors ? " ; similarly , Rex Reed said : " Frankly , I ’ m sorry to see [ Radcliffe ] go " ; while Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers commented on Radcliffe : " Well played , sir . " Roger Ebert gave the film a highly positive review , but felt that Radcliffe , Grint and Watson were " upstaged by the supporting [ actors ] . "   Radcliffe admitted that some people would never be able to separate him from the character , but also said he is " proud to be associated with this film series forever . "
Ġand Ġthe Ġmovie Ġ' s Ġdirector ĠChris ĠColumbus Ġrecalled Ġthinking Ġ, Ġ" ĠThis Ġis Ġwhat ĠI Ġwant Ġ. ĠThis Ġis ĠHarry ĠPotter Ġ" Ġ, Ġafter Ġhe Ġsaw Ġa Ġvideo Ġof Ġthe Ġyoung Ġactor Ġin ĠDavid ĠCopper field Ġ. ĠEight Ġmonths Ġlater Ġ, Ġand Ġafter Ġseveral Ġaud itions Ġ, ĠRad cliffe Ġwas Ġselected Ġto Ġplay Ġthe Ġpart Ġ. ĠRowling Ġalso Ġendorsed Ġthe Ġselection Ġsaying Ġ, Ġ" ĠI Ġdon Ġ' t Ġthink ĠChris ĠColumbus Ġcould Ġhave Ġfound Ġa Ġbetter ĠHarry Ġ. Ġ" ĠRad cliffe Ġ' s Ġparents Ġoriginally Ġturned Ġdown Ġthe Ġoffer Ġ, Ġas Ġthey Ġhad Ġbeen Ġtold Ġthat Ġit Ġwould Ġinvolve Ġsix Ġfilms Ġshot Ġin ĠLos ĠAngeles Ġ. ĠWarner ĠBros . Ġinstead Ġoffered ĠRad cliffe Ġa Ġtwo Ġ@ - @ Ġmovie Ġcontract Ġwith Ġshooting Ġin Ġthe ĠUK Ġ; ĠRad cliffe Ġwas Ġunsure Ġat Ġthe Ġtime Ġif Ġhe Ġwould Ġdo Ġany Ġmore Ġthan Ġthat Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġrelease Ġof ĠHarry ĠPotter Ġand Ġthe ĠPhilos opher Ġ' s ĠStone Ġ( Ġreleased Ġas ĠHarry ĠPotter Ġand Ġthe ĠSorcerer Ġ' s ĠStone Ġin Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġ) Ġtook Ġplace Ġin Ġ2001 Ġ. ĠRad cliffe Ġreceived Ġa Ġseven Ġfigure Ġsalary Ġfor Ġthe Ġlead Ġrole Ġ, Ġbut Ġasserted Ġthat Ġthe Ġfee Ġwas Ġ" Ġnot Ġthat Ġimportant Ġ" Ġto Ġhim Ġ; Ġhis Ġparents Ġchose Ġto Ġinvest Ġthe Ġmoney Ġfor Ġhim Ġ. ĠThe Ġfilm Ġwas Ġhighly Ġpopular Ġand Ġwas Ġmet Ġwith Ġpositive Ġreviews Ġ, Ġand Ġcritics Ġtook Ġnotice Ġof ĠRad cliffe Ġ: Ġ" ĠRad cliffe Ġis Ġthe Ġembodiment Ġof Ġevery Ġreader Ġ' s Ġimagination Ġ. ĠIt Ġis Ġwonderful Ġto Ġsee Ġa Ġyoung Ġhero Ġwho Ġis Ġso Ġscholarly Ġlooking Ġand Ġfilled Ġwith Ġcuriosity Ġand Ġwho Ġconnects Ġwith Ġvery Ġreal Ġemotions Ġ, Ġfrom Ġsolemn Ġintelligence Ġand Ġthe Ġdelight Ġof Ġdiscovery Ġto Ġdeep Ġfamily Ġlonging Ġ, Ġ" Ġwrote