The Harry Potter movies were some of the most popular and commercially successful fantasy movies of all time when they were released in the early 2000s, with the franchise’s young cast immediately shooting to superstardom. While the majority of their teenage years were spent on this long-running project, the cast has since been involved in some truly creative, interesting films that are totally unlike Harry Potter in every way. Today, the Harry Potter cast find themselves with varied levels of fame, working on entirely different kinds of projects.

While the Harry Potter movie series was an enormous international hit, several of the young actors found it difficult to shake off this franchise and find success elsewhere. Some have even spoken about how difficult it was to get rid of this image and land roles in other projects, which is surprisingly common with child actors. However, the three main cast (alongside a handful of others) have since landed some iconic roles that proved their acting capabilities beyond Harry Potter, allowing them to reforge their image in new and exciting ways.

10 Beauty And The Beast (2017)

Starring Emma Watson

Emma Watson played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, and her career was among the first to find its new direction when the franchise came to a close. Undoubtedly her biggest and most well-known role since the end of Harry Potter was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast remake, which retold the classic animated story in live-action form. She played the lead role of Belle, a young princess who’s trapped in a castle with the grotesque beast who’s kidnapped her father.

9 The Lost City (2022)

Starring Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe played the titular role in the Harry Potter franchise, but since the end of those movies, he’s dedicated his time to some truly unique and unconventional roles to break free of that youthful image. In The Lost City, Radcliffe plays eccentric billionaire Abigail Fairfax, who’s not afraid to adopt some villainous, mischievous methods to find the hidden treasure of the lost city. Daniel Radcliffe has done plenty of scary roles since leaving Harry Potter, but this was among his most lighthearted and fun.

8 Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011)

Starring Tom Felton

Tom Felton played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise, and his role in Rise of the Planet of the Apes isn’t too dissimilar. In Rupert Wyatt's film, he plays a villainous employee at the zoo where Caesar is taken and integrated with the other apes. It’s only a minor role, but it gave Felton an opportunity to display his acting abilities with an interesting, complex character in another large studio production.

7 Kill Your Darlings (2013)

Starring Daniel Radcliffe

Another of Radcliffe’s later movies, Kill Your Darlings follows Allen Ginsberg and Lucien Carr during their years at college, where they’re pulled into an unresolved murder case that turns their entire dynamic upside-down. It’s a gripping story that finally lets Radcliffe get more emotional and mature with his performances, which he only hinted towards in the later Harry Potter movies.

6 Last Night In Soho (2021)

Starring James & Oliver Phelps

James and Oliver Phelps played Fred and George Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, two of Ron’s older brothers who are known for their trouble-making tendencies. In Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, the twins have a unique role where they play alternate versions of each other’s mirrored image, which helps the film with its stylish perspective changes during one of its dancing set pieces. Last Night in Soho is filled with clever twists, and the twins’ casting helps create this fascinating atmosphere.

5 Knock At The Cabin (2023)

Starring Rupert Grint

Rupert Grint played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies. Despite his excellent performance in Knock at the Cabin, he’s one of the young actors who’s starred in the fewest projects since the end of his stint in the Wizarding World. M. Night Shyamalan’s apocalyptic thriller was somewhat of a comeback for Grint, and it was a fascinating project for him to get involved in. The story follows a young couple who are taken hostage during their family getaway by a group of intruders who claim the end of the world is just around the corner.

4 Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)

Starring Daniel Radcliffe

Weird may be Radcliffe’s strongest performance since ending Harry Potter, and it’s no coincidence that it’s also his funniest and most off-the-wall. The actor has a great sense of humor that allowed him to really get inside Weird Al’s head for this project, fully committing to the silliness of the project and channeling Yankovic’s eccentricity. The film itself is a half-true, half-fictional retelling of Weird Al’s career, with a third act that goes totally off the rails.

3 Swiss Army Man (2016)

Starring Daniel Radcliffe

Radcliffe stars opposite Paul Dano in Swiss Army Man, a philosophical drama/comedy that follows a depressed man who’s stuck on an island alone, until a half-conscious dead body washes up on the shore to keep him company. Swiss Army Man is an unapologetically goofy and nonsensical comedy that weaves some genuinely touching commentary into its story about loneliness, companionship, and the importance of having friends. Of everything Radcliffe has done since Harry Potter, this may be his greatest.

2 The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

Starring Emma Watson

Based on the book by Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a coming-of-age drama that centers around a high school student named Charlie who has trouble navigating the complex friendships in his life, where Watson plays Sam Button. What begins as a fairly by-the-book drama quickly turns into something much deeper and more mature with its progressive exploration of trauma and mental illness.

1 Little Women (2019)

Starring Emma Watson

Greta Gerwig’s Little Women is a stylish, atmospheric, emotional retelling of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel about four sisters trying to find their place in the world. Emma Watson plays Meg, the eldest of the March sisters to whom the responsibility often falls to keep her younger siblings in check. It was one of Watson’s biggest roles since leaving Harry Potter, and she did an excellent job of capturing the character’s quirks and qualities.