Stars Prove There Really Is Life After Harry Potter

On July 15, the most lucrative and enduring film series of all time came to a triumphal end, much to the grief of fans around the world. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 marked the end of a decade-long journey for the young wizard and his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, to defeat the Dark Lord, Voldemort (yes, I said it). The epic finale also meant the end of a series that saw its three young icons, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, grow into fine actors and internationally recognized superstars. Now that the series has met its end, the inevitable question arises: Is there life after Harry Potterfor Radcliffe, Watson and Grint?

The answer to that question is a resounding “Yes.” While the three stars will always be remembered and recognized for bringing author J.K. Rowling’s beloved characters to life on the big screen, they have each begun to break out of the Harry Potter mold, establishing themselves as successful actors (and in Radcliffe’s case, singer) in their own rights. Whether they’re appearing in Broadway musicals, coming-of-age movie dramas or little-seen indies, the holy trinity of Harry Potter continue to prove themselves as ambitious young actors who will likely be able to avoid typecasting given their diverse upcoming projects.

Let’s start with the boy who lived himself, Daniel Radcliffe. Beginning in 2008 with his controversial, nudity-filled role in the Broadway play Equus, Radcliffe has begun to establish himself as a prominent stage actor. He is currently singing and dancing in the musical revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with John Larroquette on Broadway. A vast departure from the wizardry of the Potter films, Radcliffe’s performance received glowing reviews, and he has brought the act to the masses by appearing on various talk shows and the Tony Awards. His first film following his iconic role as the bespectacled boy wonder will be The Woman in Black, a supernatural thriller in which Radcliffe will star as a lawyer who discovers the presence of a ghost while sorting out a deceased client’s legal matters. The film, to be released in early 2012, will be Radcliffe’s first attempt at enchanting film audiences without round glasses and a lightening bolt scar. Given Radcliffe’s growth as an actor over the past ten years on both film and stage, my guess is that he should have no problem winning over both critics and viewers with this new role.

Radcliffe’s stylish costar, Emma Watson, seems to be receiving the highest-profile film offers following her work as the know-it-all Hermione. Having appeared in the British film Ballet Shoes in 2007, Watson hasn’t done much additional film work other than Potter. Her first post-Potter film will be the Marilyn Monroe biopic My Week With Marilyn with Oscar-nominee Michelle Williams in the title role. Watson will play the minor role of Lucy, a wardrobe assistant. But Watson’s most anticipated upcoming film role is that of Sam in the adaptation of the popular teen novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The film is a decidedly more adult project for Watson, as it deals with troubling themes like drugs, sex and death. More recently, Watson is rumored to have signed on for the lead role in famed director Guillermo del Toro’s retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Watson’s upcoming work will probably be the most extensive and widely-seen, and she is definitely putting her star power to good use with her new big-budget projects.

Perhaps the most low-key actor of the bunch is Rupert Grint, who has done a decent amount of independent films during and after Harry Potter. Starting with the coming-of-age drama Driving Lessons in 2006, Grint has gone on to star in other quirky low-budget projects like the sex-and-drugs fueled drama Cherrybomb and the crime comedy Wild Target. Both critics and audiences alike received the film with indifference. Grint will next star in the British war drama Comrade in 2012. Of the three primary Potter actors, Grint appears to have taken the less popular art house route, which could very well be by choice given his immediate rise to fame and fortune as Harry’s ginger sidekick. But should Grint desire to have a successful film career following his part as Ron Weasley, he should exercise his acting talent in more prestigious projects like his Potter costars are.

While screenings of the final Harry Potter film were met with tears, fans of the series’ lead actors should have no fear, for their favorite Hogwarts students will be back on the big screen in no time. Bidding farewell to Harry, Ron and Hermione was a bittersweet endeavor, but luckily we’ll all be seeing much more of our beloved wizards in the near future.