Daniel Radcliffe Almost Wasn't Harry Potter

His face, from young and rosy cheeked to mature and determined, is now synonymous with the magic of Harry Potter. After eight films and a decade in the spotlight, the glasses and robes would seem alien on anyone else, but as Daniel Radcliffe reveals, he almost never made that first trip to Hogwarts.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter earlier in the week, the English actor remembered how he first got involved in the film adaptations of JK Rowling's beloved book series. Through a series of show business and familial connections, the first "Harry Potter" film director got wind of one of Radcliffe's earliest roles, and went after the young actor.

"Chris Columbus had seen 'David Copperfield' and said, 'I want to audition this boy,'" Radcliffe explained. "They went to my parents, and, at the time, the deal was to sign on for -- I think -- six films, all to be done in L.A., and my mum and dad simply said, 'That's too much disruption to his life. That's not gonna happen.' I didn't know any of that had gone on."

Luckily, logistics were switched around, and the rest is history.

"And then, maybe three, four months down the line, the deal had changed, and it was gonna be to shoot two films, and they'd both be done in England, and so they said, 'Okay, we'll let him audition.' And then it all went from there, really," he said.

It goes without saying that it was one of the most important castings in the past few decades; with Radcliffe as lead, the franchise has taken in over $7 billion worldwide in ticket sales alone. And, on a personal level, it changed Radcliffe's life, as you can see in this emotional video from behind the "Potter" scenes.

Radcliffe, who has stood out on Broadway in "How To Succeed In Business," will next star in the horror film, "The Woman In Black."

For more, click over to The Hollywood Reporter.