In between Harry Potter films, the Boy Wizard himself, Daniel Radcliffe, made his professional stage debut at 17 in Peter Shaffer’s Equus in the West End and on Broadway, earning a Drama Desk Award. Since then, he has played Broadway leading men including J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, the title character in The Cripple of Inishmaan, and Charley Kringas in Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, winning his first Tony Award.

In 2026, he returns to Broadway in Every Brilliant Thing, an interactive monologue by Duncan Macmillan about grief and living life to the fullest.

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Tom Felton is having a full-circle moment. After playing a young Draco Malfoy currently in the Potter films, he's now making his Broadway debut as the adult Draco in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. He previously appeared in the thriller 2:22 A Ghost Story in the West End.

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The late Maggie Smith’s (Minerva McGonagall) stage career began in 1952 and was one of the most celebrated of the 20th century. She made her Broadway debut in 1956 and joined the National Theatre Company under Laurence Olivier’s leadership in 1962 — she was allegedly the only actor who could best him in a battle of wits.

Smith was one of a select group of actors to have won the “Triple Crown” of acting (an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony). Her final stage appearance was in Christopher Hampton’s A German Life in 2019, five years before her death at age 89.

Known for his extraordinary voice and intense presence, Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) worked as a graphic designer before becoming an actor, making his stage debut in the mid-1970s. He starred as the Vicomte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which transferred to Broadway and earned him his first Tony nomination. His second was for Private Lives in 2002.

He also directed and edited the verbatim play My Name is Rachel Corrie and directed August Strindberg’s Creditors. Rickman’s final stage appearance before his 2016 death was in Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar on Broadway in 2011.

Richard Harris is widely known for playing Albus Dumbledore in the first two Potter installments before his death in 2002. He made numerous stage appearances in the 1950s, including as Louis in the London premiere of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. He returned to the stage as King Arthur in the musical Camelot in the 1980s, whom he first played in the 1967 film version. His final stage appearance was in the title role of Henry IV in 1990.

After Harris's death, Dumbledore was played by Michael Gambon, a highly experienced stage actor who began his career in Dublin in 1962 before being mentored by Laurence Olivier at London’s National Theatre. He was particularly celebrated for his performance as Eddie in A View from the Bridge at the National in 1988, and he was nominated for a Tony for David Hare’s Skylight in 1997. He was also renowned for his performances in the works of Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter. Gambon died in 2023 at 82.

He'll always be known as Ron Weasley, but Rupert Grint has also played a few different roles on stage. He made his West End and Broadway debuts back to back, in 2013's Mojo and 2014's It's Only a Play, respectively.

Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart) has had a prolific career as a theatre and film actor-director, specializing in Shakespeare. He made his West End debut the modern classic Another Country in 1982 and he joined in the Royal Shakespeare Company two years later. His signature roles include the title roles in Hamlet and Henry V and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. He most recently played the title role in King Lear in the West End and in 2026 will star as Prospero in The Tempest and Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard for the RSC.

He has also directed and starred in film adaptations of the Shakespeare plays Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Hamlet, and As You Like It, earning Oscar nominations for Henry V and Hamlet.

While better known as an Oscar, BAFTA, and Emmy-winning dramatic screen actress, Emma Thompson (Sybil Trelawney) starred as Sally Smith in the 1984 West End production of the musical comedy Me and My Girl. She returned to musicals as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd at Lincoln Center in 2014.

While married to fellow Harry Potter actor Kenneth Branagh, Thompson also starred in his film adaptations of the Shakespeare plays Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing.

It’s possible that Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) does more theatre work than many other movie stars. Highlights include his many years playing numerous leads for the RSC, his Tony-winning Hamlet, and memorable performances in plays by Chekhov, Ibsen, Shaw, and more.

He last appeared on the NYC stage in 2022's Straight Line Crazy, reprising a London performance. In 2026, he plays Victorian-era actor Henry Irving in David Hare’s play Grace Pervades in the West End.

Julie Walters (Molly Weasley) rose to fame in Willy Russell’s play Educating Rita, which she reprised in the 1983 film adaptation. Her other stage credits include All My Sons (for which she won an Olivier), Acorn Antiques: The Musical, and, most recently, The Last of the Haussmans at the National Theatre in 2012. And of course, her performance as Rosie in the Mamma Mia! movie musicals is iconic among theatre fans.

David Tennant (Barty Crouch Jr.) began his stage career in his native Scotland in the 1990s. In 2008, at the height of his Doctor Who fame, he played Hamlet and Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost for the RSC. Subsequent London Shakespeare credits include Much Ado About Nothing, Richard II, and Macbeth.

Aside from playing fan-favorite werewolf Remus Lupin in Harry Potter, David Threlfall has earned stage accolades in both the U.S. and U.K. In London, he won an Olivier Award for Nicholas Nickleby and was later nominated for Someone Who'll Watch Over Me. On Broadway, he earned a Tony nomination for Martin McDonagh's Hangmen. He's appeared in over 30 total stage shows in various countries.

Evanna Lynch’s (Luna Lovegood) credits include Enda Walsh’s Disco Pigs in the West End and off Broadway, as well as the premiere of Tim Edge’s Under the Black Rock at East London's Arcola Theatre in 2023.

Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge) is a stage legend. She made her London debut in Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre in 1982 and is a five-time Olivier Award winner (of 14 nominations) for her London theatre work: A Chorus of Disapproval/The Corn is Green, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, and Hello, Dolly! She notably appeared opposite her real-life daughter Bessie Carter in George Bernard Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession in the West End.

