David Holmes The Boy Who Lived Review Heartbreaking Yet Triumphant Tale Of Paralysed Harry Potter Stuntman

Harry Potter is one of the biggest cultural phenomenons in recent history. Like most millennials, I have fond memories of queueing in line at midnight, sweaty-palmed, for the latest book; of dressing up with friends to go to the cinema or having Potter-themed birthday parties, to the acute exasperation of our parents. Controversies aside, it’s a source of treasured memories for many. How shameful, then, that more people don’t know the story of David Holmes. In 2009, David – the stunt double for Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry in all the films – was rehearsing for the seventh instalment at London’s Pinewood Studios when a stunt went horribly wrong. Holmes was attached to a rig for a ‘jerk back’, that should have sent him flying into a wall. Instead, he hit it far too hard, and broke his neck. These days, he is a wheelchair user, and is determined to tell his story. “I used to fly, man,” Holmes says. “Yeah, not so much anymore.”The resulting HBO/ Sky documentary is probably one of the most moving pieces of television produced this year. Produced in collaboration with Daniel Radcliffe – who is still good friends with Holmes, and who flexed his celebrity muscle to get it greenlit – The Boy Who Lived is a celebration of Holmes’ life, and of the Harry Potter family that rallied around him after his accident.