17 'Harry Potter' stars, ranked from least to most successful

Business Insider Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. Dave M. Benett/Getty Images "Harry Potter" is a phenomenon that endures, 29 years after "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was first published in the UK.That book series has turned into a behemoth that contains theme parks, a studio tour, multiple giant stores, a VR experience, conventions, a Broadway play, reality shows, and more.But at the center of that media giant are the eight theatrical films, which began with a group of preteen actors whose lives were completely transformed when they became pupils at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.And now, a new set of actors is taking the baton. HBO just released a new trailer for its "Harry Potter" series, which premieres on December 25.Ahead of this new crew of child actors joining the Wizarding World, we've ranked the child stars from the original film series from least to most successful, taking into account factors such as subsequent film appearances, awards, and social media followings.Keep scrolling to see how your favorite "Harry Potter" actor stacks up. 17. Chris Rankin Chris Rankin. C Flanigan/FilmMagic/Getty Images Chris Rankin played the prefect Percy Weasley in four films. He now works behind the scenes.Rankin, 42, has had a few minor acting credits since "Deathly Hallows Part 2," and he has 50,200 followers on Instagram.But he's been credited as a production coordinator on successful shows like "Downton Abbey" and "A Discovery of Witches," so while he doesn't have the same level of traditional Hollywood success, he's been busy. He did not appear in the HBO Max reunion, "Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts," in 2022. 16. Devon Murray Devon Murray. Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage via Getty Images Devon Murray played Seamus Finnigan in all eight movies, but he hasn't done much outside "Potter." In general, he seems to be more interested in crypto than acting.Murray, 37, has only one movie appearance to his name after "Potter" ended in 2011, an uncredited role in 2018's "Damo & Ivor: The Movie." He also appeared in a 2017 music video for "Every Time You Need Me" by Simonna.On the social media front, Murray has about 169,000 followers on Instagram and 235,800 on X, but overall, he is still known mostly for blowing stuff up as Seamus. He also did not appear in the HBO Max reunion. 15. Josh Herdman Josh Herdman. John Phillips/Getty Images for EA Sports Josh Herdman played Goyle in all eight films, and he has continued to act.Herdman, 38, is a professional MMA fighter as well as an actor. Since "Potter" ended, he's secured a few acting credits in the series "Marcella" and "Alex Rider" in 2020. He also appeared in the 2018 film "Robin Hood" starring Taron Egerton.Most recently, he appeared in two episodes of "Andor" and two episodes of the Starz adaptation of "The Man Who Fell to Earth."Herdman has fewer social-media followers than Murray (125,000 on Instagram), but his continued acting career and fighting career put him in front.Herdman did not return for the reunion. 14. Oliver and James Phelps Oliver Phelps and James Phelps. Noam Galai/Getty Images Oliver and James Phelps, who played the Weasley twins in all the films, are too much of a unit to separate.The Phelps twins, 40, have sporadically continued to act together, rarely appearing in things without each other. While they haven't acted much since the end of the films, they've capitalized on their "Potter" fame, and each has over 2 million followers on Instagram (James has 2.4; Oliver has 2.3).Their on-screen appearances include the 2021 psychological horror film "Last Night in Soho," directed by Edgar Wright. The two also appeared as themselves in the docuseries "The Cars That Made Britain Great" and are the hosts of the "Potter"-themed baking show, "Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking" on Food Network. Season three premieres this holiday season.The twins also cohosted a podcast together, "Normal Not Normal," that saw them "talk to a star-studded selection of friends, colleagues, and personal heroes who stepped into the limelight at a young age, and find out what 'normal' means to them." It ended in 2023.Of course, they also popped up at the opening of the new "Potter" theme park at Epic Universe in Orlando.Hilariously, the Phelpses did appear in the HBO Max special, but their name labels were swapped. 