Harry Potter: Where Are They Now?

Radcliffe may forever be the Boy Who Lived in all of our hearts, but since the Harry Potter franchise came to an end, he’s made a conscious effort to explore a variety of genres, from horror (The Woman in Black and Horns) and rom-coms (What If) to period pieces (A Young Doctor’s Notebook) and biopics (Kill Your Darlings). In recent years, he’s returned to fantasy as Igor in 2015’s Victor Frankenstein, starred in the intense drama Imperium, and went indie with Swiss Army Man. 

Radcliffe has also made his mark on the stage, with critically acclaimed runs in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and The Cripple of Inishmaan on Broadway. During his downtime, Radcliffe works with The Trevor Project (among other charities), writes poetry (under a pen name) and unwinds by playing fantasy football and learning complex rap lyrics.

After 10 years playing everyone’s dream best friend and adding some much-needed comic relief to the Harry Potter films as Ron Weasley, Grint has mostly explored indie films, showcasing his range with projects like the WWII-set Into the White, the Macbeth adaptation Enemy of Man, and comedy Moonwalkers. Up next, he will appear in BBC One’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The A.B.C. Murders. Grint has also made the leap to the stage with critically acclaimed turns in the 2013 West End revival of Mojo and on Broadway in 2014 in the star-studded production of It’s Only a Play.

On-screen, Watson played the role model for bookish girls everywhere; off-screen, life imitated art when she decided to continue her education by enrolling at Brown University and the University of Oxford. Watson graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature in 2014. After Harry Potter, she starred in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Bling Ring, and Noah, and made an ironic cameo as herself in This Is the End. In 2017, she starred as Belle in Bill Condon’s live-action remake of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. In addition to acting, Watson has fronted campaigns for Burberry and Lancôme, and after being named a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in 2014, founded #HeForShe, a UN campaign that calls for men to advocate for gender equality.

Gambon, who took over the role of Dumbledore after Richard Harris passed away in 2002, was a beloved actor long before he stepped into the halls of Hogwarts, and has continued to delight audiences of all ages since. In 2012, he starred in a stage adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s radio play All That Fall, which eventually transferred to New York. In 2015, however, Gambon announced that he was quitting stage acting, as his advanced age meant that it took longer and longer for him to memorize his lines. He has continued to work on-screen, with roles in Dustin Hoffman’s Quartet, the HBO series Luck, and the Sky Atlantic series Fortitude. In 2015, he reunited with J.K. Rowling to star in the BBC miniseries adaptation of her novel The Casual Vacancy. He had roles in 2017’s Victoria and Abdul and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and will appear in Rupert Goold’s upcoming Judy Garland biopic Judy. Gambon is a licensed pilot and a car aficionado who has appeared on the iconic BBC series Top Gear.

Even before he played the beloved keeper of grounds and keys at Hogwarts, Coltrane was one of the most famous Scottish actors of all time. Since leaving his hut for the final time, he has lent his voice to such animated classics as Brave and Arthur Christmas. In 2012, Coltrane starred opposite Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter in Great Expectations and finished out the 30-year run of The Comic Strip Presents… which has become a British comedic institution. He was last seen on the big screen in the 2014 film Effie Gray, and starred in the British TV series National Treasure in 2016. 

Professor McGonagall is just one in a long line of inspiring no-nonsense women that Dame Maggie Smith has played over the course of her career. After Potter ended, Smith began her now-iconic run as Lady Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey, and she won a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and three Emmy Awards for the role. On the big screen, she has starred in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel, as well as Quartet. In 2011, Smith helped raise $4.6 million to repair the Court Theatre in Christchurch, New Zealand after the earthquake, and in 2012, she became a patron of the International Glaucoma Association.

As Draco Malfoy, Felton was the character everyone loved to hate — he won the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain twice — and in the years since the series ended, he has played more troubled characters and bad boys in films like The Apparition, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Belle, and In Secret. He starred in the first season of the TNT series Murder in the First in 2014. The following year, he produced and directed the TV documentary Tom Felton Meets the Superfans, in which he interviewed hardcore Potter fans and his fellow stars to better understand why people were so attached to the films. He had a recurring role on the third season of The Flash and played Laertes in the 2018 film Ophelia. Felton is also a musician, and has released four EPs, including one in 2011 entitled Hawaii.

Scarlett Byrne made her debut as Slytherin student Pansy Parkinson) in 2009’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, going on to reprise the role in 2010’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Byrne, who hit the small screen in The Vampire Diaries as Nora Hildegard and starred in the 2017 thriller Skybound, made headlines in February 2017, when she posed nude for Playboy.

