2. David Copperfield (TV, 1999)
Whenever Daniel Radcliffe has a new film coming out, the reviews and interviews are bound to reference or compare his work in Harry Potter. Like a promising actor being dubbed the new Laurence Olivier, it is both a blessing and a curse, and so far he seems to be taking it pretty well. But it's worth remembering that the boy wizard was not where this young man started his increasingly illustrious career. We have Dickens to thank for that as well. David Copperfield follows the titular character from his birth and troubled childhood through to adult life and the birth of his own children. Having never known his father, his younger days are dominated by bad experiences of other men, including his stepfather Edward Murdstone and his abusive schoolmaster Mr. Creakle. After being taken in by his great-aunt Betsy Trotwood, he resumes his studies and falls in love, but the family soon fall foul of the villainous Uriah Heep... Much like Little Dorrit, David Copperfield is a veritable triumph on its casting alone. Radcliffe acquits himself very well alongside several of his future Potter colleagues, including Zoe Wanamaker and Maggie Smith. There are also very fine performances by Bob Hoskins as the eternally optimistic Wilkins Micawber and Nicholas 'Rodney' Lyndhurst as Heep. It's also beautifully directed by Simon Curtis, who went on to helm Cranford and My Week with Marilyn.