13. Bonnie Wright Bonnie Wright. Jesse Grant/Getty Images for the Environmental Media Association While Wright, 35, hasn't appeared in any blockbuster films lately, her clout has only grown since playing the youngest Weasley. In addition to the multiple indie films she's acted in ("The Sea," "After the Dark," "Before I Sleep"), she's also become a director and founded her own production company, BonBonLumiere. She also has a cool 3.7 million followers on Instagram.Her directorial debut, a short called "Separate We Come, Separate We Go," starred her "Potter" costar David Thewlis and received positive reviews at its premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Most recently, she's focused on directing music videos. She's been less busy since 2018, however, so we can't put her higher than some of her costars who are still working constantly. Wright had a small role in the "Potter" reunion in 2022. 12. Evanna Lynch Evanna Lynch. Antony Jones/Getty Images for Pimm's Evanna Lynch played the lovably loony Luna Lovegood for four films.Lynch, 35, has found the most fame on social media — she has 3.6 million followers on Instagram — but she keeps busy with other projects as well. She hosted "The ChickPeeps Vegan Podcast" until 2023, and began a Substack in 2025 called "Penfriendship."She also competed on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2018, finishing in third place. Acting-wise, she's appeared in a few indie films and did a play in Ireland this year, but her main focus seems to be on other ventures.During the 2022 reunion, Lynch shared the fascinating story of how she was cast as Luna — for years, she was a pen pal of author JK Rowling. 11. Matthew Lewis Matthew Lewis. Scott Garfitt/BAFTA/Getty Images Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom, is, of course, the man behind the phrase "Longbottoming," thanks to his drastic post-"Potter" glow-up — the cultural impact of that alone places him above some of his costars.The 37-year-old is also still acting regularly, however. He appeared in the 2020 series "All Creatures Great and Small," as well as the 2024 series "Avoidance," "Ripper Street," "Happy Valley," "Me Before You," and even an episode of "Drunk History" are among his other credits. In 2026, he starred in the British series "The Fortune."Lewis also hosted "The Official Leeds United Podcast" through 2024, and he has 2.2 million Instagram followers and 1.2 million X followers. He reunited with his fellow Hogwarts classmates during the HBO Max special. 10. Clémence Poésy Clémence Poésy. Marc Piasecki/WireImage/Getty Images Clémence Poésy played the half-Veela, half-human Fleur Delacour in three films.Poésy, 43, has appeared in more than one iconic property — besides "Potter," she had a small arc during season four of "Gossip Girl" as Chuck's French girlfriend Eva, and she was in the 2020 Christopher Nolan film "Tenet."Poésy also starred in the Apple TV+ miniseries "The Essex Serpent" alongside Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes. From 2023 to 2024, she played Isabelle in "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon."Up next is another Apple TV+ series, "Neuromancer," set for 2027, which also stars Callum Turner, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Emma Laird, and Briana Middleton.So, what she lacks in social media (141,000 Instagram followers), she has made up for with parts in prestige projects — she also appeared in "127 Hours" and "In Bruges" in between her "Potter" films. 9. Katie Leung Katie Leung. Mike Marsland/WireImage/Getty Images Katie Leung played Cho Chang in five films, starting with "Goblet of Fire."It's taken Leung, 39, a few years, but she's seriously poised to become one of the more successful members of the "Potter" cast.In the past few years, she's appeared in "T2: Trainspotting," the Prime Video series "The Peripheral" and "The Wheel of Time," and the BBC series "Nightsleeper."Leung also had a voice role in the Netflix animated series "Arcane," which is part of the "League of Legends" universe. It wrapped its two-season run in 2024.Of course, her largest role to date was playing the villainous Lady Araminta in season four of "Bridgerton," introducing her to a whole new generation of fans.She also has an impressive 548,000 followers on Instagram.It's only up from here for Leung, although she did not return for the 20th-anniversary special. 