9. Daniel Radcliffe - Equus
Daniel Radcliffe is, for most people not currently living under rocks, synonymous with Harry Potter, the bespectacled boy wizard famous throughout the world. But credit to him, he's been working very hard since his teen years to make sure that's not all he's known for. Well aware of the fate usually awaiting you actors who become swallowed by such iconic roles, he has consistently chosen projects to challenge perceptions of him. But he shocked audiences everywhere in 2007 when he took on the leading role in a West End production of Equus. Then only seventeen years old, he drew controversy for his performance of the deeply disturbed Alan Strang, which featured significant full frontal nudity for Radcliffe, as well as the heavy emotional content involving Strang's penchant for blinding horses. The production received good reviews and eventually had a run on Broadway, but most significantly, it signaled to the world that Dan Radcliffe wasn't going to be content simply being known as Harry Potter.