Daniel Radcliffe No Ordinary Wizard

Chapter One: Dan's Magic When the millions of Harry Potter fans out there think of the sweet, unassuming boy wizard they have grown to love, a picture of Daniel Radcliffe immediately pops into their heads. That's because Dan -- as all his friends and family members call him -- is the young actor who, at age eleven, won the role of Harry Potter in the first movie and has been the face of the famous wizard on-screen ever since!So just how similar is Dan to the famous wizard we all know and love? Well, quite similar, actually. Except for his lack of magical powers, Dan shares a lot of similarities with the fictional character that has made him a household name. First off, they are both British, and very cute! But there are a lot of other, somewhat less obvious, characteristics that they share. According to Dan, they seem to have so much in common he has even joked that one day he'll have to go into therapy, because every time he reads J. K.'s books he finds more links between his and Harry's personalities. Not that the two boys share any bad traits. In fact, it's just the opposite!"We have curiosity [and] loyalty," Dan toldPeoplemagazine -- two very important attributes to have. Despite his ever-rising celebrity status, Dan has managed to remain pretty levelheaded, and becoming famous hasn't at all changed the way he treats his friends and loved ones or lessened the time he makes for them in his life. Actually, whenever he gets a chance on the movie set, Dan keeps in touch with his school chums by telephone, e-mail, or text messaging. Just as Draco Malfoy discovered about Harry at the beginning of their first year at Hogwarts, Dan also has no trouble spotting the wrong sort of people. He knows how essential it is to keep sight of the important things in life. Instead of getting wrapped up in his fame, Dan, like Harry, keeps his head out of the clouds and devotes his time to the "right" sort of people, the friends who have always stood by him, movie star or not.Another similarity that Dan and the fictional wizard seem to share is a level of wisdom and maturity that is beyond their years, which is probably due to the fact that they both had to handle a great deal of responsibility at such a young age. While Harry has the special lightning-bolt scar that means he will have to single-handedly battle the forces of evil and save the world, Dan has had his own earthly challenges.The Harry Potterbooks and movies have all been such huge hits that there is hardly a corner of the globe that hasn't been touched by the unprecedented phenomenon. Because of this, an insane media storm, usually reserved only for the top echelon of A-list celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, has surrounded Dan as he has grown from a skinny, small kid to the hunky teenager he is today. Throughout his time in the spotlight, however, Dan has proved himself to be as gracious and professional as any adult.Not that Dan, or Harry for that matter, is always a choirboy. They both partake in their fair share of mischief -- just ask any of the other actors on the Harry Potter sets who have been on the receiving end of Dan's practical jokes. But they never take it too far. Although they both "get in trouble," as Dan toldPeople,"we don't break the rules, we just kind of bend them."Moviegoers watchingHarry Potterescape one hair-raising adventure after another may think they know Dan Radcliffe. Sometimes it's so easy to get swept up in the magic and mania of Harry Potter that people start thinking of Dan and the fictional character he plays on-screen as one and the same. But let the record show, despite their similarities, Dan is different from the character he plays in many ways. Just as Clark Kent took off his glasses to unveil Superman, when Dan takes off his trademark Harry Potter spectacles and that snug, Hogwarts blazer, he reveals his true self. When he is not battling thNorwich, Grace is the author of 'Daniel Radcliffe No Ordinary Wizard', published 0016 under ISBN 9781416913900 and ISBN 1416913904.