The 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter is nearly upon us and fans have already glimpsed the return of the core trio after the newest Return to Hogwarts trailer offered a peek at what the actors behind Harry, Ron, and Hermione look like now. While the anniversary special is set to explore what the stars have been up to and how much the Wizarding World still means to them, fans have been wondering what the trio has been up to since Deathly Hallows Part 2 premiered in 2011.
Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe starred as the Boy Who Lived in all eight Potter films and his charismatic performances are arguably what he’s most-known for. After the final film premiered, Radcliffe went on to star in a variety of others, though none of them saw the massive success of Potter. In 2012, fans saw the release of the moderately successful horror flick The Woman in Black, marking Radcliffe’s first non-Potter release.
Going on to star in a variety of films, television projects, and memeworthy dog-walking jobs, it wasn’t until 2016 that Radcliffe saw praise for his performance in Imperium, a film about an FBI agent infiltrating a white supremacist club that received an 85% fresh score from Rotten Tomatoes. Radcliffe can next be seen in Sandra Bullock’s upcoming comedy The Lost City, which fans have already begun praising as the return of Bullock’s comedic genius.
Rupert Grint
The most understated actor of the trio kept to himself after Potter, only lending his voice to a slew of shows like American Dad and Postman Pat, but in 2011, Rupert Grint sent fans into a frenzy when he appeared in Ed Sheeran’s music video for “Lego House.” Fans went crazy thinking it was Grint announcing his foray into the music scene, but it was all a ploy by Sheeran and Grint, who admitted that it was fun to use their similarities to tease fans.
In 2017, Grint returned to acting by appearing in the short-lived comedy series Sick Note alongside Lindsay Lohan and then in the 2019 Apple TV hit Servant, which was recently renewed for a fourth and final season. Most recently, Grint has signed on for Guillemero del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight, a live-action horror anthology series coming to Netflix in 2022.
Emma Watson
The brains of the trio both in the series and in real life, Emma Watson went from Harry Potter to obtaining her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from Brown University. In 2012, she appeared in the indie hit The Perks of Being a Wallflower and returned in 2013 with Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring. Later in 2013, Watson made an appearance in the comedy This Is the End before filming the 2014 big screen adaptation of Noah alongside Russell Crowe.
It wasn’t until 2017 that fans would see a mega Watson reappearance on the silver screen with the live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, which went on to make over $1 billion at the box office. Since then, Watson has devoted her time to women’s rights, environmental justice, and climate change mitigation. Some think she’s retired from acting, with her last film being the 2019 remake of Little Women, but Watson has made sure to remind fans that they should only believe the information that comes directly from her.
Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts airs on HBO Max on New Year’s Day, and we’re certain it will give further insight into what each of these stars has been up to since they said goodbye to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
