Young Daniel gets Potter part

Potter stars: Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint

Young actor Daniel Radcliffe is to play Harry Potter in the film version of JK Rowling's hit novels.

The 11-year-old actor will appear in Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone, the Warner Brothers studio has announced.

He will appear alongside newcomers Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, who will play the young wizard's best friends Ron and Hermione.

Warner Bros' president of worldwide theatrical production, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, said: "We searched through all the Muggle and Wizard households just to find the right young people to find Harry, Ron and Hermione and we have found them in Dan, Rupert and Emma.

'Magical roles'

"These are magical roles, the kind that come around once in a lifetime, and they required talented children who can bring magic to the screen."

Daniel Radcliffe starred in the BBC's David Copperfield

Producer David Heyman said he was "overjoyed" to end the speculation as to who would get the role.

Daniel played the young David in the BBC's David Copperfield, but Rupert and Emma have only performed in school plays.

Director Chris Columbus said his team had seen "so many enormously talented kids in the search for Harry".

"The process was intense and there were times when we felt we would never find an individual who embodied the complex spirit and depth of Harry Potter," he added.

'Elated'

"Then, Dan walked into the room and we all knew we had found Harry.

Dan walked into the room and we all knew we had found Harry

Director Chris Columbus

"We were equally elated upon meeting Emma and Rupert. I couldn't be happier to work with such talented, inspiring young actors."

JK Rowling, whose fourth Harry Potter book was published last month, gave the casting her blessing.

"Having seen Dan Radcliffe screen test, I don't think Chris Columbus could have found a better Harry," she said.

"I wish Dan, Emma and Rupert the very best of luck and hope they have as much fun acting the first year at Hogwarts as I had writing it."

Daniel had wanted to be an actor from an early age and almost went for a role in ITV's Oliver Twist.

But he got his first acting part in David Copperfield after his mother sent his photograph to the BBC.

JK Rowling: Dreamed up Potter on a train

The film is scheduled for a US release in November 2001.

Wizard skills

Rowling first came up with the character of Harry Potter while she was stuck on a delayed train in 1990.

He is an orphan who finds he has special wizard skills, and each year he goes off to wizard school where he gets caught up in tales of intrigue.

The first book, Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, was published in the UK in 1997, and was renamed Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone for the US market. It is this book which is being turned into a film.

Potter's following grew as sequels The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban hit the bookshops.

July's launch of The Goblet Of Fire broke publishing records, with print runs of 1.5 million in the UK and 3.8 million in the US.

It sold more than 370,000 on its first day in the UK.