Daniel Radcliffe Has A New, Heart-Wrenching Harry Potter Project In The Works
Daniel Radcliffe is returning to the "Harry Potter" universe in a really special way.
News broke that Radcliffe — who is currently working on Broadway in a revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along" with Jonathan Groff — will executive produce a documentary about a "Harry Potter" story close to his heart. The documentary, which releases on November 15, will focus on David Holmes, a teenage gymnast turned stuntman who was grievously injured while performing in Radcliffe's stead on "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1." Holmes was working on a standard, planned stunt when an explosion unexpectedly occurred and the stunt performer was dropped to the ground; this awful accident left him paralyzed due to a severe spinal injury.
Radcliffe has been a staunch supporter of Holmes ever since his injury, and now, the former Boy Who Lived will take part in the documentary appropriately titled "David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived." The film will take viewers through Holmes' post-injury life and feature interviews with Holmes himself, family members, and Radcliffe, who has been a close personal friend to the former stuntman for years. Holmes' story is incredible, and it's heartwarming to see Radcliffe return to the wizarding world — sort of — to support this movie.
David Holmes and Daniel Radcliffe have been friends for years
This documentary is a long time in the making for many reasons — especially because Daniel Radcliffe and David Holmes have been friends ever since the "Harry Potter" franchise wrapped. Holmes was clearly a big part of Radcliffe's professional life, and was there as the actor basically grew up on set. In the years since Radcliffe has also teamed up with Holmes and appeared on the latter's podcast, "Cunning Stunts," which serves an ode to the stunt community.
In a 2014 Daily Mirror piece about Holmes — which detailed the support Radcliffe has lent to the former stuntman over the years — the outlet reported that Radcliffe said at a charity event, "I've got a relationship that goes back many, many years with Dave. And I would hate for people to just see me and Dave and go, 'oh, there's Daniel Radcliffe with a person in a wheelchair' – because I would never, even for a moment, want them to assume that Dave was anything except for an incredibly important person in my life." The piece also reveals that Radcliffe and his co-star Tom Felton frequently visited Holmes in the hospital during his recovery, and Holmes, for his part, expressed gratitude to his "Harry Potter" family for their support.
"It was an amazing experience," Holmes told the Daily Mirror. "I loved it and Dan was an absolute pleasure to work with. The cast and crew were like a second family and I remain in touch with a lot of them to this day."
"David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived" is expected to debut November 15 on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.