8. Alfred Enoch Alfred Enoch. Dave Benett/Getty Images Alfred Enoch's run on "How to Get Away with Murder" was popular enough that there's a significant number of people who know him better as Wes Gibbins than Dean Thomas. The Emmy-winning show, which wrapped up its six-season run in May 2020, puts him in the upper echelon of "Potter" child stars.The 37-year-old continued his TV success in the Apple TV+ series "Foundation," which costars Jared Harris and Lee Pace. He was on the first two seasons.In 2025, he appeared in the BBC/PBS series "Miss Austen," and earlier this year, he starred in the Netflix miniseries "Run Away," based on the Harlan Coben book of the same name.Enoch was one of two fellow Gryffindors from Harry's year who returned for the special, though he didn't have a huge part. 7. Freddie Stroma Freddie Stroma. Desiree Navarro/WireImage/Getty Images Freddie Stroma played the annoying Cormac McLaggen for three films.Yes, Stroma's appearance in "Bridgerton" bumped him up a few spots — how could it not? It was a major hit, and he played a literal prince.But the 39-year-old has been steadily acting for years outside "Bridgerton." He starred in "Unreal," had a role in "Pitch Perfect" (No. 2 phenomenon), and appeared in an episode of "Game of Thrones" (the third phenomenon he's been involved with to date). A fourth came in 2022: He plays Adrian Chase, aka Vigilante, in the HBO Max series "Peacemaker," a spin-off focusing on John Cena's character from "The Suicide Squad." Season two premiered last year, and DCU chief James Gunn has hinted we'll see more of Adrian in the future.He also starred in "Time After Time" as HG Wells and starred in "The Crew," a Kevin James-led sitcom on Netflix, which was canceled in 2021. 6. Tom Felton Tom Felton. Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images While Felton, 38, is still best known for Draco Malfoy, he's been able to capitalize on that in a way few other "Potter" stars have.Whenever he posts a throwback from the set, it makes headlines. It's helped him gain a massive 11.7 million Instagram followers and 2.8 million X followers.Felton still acts, though — he had a sweet arc on "The Flash" as Julian, appeared as Laertes in "Ophelia," and has been in other indie films over the past decade.This year, he appeared in the horror film "They Will Kill You."But most famously, he returned to the stage role of Draco in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" in November 2025, and has extended his run until January 2027 due to popular demand. Per Playbill, since he joined, "Cursed Child" has "consistently been among Broadway's highest-grossing shows."In 2022, Felton published his memoir "Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard," which was a New York Times bestseller.Felton was also a large part of the 20th-anniversary special, sharing anecdotes about shooting scenes with his on-screen dad, Jason Isaacs; remembering his on-screen mother, Helen McCrory, who died in 2021; and even talking about his special bond with Emma Watson. 5. Harry Melling Harry Melling. Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for BFI Harry Melling is unrecognizable from his days as Dudley Dursley. You might've seen him in "The Queen's Gambit" and not even realized.Melling, 37, has become quite the actor since leaving "Potter" behind. After his last appearance in "Deathly Hallows Part 1," he's appeared in "The Lost City of Z," "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," "His Dark Materials," "The Old Guard," "The Devil All the Time," "The Queen's Gambit," "The Tragedy of Macbeth," and "The Pale Blue Eye," among other projects — a very impressive résumé for someone who used to be known as the annoying, evil cousin.Melling also costarred with Alexander Skarsgård in the romantic comedy "Pillion," which won a best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival last year, so it's safe to say we'll only be hearing more from him. We're especially excited to see him act opposite Jodie Comer in the coming film "Stuffed." We only got a glimpse of him in old footage in the reunion. 4. Rupert Grint Rupert Grint. Dave Benett/Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/WireImage/Getty Images Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, is most successful in his native country of England.The 38-year-old hasn't appeared in many films since the saga ended, but he has been successful on TV. He starred in (and executive produced) the Crackle series "Snatch" alongside the future "Bridgerton" star Phoebe Dynevor and the "Skins" heartthrob Luke Pasqualino.He also starred in the Apple TV+ series "Servant," which the horror icon M. Night Shyamalan produced, from 2019 to 2023. He teamed up with Shyamalan for his 2023 film, "A Knock at the Cabin," too.Later this year, he'll appear in the latest retelling of "A Christmas Carol," called "Ebenezer," starring Johnny Depp as the titular character. Grint will play Bob Cratchit.In 2027, he'll once again become Ron Weasley — he's playing the character on Broadway in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child."He joined Instagram in 2020 and now has over 5.2 million followers.During the anniversary special, Grint shared that he actually thought about quitting the movies, as did Emma Watson, because of the pressures of fame.Fun fact for 2010s teens: Grint has been in a relationship with Georgia Groome of "Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging" since 2011. They have two children together. 