Top > Entertainment > 2006 > August > 2006-08-31

Daniel Radcliffe, `Harry Potter` Star, in a TV Movie

According to an entertainment TV network, Daniel Radcliffe, the famous "Harry Potter" star, will play the son of Rudyard Kipling in a television movie about the author. John Kipling died in World War I, and Nick Elliott, head of drama at the entertainment network, said the Iraq war would be part of the subtext of "My Boy Jack," which will begin filming next year.

Radcliffe, 17, who played boy wizard Harry Potter in the blockbuster entertainment film series based on J.K. Rowling`s books says: "For many people my age, the first world war is just a topic in a history book. But I`ve always been fascinated by the subject and think it`s as relevant today as it ever was, with young men still sacrificing their lives in the name of war. I can`t even begin to imagine what it must have been like in the trenches, living amongst the stench of death and knowing that any moment may be your last. But I think it`s important we try to imagine the horrors these young men experienced and to never forget them."

Kipling helped his son get into the military so he could fight in the trenches despite his poor eyesight. After John Kipling died at the Battle of Loos in 1915, Rudyard Kipling wrote: "If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied."