Radcliffe made his film debut in The Tailor of Panama , an American 2001 film based on John le Carré 's 1996 spy novel , and a moderate commercial success . In 2002 he made his stage debut as a celebrity guest in a West End theatre production of The Play What I Wrote , directed by Kenneth Branagh – who also appeared with him in the second Harry Potter film . In 2007 he appeared in the film December Boys , an Australian family drama about four orphans that was shot in 2005 and released to theatres in mid @-@ September 2007 . Also in 2007 , Radcliffe co @-@ starred with Carey Mulligan in My Boy Jack , a television drama film shown on ITV on Remembrance Day . The film received mostly positive reviews , with several critics praising Radcliffe 's performance as an 18 @-@ year @-@ old who goes missing in action during a battle . Radcliffe stated , " For many people my age , the First World War is just a topic in a history book . But I 've always been fascinated by the subject and think it 's as relevant today as it ever was . "