3. Emma Watson Emma Watson. Arnold Jerocki/GC Images/Getty Images Emma Watson, 36, went from "Harry Potter" to a Disney princess in the live-action "Beauty and the Beast," an infamous criminal in "Bling Ring," a beloved manic pixie dream girl in "Perks of Being a Wallflower," and the eldest March sister in "Little Women," among other roles.She also graduated from Brown University, was appointed a UN Goodwill Ambassador, launched the HeForShe campaign, is part of the G7, and has done extensive modeling.Her impact will still be felt around the world, whether or not she retires from acting — her Instagram has a staggering 70.9 million followers.It's no wonder she almost quit the series, as she revealed in the special. 2. Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Radcliffe. Jamie McCarthy/WireImage/Getty Images Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter himself, has become quite the actor since leaving Hogwarts.He's shied away from big-budget films, instead focusing on bonkers films such as "Guns Akimbo," "Swiss Army Man," and the interactive finale of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." He also appeared in the magical film "Now You See Me 2," in which he pointedly is not a magician.He starred in the TBS anthology series "Miracle Workers" from 2019 to 2023 — a clip of Radcliffe performing "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" in drag went viral in 2020.In 2022, Radcliffe co-starred with Channing Tatum, Brad Pitt, and Sandra Bullock in "The Lost City" and played Weird Al Yankovic in the biopic "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story."He's now starring in the breakout NBC sitcom "The Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins." Later this year, he'll voice the Prince in Netflix's animated retelling of "Cinderella," called "Steps." Amanda Seyfried will voice Cinderella.The 37-year-old has also had a successful theater career. He famously starred in "Equus" and the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," which earned him a Grammy nod. He also has two Drama Desk nominations under his belt, and in 2024, he won a Tony for his performance in the revival of "Merrily We Roll Along." He received another Tony nom in 2026 for "Every Brilliant Thing."Radcliffe, of course, had lots of screen time in the reunion, having special moments with not only Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, but also with Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter (whom he had a crush on), and director Chris Columbus. 1. Robert Pattinson Robert Pattinson. Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images Robert Pattinson, who appeared only in "Goblet of Fire," is easily the most successful child star to come out of "Harry Potter."Pattinson, who does not have an Instagram account, spun his one-movie role into the leading man of one of the other biggest franchises of the 2010s: "Twilight." Today, he's the most successful star from that franchise, too.After a decade of distancing himself from big blockbusters by starring in films like "Good Time" and "The Lighthouse," Pattinson, 40, officially had his mainstream comeback. He starred in "Tenet," "The King," and is Batman, for crying out loud.And it's only up from here for Pattinson.This year has been the biggest for his career so far, kicking it off with "The Drama," then going straight into one of the biggest movies of 2026, "The Odyssey." He's already been meme-ified from the trailer for "Primetime," the film about Chris Hansen and "To Catch a Predator," which comes out this fall, and he's wrapping up 2026 by costarring in "Dune: Part Three." It's the year of RPattz!There's no one else who compares, honestly. Read next Gabbi Shaw is a reporter on Business Insider's editorial partnerships team. She covers entertainment, travel, food, and lifestyle for Business Insider, and Insider Inc.'s partners, including MSN, Apple News, and Yahoo.She graduated from Tulane University in 2017 with a degree in public health and now lives in New York City. She can be reached on X or LinkedIn.Please send all inquiries, comments, or tips to gshaw@businessinsider.com.Selected stories:I traveled from New York City to Disney World and back in 24 hours. It was exhausting, but I saved hundreds of dollars.I tried $5 value meals from McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. 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