The Boy Who Lived: When Magic and Reality Collide: my story, with a foreword by Daniel Radcliffe

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David Holmes

The Boy Who Lived

When Magic and Reality Collide: my story, with a foreword by Daniel Radcliffe

David Holmes

$55

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Hodder & Stoughton
14 November 2024

Films, movies & cinema; Biography: arts & entertainment; Memoirs; Disability: social aspects

As stunt double to Daniel Radcliffe in the Harry Potter film franchise, stuntman David Holmes helped to move J.K. Rowling's era-defining story from the page to the big screen. His work as a real-life Fall Guy enabled him to create some of the most memorable action sequences in the Wizarding World, as he became the first person ever to play Quidditch. In living his own hero's journey, David was also one of only a handful of people to have worn the iconic wizard's cape, glasses and scar in front of the cameras.

That is, until an accident changed his life forever.

During the making of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, David broke his neck in a stunt rehearsal and was instantly paralysed. From talented junior gymnast and stunt prodigy to fully qualified Hollywood stuntman, his story is a brutally honest portrait of a man who lost everything but found different ways to reimagine new possibilities with love, friendship and optimism - and he later co-created a BAFTA-nominated documentary about his life. David's behind-the-scenes look at one of the biggest film series of all time is both jaw-dropping and hilarious.

Powerful and emotional, his is a story of hope and vulnerability and paints a picture of what it truly takes to rebuild a life and become The Boy Who Lived.

By: David Holmes
Imprint: Hodder & Stoughton
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 238mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 460g
ISBN: 9781399738811
ISBN 10: 139973881X
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 14 November 2024
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

David Holmes was born in Essex and trained as a competitive gymnast from the age of 6. He began his stuntman career in Lost in Space and was 14 when he first started as Harry Potter's stunt double in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released in 2001. Ten years later, he was working on his seventh Harry Potter film, aged 25, when a stunt went badly wrong and he became paralysed. He has been severely disabled now for 14 years. Still strongly supported by his friendships with the Harry Potter team, he has hosted his own podcast Cunning Stunts since 2020 and has even taken up automobile racing. He lives in Essex.