They solemnly swore they were up to no good as Fred and George Weasley, and we couldn’t have loved them more for it. Once their mischief was managed, the twins appeared as brothers in an episode of the ITV series Kingdom and in the documentary A Mind’s Eye, based on the philosophical ideas of Plato. James worked as a gofer on the Harry Potter sets, as well as on the set ofThe Da Vinci Code, and in 2013, he and Oliver moved to California to focus on separate film projects. James will appear in the movie Patchwork later this year, then will reunite with Oliver for Our Worst Enemy. Oliver will also star in the thriller Felo De Se, which is slated for a 2016 release. The twins are an active force in connecting fans with the world of Harry Potter, appearing at conferences and touring around the world to celebrate the opening of the Harry Potter exhibition. Both are heavily involved in charity work as supporters of the Teenage Cancer Trust, and often participate in soccer tournaments, climbing expeditions, and sky dives to raise money for worthy causes.

In addition to scaring everyone as Slytherin Headmaster Severus Snape, Rickman appeared in such cinematic classics as Sense and Sensibility, Love Actually, and Die Hard. After Harry Potter wrapped, Rickman returned to the stage in the Abbey Theatre’s production of The Seagull, which transferred to New York in 2011. He starred in the original production of Seminar on Broadway a few months later, for which he earned the Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for Favorite Actor in a Play and a Drama League Award nomination. In 2013, he reunited with Rupert Grint in the film CBGB, where he played Hilly Kristal, founder of the iconic punk club. In 2012, he married Rima Horton, a former Labour Party councilor and a lecturer at Kingston University, with whom he had been in a relationship since 1965. Rickman passed away in January 2016 at the age of 69.

He rose to fame as the bumbling-yet-brave Neville Longbottom, but in the years since Potter ended, Lewis has established himself as a potential leading man, thanks to roles in The Syndicate, The Rise, and Bluestone 42. Lewis made his stage debut in a touring production of Agatha Christie’s Verdict in 2011, and made his West End debut the following year in Our Boys. He recently had roles in in 2016’s Me Before You, 2018’s Terminal, and the 2018 British series Girlfriends. In 2012 he received an honorary Masters of Arts Degree from Leeds Metropolitan University, and in 2018 he got married. 

After hanging up his wand in 2011 (and thus drastically reducing the amount of explosions on the Hogwarts grounds), Murray, best known as Seamus Finnigan, seemed to take a break from acting. In 2018, he returned to the screen for the comedy Damon & Ivor: The Movie, and he often reunites with his former castmates for Harry Potter events and nights out on the town. And yes, he is still close with Alfred Enoch, a.k.a. Dean Thomas, and they are still totally adorable.

Since winning Harry Potter’s heart (and plenty of Quidditch Cups!) as the youngest Weasley, Ginny, Wright attended film school to pursue her dream of writing and directing, though she has continued acting in films like Before I Sleep, After the Dark, Those Who Wander, and The Highway Is for Gamblers, opposite Joe Jonas and Nikki Reed. Wright made her stage debut in 2013 at London’s Southwark Playhouse in The Moment of Truth, and her screenwriting and directorial debut in 2012 with the short film Separate We Come, Separate We Go, which starred fellow Harry Potter alumnus David Thewlis and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Since then, she has started her own production company and directed several short films and music videos. Wright started dating her Potter co-star Jamie Campbell Bower in 2010; they were engaged in 2011, but called it off in 2012.

Walters made us all laugh, cheer, and cry as the overprotective, incredibly loving Mrs. Weasley, and she’s continued to do so in the years since Potter wrapped, with roles in The Hollow Crown, Paddington, and Brave. In 2011, she won the TV BAFTA for Best Actress and an International Emmy Award for her role as late MP and Irish Secretary of State Mo Mowlam. In 2012, she returned to the stage in the National Theatre’s production of The Last of the Haussmans. Walters’ recent notable roles include appearances in 2015’s Brooklyn, 2017’s Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool and Paddington 2, and 2018’s upcoming Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Mary Poppins Returns. 

He may never have learned what, exactly, is the function of a rubber duck, but since leaving Mr. Weasley behind, Williams has starred in another British institution, playing the lead role in the costume drama Father Brown since 2013. He appeared in an episode of Doctor Who in 2012 and an episode of Drunk History in 2015, and has presented several documentary programs as well as the daytime game show The Link. His recent film roles include 2016’s Golden Years and 2018’s Early Man. 

He didn’t get a ton of screen time as Ron’s oldest brother, Bill Weasley, but Gleeson — who is the son of Mad Eye Moody himself, Brendan Gleeson — has more than made up for it in his post-Potter years. After a supporting role in 2012’s Anna Karenina, Gleeson became a leading man with the one-two punch of Tim in About Time and Jon Burroughs in Frank. He appeared in the critically acclaimed Ex Machina, Brooklyn, and The Revenant. In 2015, he joined the Star Wars saga as the villainous General Hux, and his other recent titles include mother!, A Futile and Stupid Gesture, and he will appear in 2018’s The Little Stranger.