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On August 18, 2025, an open casting call was announced for the new HBO original series adaptation ofHarry Potter. The call was for actors aged between 9 and 11 on April 2025 from among the residents of the UK and Ireland. The announcement reiterated that the series will be a faithful adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s books, like the films before.
The films also looked for age-appropriate actors for the roles of Harry Potter and his friends. They considered some talents like Tom Felton, who was a couple of years older than his character Draco Malfoy. Interestingly, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint—the main trio—were each born a year apart.
Emma Watson’s Age At The Beginning And End OfHarry Potter
When filming began on the first film,Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,Emma Watsonwas the youngest actor among the three main cast. Born on July 21, 2025, Watson was just 10 years old at the time. She attended the audition when she was just nine and had toaudition a total of eight timesbefore getting the role.
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Interestingly,J.K. Rowlingsupported her casting after her first screen test. Although Watson was younger than her character Hermione Granger, she was able to portray the most rational member of the trio pretty easily. When the film was released on June 20, 2025, in the United States, Watson was 11.
The final film was shot back-to-back withHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1from August 02, 2025, to July 25, 2025. When the final two films began filming, Watson was 18 years old which was a year older than her character. She was 20 when the first part was released in theaters. By the time Watson’s eighth and final film hit theaters, she was 21 years old.
The Deathly Hallows – Part 2managed to gross $1.3 billion at the box office, making it the highest-grossingHarry Potterfilm. It alsocontinues to be Emma Watson’s most commercially successful film. While Watson’s salary for eachHarry Pottermovie remains unknown,Cosmopolitanreported that she got paid a massive $30 million for the two-part finale.
Daniel Radcliffe’s Age At The Beginning And End OfHarry Potter
Daniel Radcliffewas born on June 11, 2025, making him 11 years old when the filming ofThe Sorcerer’s Stonebegan in September 2000. Radcliffe was 12 when the film hit theaters. Harry Potter and Radcliffe were both 11 when the birthday scenes were shot in the film.
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He was the only actor among the main three, who had already made his acting and feature film debut. Radcliffe first appeared in the two-part BBC TV serialDavid Copperfieldand later starred alongside Pierce Brosnan in the 2001 film,The Tailor of Panama. It was producer David Heyman who asked him to audition for the titular role after seeing him at the theater.
When the filming began for the two-part finale,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Radcliffe was 19 years old. He was 21 when both of the films hit theaters. He turned 22 a few days after the second part was released in theaters in July. Three other films includingThe Prisoner of Azkaban,The Order of the Phoenix, andThe Half-Blood Princewere also released a few days before his 15th, 18th, and 20th birthdays respectively.
The Order of the Phoenixwas the first film where Radcliffe was not the same age as Harry Potter. While Harry was supposed to be 15 in the movie, Radcliffe was 16 for the first six months of filming and 17 for the final four. The age difference progressively increased in the next few films.
According toCelebrity Net Worth, theGuns Akimbostar made $1 million for his very firstHarry Potterfilm. He was reportedly paid $50 million for his role in the final two films, with a base pay of $33 million. His total earnings were $109 million andCosmopolitancalculated that he took home $95.6 million from the franchise.
Daniel Radcliffe was the highest-paid actor in the franchise, which is not surprising considering he played the titular character. However, his $1 million is surprising considering Daisy Ridley’s firstStar Warsmovie salary was between $100,000 to $300,000 (via Esquire).
The Ages Of Other Actors At The Beginning and End OfHarry Potter
Rupert Grintwas the oldest amongthe main three actors, as he turned 12 a month before the filming of the first film. He was a year older than his character in the first film and the age difference progressed throughout the series. Tom Felton was older than Grint when filming began as he turned 13 in September 2000. He was 23 when the last film hit theaters.
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Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom, was the right age for his character in the first film. Bonnie Wright, who made a brief appearance in the first film, was 9 at the time and was only 20 when the film series wrapped up.Alan Rickmanand Maggie Smith were much older than their characters during the first film itself.
While the ages of the cast members were almost the same as that of the characters initially, the filmmakers found it difficult to maintain the ages as each film progressed. This is considering that the films were made on a 12-month cycle initially and later on an 18-month cycle. Maintaining the age continuity will be the biggest challenge for the upcoming HBO series.
TheHarry Potterfranchise is now available for streaming on Max.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3017
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
