Harry Potter turns 20, the charm of the boy wizard lives on
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When J.K. Rowling published her first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on June 26, 1997, she could hardly have imagined what a sweeping sensation the book would generate. On Monday, muggle readers donned gowns and glasses from Indonesia to Uruguay to celebrate the 20th birthday of this popular boy wizard.
Rowling toasted the anniversary on Twitter, saying: "It's been wonderful. Thank you."
One of the reasons why Harry Potter has maintained such popularity is that audiences have watched the cast grow up on screen.
On this special day, let's take a look at what these young actors have got up to since leaving Hogwarts.
Daniel Radcliffe
At the age of 11, Radcliffe got his big break playing the boy wizard who ultimately defeats the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. At age 17, while on a break from working on the Harry Potter movie series, he shocked fans when he took a Broadway role playing a psychotic stable boy in Equus that included a prolonged nude scene.
His unique roles didn't stop there. He starred in multiple films and musicals including:
Arthur Kipps in the thriller The Woman in Black
J. Pierrepont Finch in the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
The young doctor in A Young Doctor's Notebook
Yossi Ghinsberg in the film Jungle
Emma Watson
From playing the intelligent bookworm to becoming a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, the face of Burberry and Lancôme and a graduate from an Ivy League university, Watson has showed the world her talents extend far beyond the screen.
Watson went back to school and graduated from Brown University with a degree in English Literature. Besides acting, she has also helped launch a UN gender equality campaign.
When she did take on movie roles, she did so selectively.
The free-spirited and eccentric mentor Sam in The Perks of Being a Wallflower
A teenage, pole-dancing thief in Bling Ring
The adopted daughter in Noah
In 2017, she portrayed Belle in a live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.
Rupert Grint
After 10 years on the big screen playing the quirky wizard — like his co-stars, Rupert Grint also got his big break at age 11 — not only did he continue to revisit his famous role, he has also experimented with some odd jobs.
His first car, which he got while filming the last Harry Potter movie, was an ice cream truck.
He opened a boutique hotel called Rigsby's Guest House in Hertford, England.
When back to acting, he worked in theatre, TV and film.
He appeared on the Broadway stage in It's Only a Play, the big screen in Mojo and the small screen as a hustler in Snatch, and as Daniel Glass, a misdiagnosed man who faces an existential dilemma, in Sick Note.
What influence did J.K. Rowling's magical stories have?
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series ushered in a literary franchise that would be translated into 68 languages selling more than 500 million copies worldwide. Six books followed the first release in 1997, and the popularity of this household name has successfully kept pace.
A resurgence of zeal for reading
Desperate to dive into the world of Harry Potter, children suddenly descended on book stores en masse. Some kids even begged to stay up late to finish just one more chapter.
Rowling's books also played a big part in the improvement of literacy. According to a survey by The Guardian, 84 percent of teachers said "that the boy wizard has had a positive impact on children's reading abilities" while 73 percent admit they were surprised that some children managed to read it.
A boost in young adult and children's fiction
The growing enthusiasm in reading means money. Aside from more than 500 million Harry Potter books sold worldwide, an argument could be made that the entire young adult and children's fiction sector has jumped on Potter's bandwagon, reaping a remarkable rise in sales.
Better people because of it?
Believe it or not, a 2014 study led by a group of researchers in Italy reported that reading Potter books at an early age helped instil empathy in children. Other reports reinforced the finding, saying that children in Italian schools may become more compassionate towards homosexuality, or refugees among English university students.
Ongoing popularity
Last year saw the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them directed by Rowling. It was the first of a new film series taking place in the Harry Potter world decades before Potter himself was born. Four more instalments are planned.
In 2012, Pottermore, an online home for all things Harry Potter was launched. Rowling keeps the site active with news, features and articles, as well as previously unreleased writings.
The Harry Potter was also brought to London's West End in 2016 with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. While Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was intended to be the end of the entire story, this stage play takes place afterwards. Written by Jack Thorne from a story he developed with Rowling and John Tiffany, the two-part play won nine Olivier Awards from 11 nominations. The play is set to go to Broadway in April 2018, with tickets set to go on sale this fall.
When the play's script was released last year, it was greeted with the same midnight bookstore festivities that the novels received. Rowling also released a series of supplementary short story collections as ebooks in September, and she's been busy with non-Potter novels published both under her own name and under her detective fiction pen name, Robert Galbraith.
Universal Studios has opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter attractions in both Florida and Los Angeles, giving fans a chance to visit Hogwarts and Diagon Alley for themselves.
Source: AFP, cbsnews.com, Hollywoodreporter.com, CNN
Editors: Shorlin, Zheng Peihan (intern)
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