What Does the Future Hold for the Young Harry Potter Actors?

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" brings the wildly popular movie series to an end. All those characters who grew up right before your eyes along with your kids will meet their destiny at the hands of Voldemort and his minions. Once the final credit rolls past all those teary eyes, the real-life Voldemort will come out of hiding and cast his own spells. Unfortunately, for the young Harry Potter actors, escaping the potential damage of those spells will not be quite as easy as escaping the clutches of Voldemort.

The real-life Voldemort lying in wait for Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and the other young actors who first showed up on the screen unknown to anyone but their family and close friends does not look anything at all like Ralph Fiennes. Well, maybe he does, but no one can really say. That is because the real-life Voldemort lying in wait for the Harry Potter actors is better known by such words as fate, kismet, fortune, divine will and providence. The spell that will be cast by Voldemort could very well wind up with the sad spectacle of the former Hermione, Draco Malfoy or even Harry Potter himself winding upon a pathetic reality show where celebrity has-beens humiliate themselves for just one more shot at retrieving their lost fame. What does Voldemort, or fate, or destiny hold in store for the actors who grew up in the Harry Potter series?

Daniel Radcliffe

Amazingly enough, Daniel Radcliffe has already managed to carve out a successful theatrical acting career for himself. The fact that Radcliffe has managed to do this despite the inability to exhibit any emotional register on his face aside from a wide grin or narrowed, determined eyes is proof that greater magical powers exist outside the world of Hogwarts than inside. Radcliffe is currently riding one of the most surprising career highs since Keanu Reeves was given the chance to make a second movie. If Reeves can enjoy a career that has lasted more than two decades without the ability to show emotion, little reason exists to suppose that Daniel Radcliffe can't also do it.

Emma Watson

She started out the Harry Potter series by investing fully in Hermione's most irritable characteristics. By the third movie, it is possible to imagine that many moviegoers were desperately hoping that somehow Hermione might get offed prematurely. Then came "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" in which Emma Watson presented a much more complex Hermione, followed by "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." That latter movie is owned by Watson when it comes to the central trio of the stories. What does Voldemort hold for Watson's future. Hard to tell, but she's certainly a better actor than Daniel Radcliffe.

Rupert Grint

Grint certainly has career potential as a comic actor, but in the last few installments of the Harry Potter series he has seemed less and less comfortable with himself on screen. Perhaps it is simply a case of growing bigger and with a face that is less camera friendly than his co-stars, but Grint's future in the movies seemed much more assured about three or four Harry Potter movies ago.

Evanna Lynch

So far, Lynch's resume includes only the Harry Potter movies. Lynch's performances as Luna Lovegood are always the most interesting of any scenes involving just the younger actors. Lynch is the only actor who fully inhabits her role and she brings Lovegood to wonderfully entertaining life. The fact that she has exhibited the most talent at delving into her Harry Potter character does not bode well for her future. Talent is quite often a hindrance to a long acting career.