- Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 2000.
The London kid star of various TV series read for Harry and won… Draco Malfoy. Author JK Rowling insistedon an all-British cast (and picked Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, herself). Potter candidates included Felton, who became Draco Malfoy… William Moseley, who became Peter Pevensie, the Harry of The Chronicles of Narnia franchise, 2005-2010… Gabriel Thomsen from My Family(his TV mum Zoë Wannamaker, played Madame Hooch)… Jack Whitehall, also seen for Ron Wesaley… and one unfortunate American, Liam Aiken, who won until told: “Like James Bond, Harry has to be British.” When all the time, director Chris Columbus had used Radcliffe as TV’s David Copperfield as his touchstone .Or indeed Alan Cox as the young John Watson in the 1985 Young Sherlock Holmes – also helmed by Chris Columbus. His Holmes had many a Potter similarity with the book JK Rowling would begin five years later and publish in 1997. - Xavier Samuel, Eclipse, 2009. The Harry Potter stalwart was nearly chosen to join the Twilight brood – headed by a previous Potter actor, Robert Pattinson.
- James D’Arcy, Hitchcock, 2012. Hitchcock’s back in business! With two films headlined by UK actors (Anthony Hopkins, Toby Jones) in bad impressions and fat suits. This is the second one: Hopkins directing Psycho. And telling Janet Leigh: “You can call me Hitch. Hold the cock.” If Hitch didn’t look (or sound) like Hitch and idem for those playing Janet Leigh and Vera Miles, young D’Arcy was an uncanny Anthony Perkins. His rivals for the role had included Felton (Harry Potter’s Draco Malfoy), Ben Barnes, Andrew Garfield, , Ryan Merriman, Jackson Rathbone, Aaron Taylor-Johnson – and Jack Huston, whose Uncle Danny was already in the cast.
- Alden Ehrenreich, Solo: A Star Wars Story, 2017.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 4