Daniel Radcliffe Ranks the Harry Potter Movies — His Best and Worst Picks Will Divide Fans

So, Daniel Radcliffe—the 'boy who lived' himself—finally shared his personal ranking of the Harry Potter films. For a guy who spent his entire childhood and awkward teen years shooting this franchise, you'd assume he has some strong (or at least hilariously conflicted) feelings about each installment. Now, thanks to a podcast bracket challenge, we know which movies get his official thumbs up... and which one he’s, let's just say, less nostalgic about.

Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter Movie Rankings (Brace for Hot Takes)

Radcliffe dropped these rankings during an interview on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast. It was one of those bracket showdowns—think of it like March Madness, but for wizards—where every movie faces off until one winner stands at the end. Here’s how his picks shook out, along with a little commentary from the chosen one:

• Sorcerer's Stone vs. Chamber of Secrets: Daniel goes with Chamber of Secrets. Why? 'I love the Basilisk.' (Maybe a little monster love, can’t blame him.)
• Prisoner of Azkaban vs. Goblet of Fire: He admits everyone expects him to pick Cuaron’s beloved third entry, but he chooses Goblet of Fire because he got to do a bunch of cool stuff in that one. (Controversial, maybe, but he’s not wrong—dragons, baths, and unfortunately terrible haircuts.)
• Order of the Phoenix vs. Half-Blood Prince: Not even close for him. It’s Order of the Phoenix all the way. He actually puts Half-Blood Prince at the bottom of his list. To be clear, he doesn’t think it’s a bad film—he just doesn’t personally vibe with it as much.
• Deathly Hallows Part 2 (The Finale): When the brackets boiled down, Radcliffe landed on Deathly Hallows Part 2 as his all-time favorite. Big finale energy, I guess.
• In the final bracket round—Goblet of Fire vs. Deathly Hallows Part 2—it’s Part 2 for the win.

Embarrassment by Era: Young Harry vs. Teen Harry

Radcliffe’s relationship with these movies? It’s evolved a bit. Here’s a good summary from him—because who hasn’t felt at least some cringe looking back at their teenage self, especially if you had to do puberty on a film set:

'I would cringe watching the earlier films. Now I think the early films are sweet, and now I cringe watching myself when I was 18 or 19.'

So, he’s finally able to appreciate his dorky, tiny-wizard days, but the late-teens stuff? Less so. Relatable, really.

Where’s Daniel Radcliffe Now?

If you’re wondering what Hogwarts' most famous alumnus is up to these days, he recently starred in a sports mockumentary sitcom—yes, really—called The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. That one debuted on January 18, 2026. When he’s not sorting out his movie rankings, apparently he’s making fake documentaries about fictional athletes. Sure. Why not?