Harry Potter

Character

According to Rowling, the idea for Harry Potter and the novel series came to her while she was waiting for a train in 1990. She first conceived of Harry as a "scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy" who is unaware that he is a wizard. While developing ideas for the first book, she decided to make Harry an orphan who attends a boarding school called Hogwarts. She explained in a 1999 interview with The Guardian: "Harry had to be an orphan—so that he's a free agent, with no fear of letting down his parents, disappointing them ... Then there's the security. Having a child of my own reinforces my belief that children above all want security, and that's what Hogwarts offers Harry."

The death of Rowling's mother in December 1990 inspired her to write Harry as a boy longing for his dead parents. She explained that his anguish became deeper and "much more real" than in earlier drafts of the first book because she related to it herself. In a 2000 interview, Rowling said that the character Wart in T. H. White's novel The Once and Future King is Harry's "spiritual ancestor". Although Rowling gave Harry her own birth date of 31 July, she maintains that he is not directly based on any real-life person. She says that he came "out of a part of [her]".

In the novels, Harry is described as having his father's perpetually untidy black hair, his mother's bright green eyes, and a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. At the beginning of the series, he is short and skinny for his age, but in later novels he grows enough that other characters describe him as tall. Harry has a thin face and "knobbly" knees, and he wears Windsor glasses, which Rowling said point to his vulnerability. When asked about the meaning behind Harry's scar, Rowling said she wanted him to be "physically marked by what he has been through". She said the scar is "an outward expression of what he has been through inside".

Rowling has described Harry as honourable. She says that he is strongly guided by his own conscience, and has a keen feeling of what is right and wrong. In her eyes, he is competitive but not cruel, and he is a fighter who refuses to take abuse. She calls him a normal boy who has qualities most people admire, which makes him a hero in her view, and very likeable. She has claimed that Harry is a suitable role model for real-world children.

Rowling admits that Harry sometimes makes mistakes, and she says his character flaws include anger and impulsiveness. She said that because he has limited access to caring adults, he is forced to make his own choices at a younger age than most people. According to Rowling, a pivotal moment in Harry's life occurs in the fourth novel, when he protects the body of Cedric Diggory from Voldemort, because it shows he is brave and selfless.

Appearances

Novels

Harry is first introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) as an orphan living with his abusive aunt and uncle, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, and their bullying son, Dudley. On his eleventh birthday, Harry discovers he is a wizard when Rubeus Hagrid brings him an acceptance letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry learns that his parents, James and Lily Potter, were murdered by a powerful Dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, who also tried to kill Harry. However, Voldemort's killing curse bounced back and apparently destroyed him, leaving Harry with a lightning-bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. Due to his miraculous survival, Harry became famous among wizards.

Hagrid takes Harry to Diagon Alley to shop for school supplies. Harry buys a wand, and the proprietor tells him that his wand and Voldemort's wand contain feathers from the same phoenix. At the end of the summer, Harry boards the Hogwarts Express, where he befriends Ron Weasley and meets Hermione Granger. When he arrives at Hogwarts, he is assigned to Gryffindor House by the Sorting Hat. During the school year, he receives guidance from the Transfiguration professor Minerva McGonagall and the headmaster Albus Dumbledore. He develops animosity towards a fellow first-year named Draco Malfoy, and becomes increasingly wary of the Potions professor, Severus Snape. Harry and Ron become friends with Hermione after they save her from a troll, and Harry becomes the youngest Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team in a century.

During Christmas holidays, Harry receives an anonymous gift – his father's invisibility cloak. Aided by the cloak, he is able to explore the school freely. He, Ron and Hermione decide to enter a trapdoor they discovered one night, which is guarded by an enormous three-headed dog. They believe a valuable magical object, the Philosopher's Stone, lies beyond the door. After they navigate a series of obstacles, Harry faces Professor Quirrell, whose body has been possessed by Voldemort. When Harry obtains the Stone, Quirrell tries to kill him. However, Quirrell's flesh burns upon contact with Harry's skin, and Harry passes out.

Harry awakens in the Hogwarts infirmary, where Dumbledore explains that Harry was protected by his mother's love, which also killed Quirrell. Voldemort survived, and the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed. During the school's end-of-year feast, Gryffindor is awarded the House Cup thanks to the many points Harry and his friends obtained from their adventure.

Film adaptations

Harry is portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe in all eight Harry Potter film adaptations. Radcliffe was asked to audition for the role in 2000 by David Heyman, who was producing the first film in the series. Radcliffe met Heyman while attending a London play called Stones in His Pockets.

In a 2007 interview with MTV, Radcliffe described the development of his character during the course of the series: "That's what the films are about for me: a loss of innocence, going from being a young kid in awe of the world around him, to someone who is more battle-hardened by the end of it." Radcliffe said that after the death of Cedric Diggory in Goblet of Fire, Harry experiences survivor's guilt and feels immense loneliness. Because of this, Radcliffe talked to a bereavement counsellor to help him prepare for the role. Radcliffe stated that the question he has most frequently been asked is how Harry Potter has influenced his life, to which he regularly answers it has been "fine". He felt it was a tremendous privilege to play Harry, and he did not feel pigeonholed by the role.

In 2011, Empire magazine ranked Radcliffe's Harry Potter as the 36th greatest film character of all time. The magazine published another character ranking in 2018, this time placing Harry at 67th.

Stage adaptation

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play written by Jack Thorne from a story by Thorne, J. K. Rowling and John Tiffany. It takes place nineteen years after the events of Deathly Hallows. In the play, Harry is Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. The story focuses on Harry's son, Albus Severus Potter.

Television adaptation

Harry is set to be portrayed by Scottish actor Dominic McLaughlin in the upcoming HBO television series Harry Potter.

Reception

In 2002, Book magazine ranked Harry Potter No. 85 among the "100 Best Fictional Characters since 1900". Entertainment Weekly ranked him number 2 on its 2010 "100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years" list, saying "Long after we've turned the last page and watched the last end credit, Harry still feels like someone we know. And that's the most magical thing about him." Harry was ranked number 36 on Empire's 2008 list of "100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time". IGN said that Harry was their favourite Harry Potter character, calling him a "sympathetic figure". The Reverend John Killinger has called the Harry Potter series "the Christ story of the 21st century", and has argued that Harry is a Christ figure. Rowling revealed in 2007 that she was inspired by Christian themes when writing the novels.

Harry has also received criticism. In 2010, he was voted the 35th "Worst Briton" on Channel 4's "100 Worst Britons We Love to Hate" programme. Writing in The Irish Times, Ed Power called Harry an "anointed cherub" who is "told he is special" before he achieves anything.

In popular culture

The Harry Potter series has inspired "wizard rock" bands whose members dress up like Harry during performances. According to MTV, the genre was popularized by the Massachusetts duo Harry and the Potters in 2002, and became an international phenomenon, although it waned in popularity after the release of the final Harry Potter novel.

Harry Potter is parodied in the Barry Trotter book series by American writer Michael Gerber. The series features the antihero Barry Trotter, who has been described by Gerber as an unpleasant character who "drinks too much, eats like a pig, sleeps until noon, and owes everybody money".