Gary Oldman (Sirius Black) made his stage debut in 1979 at York Theatre Royal, where he returned in 2025 to star in Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape and reprises the role at the Royal Court in 2026. In the 1980s, he played Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and the Emcee in Cabaret for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Aside from his Potter role as Vernon Dursley, the late Richard Griffiths is best known for originating his signature role of schoolmaster Hector in Alan Bennett’s The History Boys, which earned him Olivier and Tony Awards. He also played the poet W. H. Auden in Bennett’s The Habit of Art (as a replacement for Potter co-star Michael Gambon).

Griffiths starred opposite his onscreen nephew Daniel Radcliffe in Equus in the West End and on Broadway, and his final stage appearance was in The Sunshine Boys in 2012.

Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley) won an Olivier Award in 1990 for her performances in Electra, As You Like It, and The Good Person of Szechwan, and she was nominated for a Tony in 2003 for Medea. She most recently appeared on Broadway in 2013's The Testament of Mary.

Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley) made his debut in Mother Courage and Her Children at the National Theatre in 2009 alongside his onscreen mother from the Harry Potter series, Fiona Shaw. He has also appeared in The School for Scandal, I Am a Camera, and King Lear.

Best known to Potter fans as Madame Hooch, Zoë Wanamaker is a two-time Olivier Award winner (for Once in a Lifetime and Electra) and a four-time Tony nominee (for Piaf, Loot, Electra, and Awake and Sing!). She was most recently seen on Broadway in 2023's Pictures from Home opposite Nathan Lane and Danny Burstein.

Geraldine Somerville (Lily Potter) made her professional debut as Laura in The Glass Menagerie in 1989, and she recently toured the U.K. in the same play as Amanda. She has also worked at the Royal Court Theatre and the National Theatre.

Adrian Rawlins (James Potter) has worked at the National Theatre on several occasions, and he served as artistic director of the East Riding Theatre in Yorkshire.

Toby Jones (the voice of Dobby) played the title role in Uncle Vanya in the West End in 2020. In fall 2025, he returned to the London stage as Iago in Othello.

Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle) began her theatrical career in her native Scotland. Later, in London, she originated the role of Elizabeth Laine in the Bob Dylan musical Girl from the North Country in 2017, winning an Olivier Award the next year.

Miriam Margolyes (Pomona Sprout) has worked extensively in U.K. and Australia theatre; her credits include being the original Madame Morrible in the West End production of Wicked. She is also known for performing Charles Dickens-themed solo shows.

Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) began his career with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the late 1970s. He most recently appeared on stage in Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker in London in 2016.

Kathryn Hunter (Arabella Figg) is known for her distinctive physical theatre work. She was the first female actor to play King Lear professionally in Britain and won an Olivier in 1991 for Friedrich Dürrenmatt's The Visit. In 2025, she starred in Rajiv Joseph’s Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo in London, replacing fellow Harry Potter actor David Threlfall.

Jim Broadbent’s (Horace Slughorn) credits include the original production of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good and Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman. He most recently appeared on stage in 2018 as Hans Christian Andersen in McDonagh’s A Very Very Very Dark Matter at London’s Bridge Theatre.

Broadbent is also known for playing Harold Zidler in Baz Luhrmann's movie musical Moulin Rouge!, now globally successful as a stage musical.

Bill Nighy’s (Rufus Scrimgeour) London theatre credits include the original production of David Hare’s Pravda and Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. Most recently, he starred in Hare’s Skylight in the West End and on Broadway from 2014-15.

Katie Leung (Cho Chang) played author Jung Chang in the stage adaptation of her memoir Wild Swans at London's Young Vic and has worked at the Royal Court and Royal Shakespeare Company. She starred in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s The Comeuppance at the Almeida Theatre in 2024.

Brendan Gleeson (Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody) has appeared in numerous productions in Ireland, and he made his West End debut in an acclaimed London revival of The Weir in 2025.

Harry Potter is a family affair: Brendan Gleeson's real-life son, Domnhall Gleeson, played Bill Weasley in the franchise. Domnhall earned a Tony Award nomination in 2006 for The Lieutenant of Inishmore on Broadway, reprising his role from London. He also appeared in Enda Walsh's Medicine on both sides of the pond and performed in multiple plays in his native Dublin.

Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) toured the U.K. in Agatha Christie’s Verdict and appeared in Jonathan Lewis’s military drama Our Boys in London's West End.

Helen McCrory’s (Narcissa Malfoy) major roles included an Olivier-nominated Rosalind in As You Like It, the title role in Medea, and Hester in The Deep Blue Sea at the National Theatre. She died at 51 in 2023.

Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas) has played Ken in John Logan’s Red in the West End, Romeo at Shakespeare’s Globe and, most recently, the title role in in Pericles for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Simon McBurney (the voice of Kreacher) is known for physical theatre as the founder and artistic director of the U.K.-based, internationally touring company Théâtre de Complicité.

Frances De La Tour (Madame Maxime) played Helena in Peter Brook’s renowned production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and won an Olivier in 1980 for Duet for One. She appeared with fellow Harry Potter star Richard Griffiths in Alan Bennett's The History Boys (as Mrs. Lintott) and The Habit of Art, and she most recently appeared on stage in Bennett’s People in 2012.

Roger Lloyd Pack’s (Barty Crouch Sr.) credits included the premieres of Harold Pinter’s One for the Road and Alan Bennett’s Kafka’s Dick. His final appearance was as Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night in 2012, two years before his death at 69.