S omewhere behind that lion’s mane of hair, wiry beard, and thick South African accent lies Daniel Radcliffe. In Escape from Pretoria, he’s thrown himself so deep into the role of an anti-apartheid activist planning a daring prison escape that he’s practically unrecognisable. Guns Akimbo, released later this year, will see him run around in a bathrobe and huge slippers designed to look like tiger feet, with two guns bolted to his hands. Any memory of the boy wizard he once was has officially been left for dust.

All actors struggle to free themselves from the gluttonous jaws of typecasting, but for a former child star swept up in a major franchise to have done it? That’s like defeating Goliath blindfolded and with your hands tied behind your back. And yet, while Radcliffe’s career so far has been impressive, it’s not exactly unique. In the early Noughties, Hollywood was gripped by an enthusiasm for fantasy franchises, where pretty much every male lead was scrawny and pale-faced. Elijah Wood slipped on a pair of hobbit feet to play Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, while Robert Pattinson co-starred with Radcliffe in the Goblet of Fire before taking on the role of Twilight’s sparkly, sentimental bloodsucker Edward Cullen. Suddenly, the biggest films in the world were being fronted by actors who didn’t boast the same broad appeal of a, say, Brad Pitt or Keanu Reeves.