Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe returns – with help from David Beckham and other stars
Written by News on 06/05/2020
Daniel Radcliffe has returned to the Harry Potter wizarding world once again, in a lockdown collaboration with other stars including David Beckham and Eddie Redmayne.
The actor has delighted fans of the series by narrating the first chapter of the first book, The Philosopher’s Stone, for an online hub for children set up by author JK Rowling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Radcliffe, now 30, rose to fame playing the boy wizard in the film adaptations of the hit books, and has recorded a video of himself reading aloud Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived.
Beckham, whose eight-year-old daughter Harper is a fan of the series, is also among the cast of narrators – and it looks like he has worn his Gryffindor scarf for the occasion. Gryffindor, of course, is the Hogwarts house that Potter and his pals Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were members of.
The football star is joined by actors Dakota Fanning and Redmayne, who appeared in the prequel Fantastic Beasts films, and Stephen Fry, who narrated the original UK Harry Potter audiobooks.
Claudia Kim, who appeared as Nagini alongside Redmayne in the Fantastic Beasts films, and Noma Dumezweni, who starred as Hermione in the original theatre run of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, are also taking part.
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The story will feature on Rowling’s Harry Potter At Home online hub, launched to help out children, parents, carers and teachers during the COVID-19 lockdown.
It is described as “an online space for younger children to discover the magic of Harry Potter – either on their own, or reading and listening” with an adult.
Announcing the platform in April, Rowling said she wanted to give back “a bit of magic” while people are stuck indoors.
Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, first published in 1997, introduced the world to the character of Harry Potter and the world of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
All 17 chapters will be released over the next few months, with Radcliffe “the perfect narrator” to kick off the series, says Rowling.
Videos will be posted weekly on the Harry Potter At Home website, with an audio-only version also available for free on Spotify.
(c) Sky News 2020: Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe returns – with help from David Beckham and other stars
