The Boy Who Lived

As Harry Potter's stunt double, David Holmes's amazing gymnastic skills saw him earn onscreen immortality. He was the first-ever person to play Quidditch on a broomstick; he dodged dragon's fire and dove deep into the Great Lake, without any gillyweed to protect him.

Life on set was an adventure. He and Daniel Radcliffe became like brothers, and the cast and crew a second family. Then tragedy struck. During the making of Deathly Hallows Part 1 a stunt went badly wrong and David's spinal cord snapped. He was only 25 and would never walk again.

Sixteen years later, the pain can still be excruciating, his muscles are wasting, and he requires round-the-clock care. His future may seem bleak, but David has accepted his new reality, with all the different possibilities, purposes and powerful human connections that have come with it. This candid and inspiring story shares his life before and after, showing us the importance of making the most of every day, and the good that can come out of even the worst of circumstances.

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.

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