ĠBob ĠGraham Ġof Ġthe ĠSan ĠFrancisco ĠChronicle Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġyear Ġlater ĠRad cliffe Ġstarred Ġin ĠHarry ĠPotter Ġand Ġthe ĠChamber Ġof ĠSecrets Ġ, Ġthe Ġsecond Ġinstallment Ġof Ġthe Ġseries Ġ. ĠReview ers Ġwere Ġpositive Ġabout Ġthe Ġlead Ġactors Ġ' Ġperformances Ġbut Ġhad Ġpolar ised Ġopinions Ġon Ġthe Ġmovie Ġas Ġa Ġwhole Ġ. ĠThe Ġ2004 Ġrelease ĠHarry ĠPotter Ġand Ġthe ĠPrison er Ġof ĠAz k aban Ġwas Ġthe Ġthird Ġfilm Ġin Ġthe Ġseries Ġ. ĠRad cliffe Ġ' s Ġperformance Ġwas Ġp anned Ġby ĠNew ĠYork ĠTimes Ġjournalist ĠA . ĠO . ĠScott Ġ, Ġwho Ġwrote Ġthat ĠWatson Ġhad Ġto Ġcarry Ġhim Ġwith Ġher Ġperformance Ġ. ĠNext Ġwas ĠHarry ĠPotter Ġand Ġthe ĠGob let Ġof ĠFire Ġin Ġ2005 Ġ. ĠThe Ġfilm Ġwas Ġthe Ġsecond Ġ@ - @ Ġhighest Ġgross ing ĠHarry ĠPotter Ġfilm Ġat Ġthat Ġpoint Ġ, Ġand ĠRad cliffe Ġsingled Ġout Ġthe Ġhumour Ġas Ġbeing Ġa Ġreason Ġfor Ġthe Ġmovie Ġ' s Ġcreative Ġsuccess Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġfuture Ġof Ġthe Ġfranchise Ġwas Ġput Ġinto Ġquestion Ġwhen ĠRad cliffe Ġand Ġhis Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġleads ĠEmma ĠWatson Ġand ĠRupert ĠGr int Ġhesitated Ġsigning Ġon Ġto Ġcontinue Ġtheir Ġroles Ġfor Ġthe Ġfinal Ġtwo Ġepisodes Ġ; Ġhowever Ġ, Ġby ĠMarch Ġ2007 ĠRad cliffe Ġhad Ġsigned Ġfor Ġthe Ġfinal Ġfilms Ġ, Ġwhich Ġput Ġan Ġend Ġto Ġweeks Ġof Ġpress Ġ" Ġspeculation Ġthat Ġhe Ġwould Ġbe Ġdenied Ġthe Ġrole Ġdue Ġto Ġhis Ġinvolvement Ġin ĠEqu us Ġ" Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich Ġhe Ġhad Ġperformed Ġnude Ġon Ġstage Ġ. ĠRad cliffe Ġrepr ised Ġhis Ġrole Ġfor Ġthe Ġfourth Ġtime Ġin ĠHarry ĠPotter Ġand Ġthe ĠOrder Ġof Ġthe ĠPhoenix Ġ( Ġ2007 Ġ) Ġ. ĠRad cliffe Ġstated Ġthat Ġdirector ĠDavid ĠYates Ġand Ġactress ĠI me lda ĠSt aun ton Ġmade ĠOrder Ġof Ġthe ĠPhoenix Ġthe Ġ" Ġmost Ġfun Ġ" Ġfilm Ġin Ġthe Ġseries Ġto Ġwork Ġon Ġ. ĠHis Ġperformance Ġearned Ġseveral Ġaward Ġnominations Ġ, Ġand Ġhe Ġreceived Ġthe Ġ2008 ĠNational ĠMovie ĠAward Ġfor Ġ" ĠBest ĠMale ĠPerformance Ġ. Ġ" ĠAs Ġhis Ġfame Ġand Ġthe Ġseries Ġcontinued Ġ, ĠRad cliffe Ġ, ĠGr int Ġ, Ġand ĠWatson Ġleft Ġimprint s Ġof Ġtheir Ġhands Ġ, Ġfeet Ġ, Ġand Ġw ands Ġin Ġfront Ġof ĠGra uman Ġ' s ĠChinese ĠTheatre Ġin ĠHollywood Ġ. ĠIn ĠJuly Ġ2009 ĠHarry