An eight-part fantasy series made him one of the greatest and highest-paid actors of our time. However, he had already had his first film role a few months earlier – in an almost forgotten thriller with Pierce Brosnan.
Do you recognize the boy from back then? Another note: His first leading role in a film was two years earlier in the British TV production David Copperfield, where he played alongside several stars who he later met again in his fantasy leading role – including Maggie Smith.
Daniel Radcliffe had his first film role before Harry Potter in The Tailor of Panama
Guess right, it’s Daniel Radcliffe, of course. A few months before Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Tailor of Panama was released in cinemas, in which the young Brit had his first screen role. The thriller by John Boorman (Point Break) adapts the novel of the same name by John le Carré. In it, an MI6 agent (Pierce Brosnan) is transferred to Panama and blackmails a highly respected tailor (Geoffrey Rush).
We also get to know the family of the tailor Harry Pendulum, whose son Mark is played by none other than Daniel Radcliffe. In several scenes is the then nine-year-old actor to be seen alongside his screen family. Other roles include Jamie Lee Curtis as Harry’s wife Louisa and John Boorman’s daughter Lola Boorman in the role of Harry’s daughter Sarah.
The Tailor of Panama opened in German cinemas on April 26, 2001. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released in cinemas on November 22, 2001. Who would have just seven months earlier Can you imagine that you have already caught a glimpse of an upcoming mega-star on the big screen?
Watch a trailer for The Tailor of Panama here:
The Tailor of Panama – Trailer (English) HD
Daniel Radcliffe was proud of his first film role at the time
In 2019, Daniel Radcliffe watched a clip of the film during an episode of the web series Couch Surfing (via Entertainment Weekly). “Oh my God!”he announced. “Put this boy in a franchise!”
The Harry Potter star explained that he was very proud of his on-screen parents Jamie Lee Curtis and Geoffrey Rush at the time: “Not bad for my first set of screen parents.” He organized autographs from James Bond star Pierce Brosnan for his classmates on set.
If you want to see Daniel Radcliffe in his first film role for yourself, you can currently rent or buy The Tailor of Panama on demand from Amazon, Maxdome and Magenta TV.