
The actor who brought Potter's titular villain, Lord Voldemort, to life spent six years on the magical films. Perhaps best known for portraying a Nazi war criminal Amon Göth in Schindler's List, Ralph Fiennes came into the Potter series with a long list of roles behind him.

Currently, the actor is finishing work on a thriller Escape from Pretoria in which he plays real-life South African escapee Tim Jenkin. Radcliffe also dabbled in Broadway scene working on musicals such as How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. It's no wonder the actor went on to have a splendid career in the movie scene, starring in a wide variety of roles including lawyer Arthur Kipps in the horror film The Woman in Black, famed beat poet Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings, Victor Frankenstein's assistant Igor in the science fiction fantasy Victor Frankenstein, Manny, a sentient corpse in Swiss Army Man, and more. Radcliffe basically grew up on the series, spending ten years working on eight films that brought him fame, fortune, and praise from critics. While at first, the actor and his parents were reluctant to accept the role, once Daniel became Harry Potter, his life was changed forever.

The main star of the series, Daniel Radcliffe, jumped into the role in 2000 after he auditioned at the age of eleven.