ĠPotter Ġand Ġthe ĠHalf Ġ@ - @ ĠBlood ĠPrince Ġwas Ġreleased Ġ, Ġthe Ġseries Ġ' Ġsixth Ġinst al ment Ġ. ĠRad cliffe Ġreceived Ġnominations Ġfor Ġ" ĠBest ĠMale ĠPerformance Ġ" Ġand Ġ" ĠGlobal ĠSuper star Ġ" Ġat Ġthe Ġ2010 ĠMTV ĠMovie ĠAwards Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFor Ġfinancial Ġand Ġscripting Ġreasons Ġthe Ġlast Ġbook Ġwas Ġdivided Ġinto Ġtwo Ġfilms Ġ, Ġshot Ġback Ġto Ġback Ġ, Ġwhich Ġdrew Ġcriticism Ġfrom Ġthe Ġseries Ġ' Ġfanbase Ġ. ĠRad cliffe Ġdefended Ġthe Ġsplit Ġ, Ġstating Ġthat Ġit Ġwould Ġhave Ġbeen Ġimpossible Ġto Ġproperly Ġadapt Ġthe Ġfinal Ġnovel Ġinto Ġa Ġsingle Ġfilm Ġ. ĠHe Ġadded Ġthat Ġthe Ġlast Ġmovie Ġwas Ġgoing Ġto Ġbe Ġextremely Ġfast Ġ@ - @ Ġpaced Ġwith Ġa Ġlot Ġof Ġaction Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe Ġfirst Ġpart Ġwould Ġbe Ġfar Ġmore Ġsed ate Ġ, Ġfocusing Ġon Ġcharacter Ġdevelopment Ġ; Ġhe Ġadded Ġthat Ġ, Ġhad Ġthey Ġcombined Ġthem Ġ, Ġthose Ġthings Ġwould Ġnot Ġhave Ġmade Ġit Ġto Ġthe Ġfinal Ġcut Ġ. ĠFil ming Ġlasted Ġfor Ġa Ġyear Ġ, Ġconcluding Ġin ĠJune Ġ2010 Ġand Ġon Ġthe Ġlast Ġday Ġof Ġshooting Ġ, Ġlike Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġcast Ġand Ġcrew Ġ, ĠRad cliffe Ġopenly Ġwe pt Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġfinal Ġfilm Ġ, ĠHarry ĠPotter Ġand Ġthe ĠDeath ly ĠHall ows ĠâĢĵ ĠPart Ġ2 Ġ, Ġwas Ġreleased Ġin ĠJuly Ġ2011 Ġ. ĠRad cliffe Ġ, Ġalong Ġwith Ġthe Ġfilm Ġ, Ġwas Ġcritically Ġacclaimed Ġ: ĠAnn ĠHorn aday Ġof ĠThe ĠWashington ĠPost Ġasked Ġ, Ġ" ĠWho Ġcould Ġhave Ġpredicted Ġthat ĠRad cliffe Ġ, ĠGr int Ġand ĠWatson Ġwould Ġturn Ġout Ġto Ġbe Ġgood Ġactors Ġ? Ġ" Ġ; Ġsimilarly Ġ, ĠRex ĠReed Ġsaid Ġ: Ġ" ĠFrank ly Ġ, ĠI ĠâĢ Ļ Ġm Ġsorry Ġto Ġsee Ġ[ ĠRad cliffe Ġ] Ġgo Ġ" Ġ; Ġwhile ĠRolling ĠStone Ġcritic ĠPeter ĠTra vers Ġcommented Ġon ĠRad cliffe Ġ: Ġ" ĠWell Ġplayed Ġ, Ġsir Ġ. Ġ" ĠRoger ĠE bert Ġgave Ġthe Ġfilm Ġa Ġhighly Ġpositive Ġreview Ġ, Ġbut Ġfelt Ġthat ĠRad cliffe Ġ, ĠGr int Ġand ĠWatson Ġwere Ġ" Ġup st aged Ġby Ġthe Ġsupporting Ġ[ Ġactors Ġ] Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠRad cliffe Ġadmitted Ġthat Ġsome Ġpeople Ġwould Ġnever Ġbe Ġable Ġto Ġseparate Ġhim Ġfrom Ġthe Ġcharacter Ġ, Ġbut Ġalso Ġsaid Ġhe Ġis Ġ" Ġproud Ġto Ġbe Ġassociated Ġwith Ġthis Ġfilm Ġseries Ġforever Ġ. Ġ"