Life After Potter

Leonard Nimoy is Mr. Spock, Mark Hamill is Luke Skywalker and as "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II" is set to be released on July 15th, 2011 we are left to wonder if the same fate is in store for Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione), or Rupert Grint (Ron). Will any or all of these three children-turned-actors be forever seen by movie goers as the characters they played in eight films, or will they be able to go all Harrison Ford and use these seminal films to launch themselves into a truly iconic career?

Hamill only played Luke Skywalker for three films, and yet he is still to this today mostly only known for that role, despite having become one of Hollywood's most talented and most often used voice actors. I almost prefer his vocal performance of The Joker in the animated Batman series of the early 90's to that of either of the amazing actors (Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger) to have played the same character on the silver screen. So typecast as the young hero of the original Star Wars trilogy was Hamill that most other roles he's been able to play in movies have been either glorified cameos or just in films that were plain "not good."

The difference between Hamill and Nimoy and the three protagonists of the Potter series may be simply the era in which they came to be stars. Perhaps in this modern age of cinema and entertainment, with audience attention spans being at an all-time low, the average matinee attendee will simply forget that Radcliffe was Harry potter for over a decade. Maybe we'll all forget that Grint was first on the screen as a small, red-headed boy and we can accept him in meatier, more dramatic roles.

Sadly I don't think the odds are in any of these young adults' favor to be able to breakout too far from their iconic roles. For starters, the Harry Potter series is this generations' Star Wars or even more accurately Lord of the Rings. It's a seven part literary epic that people of all ages love to read again and again. The films have been so well made that no die-hard Potter fan cried foul when the decision was announced to split the final book into a two part finale for the cinemas. The fact is that these three actors were tapped to play three of the most important and lasting roles of their time. In doing so eight times they have cemented themselves forever in the hearts eyes of their fans as Harry, Hermione and Ron.

Just as any time I see the TV commercials with George Takei and I think of Sulu; I suppose any time I see Watson in another project I'll think of her as the whip-smart and powerful witch she played in the Harry Potter franchise. Had the films been a commercial failure and forgotten perhaps the indelible mark the characters placed on the three actors' resumes could be overlooked. Undoubtedly though, they will always be first remembered as the characters they portrayed in Potter, and then secondly for something else they did in their careers.

If I had to take a guess on one of them escaping this plight I think it'd be quite surprising to a few. I would say that it's Rupert Grint that has the best chance of breaking out of the Harry Potter mold. Watson, being an attractive young lady has the chance to perhaps play more adult and grown-up roles, and part of me wants to believe she'll escape that fate; but I just can't. Radcliffe, as good as an actor he is, I just don't think will ever be able to shake the wire frame glasses and lightening bolt scar. He's too entrenched in the psyche of the current generation as Harry Potter to be truly given a chance in any other role. I'm not arguing this is in any way fair to him; but I just see it as being the inevitable reality of this situation.

Grint though, I feel has actually surpassed both his co-stars in acting ability, and therefore has a leg up. The first part of the series' conclusion showcased Grint's ability to not only be comically aware and potent, but to also deliver genuine emotion that Ron Weasley so desperately needed to have. Ron is to Harry as Samwise is to Frodo, and Rupert Grint has risen to and above the call of duty and has become a force to reckon with. Much in the way that Ford shone just a little bit brighter in Star Wars, so does Grint.

It's quite possible of course, that all of them will end up having six Oscars apiece for playing a plethora of roles as diverse as there are stars in the sky. I'm not Nostradamus, nor do I claim to have any kind of insight other than some historical perspective. Whether or not any of the three are of Meryl Streep or Robert Deniro ilk may not matter if the public at large just can't let go of the image of them casting spells and fighting Voldemort.

Think I got it all wrong? Tell me! Leave a comment.