When they said goodbye to the Harry Potter films, Daniel Radcliffeand Rupert Grint expressed fears that their adult careers would fail to launch.
They need not have worried. The former child stars were both named winners at the Whatsonstage Awards last night for their most recent theatre roles, and were reunited at the ceremony to toast each other's success.
Radcliffe, 24, won the prize for Best Actor in a Play for his performance inThe Cripple of Inishmaan, Martin McDonagh's black comedy about a bullied, disabled young man who dreams of Hollywood stardom.
Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the Potter films, was named Newcomer of the Year for his portrayal of a 1950s Soho drug dealer in Jez Butterworth's Mojo.
The 25-year-old was inspired to make his stage debut after speaking to Radcliffe. "Dan has always said it's a great thing to do and he absolutely loves it. Just watching him enjoy it told me it must be quite fun," he said.
Radcliffe is now an old hand at theatre, having made his West End debut in 2007 when he played the lead in Equus. He is also building a post-Potter film and television career with roles in The Woman in Black, Kill Your Darlings and the Sky series A Young Doctor's Notebook.
The winners of the Whatsonstage Awards are chosen by the public, and the Potter stars retain an enormous following. But the roles were also critically acclaimed, with the Telegraph describing Radcliffe's performance as officially marking "his metamorphosis from film star into proper, grown-up stage actor". Grint was applauded for his "stunning" and "superbly comic" turn.
The Cripple of Inishmaan will now transfer to Broadway. Radcliffe said he was "deeply honoured" to win the award and called the production "a truly joyous experience for me as an actor".
Radcliffe's win was one of four for the Michael Grandage Company, which launched in 2012. Grandage himself won Best Director for his sell-out season at the Noel Coward Theatre, which also included Jude Law asHenry V.
A Midsummer Night's Dream won Best Shakespearean Production and David Walliams, who played Bottom, won Best Supporting Actor in a Play.
The star power assembled by Grandage helped to bring in over 100,000 first-time theatregoers.
Dame Helen Mirren was named Best Actress in a Play for her role as the Queen in Peter Morgan's The Audience. The production was also awarded Best New Play and won Best Supporting Actress for Haydn Gwynne, who played Baroness Thatcher.
The production made headlines last year when Dame Helen came out in full costume to remonstrate with a band of drummers who were noisily performing in the street outside.
She could not attend the ceremony but said in a recorded acceptance speech: "I'm so thrilled to receive this. I'm honoured that it was voted for by the public - that's the most wonderful thing."
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