Daniel Radcliffe Once Claimed to Be Crushing on Helena Bonham Carter - He Has Been Dating Erin Darke for 9 Years

"Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe might be over 20 years younger than his costar Helena Bonham Carter, but he was so in love with her that he gave her a love letter.

Millennials grew up with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and the rest of the "Harry Potter" cast. It's been 20 years since the first film's debut, and the actors are celebrating the milestone with an emotional reunion.

"Return to Hogwarts" will premiere on HBO Max on January 1, 2022, and it will shed light on everything from first kisses to Radcliffe's crush on Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange). Read on and check Radcliffe's love letter to Carter.

MAGICAL REUNION

Radcliffe's life changed at age 11 when he was cast as the title character in "Harry Potter," an orphaned boy born with magic powers destined to face evil in the wizarding world.

In real life, Radcliffe was just a boy entering his teenage years. He admitted during the reunion that every part of his life was connected to the film and Leavesden, the Warner Bros. studio where they shot each movie.

In later films, Radcliffe and Grint (Ron Weasley) had to grow their hair out to look shaggy, but they hated it. Radcliffe joked:

"We're supposed to be becoming teenagers and dating girls in this film! That's not what it's going to be, is it?' So, I think we were pretty devastated as we realized that it was."

Apart from Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson (Hermione Granger), other former cast members like Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), and Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) were also part of the meeting.

Watson admitted to being overwhelmed with emotion, especially because she had not seen some of her costars in years. Grint pointed out they would always be family.

Although Radcliffe didn't have a chance with Carter, he found love while filming the final "Harry Potter" films.

Oldman described the reunion as a "weird experience." When he met the younger actors, they were just kids. Now, some of them are married and raising children.

J. K. Rowling, the mastermind behind the wizarding world, was not part of the meeting. Still, she will appear in archive footage. She has been in the eye of the storm lately for her opinions on transgender issues.

LOVE ON THE "HARRY POTTER" SET

Although Radcliffe didn't say any names in the teaser trailer, he confessed he kissed someone for the first time at Leavesden, and his first girlfriends were also part of the "Harry Potter" family.

One of the things Radcliffe revealed was his crush on Carter, who joined the cast in the fifth installment of the film series, "The Order of the Phoenix."

Radcliffe fell in love with the English actress despite their age gap (she is 23 years his senior) and even gave her a love letter. He wrote:

"It was a pleasure being your costar and coaster in the sense that I always ended up holding your coffee."

After Radcliffe embarrassingly laughed at the content of his letter, Carter encouraged him to keep reading. He then said he loved her and wished he had been born ten years earlier to have a chance with her.

Radcliffe was not the only person falling in love on the "Harry Potter" set. He described the fourth movie, "The Goblet of Fire," as "peak hormone," suggesting that many cast members dated during that time.

He pointed out that people dated and broke up just like they would do in school. It was the same environment but in a "Defense Against the Dark Arts class," he joked.

Watson confessed she was in love with Tom Felton, who portrayed Harry's enemy Draco Malfoy, but it is unclear if they dated. She and Radcliffe used to exchange dating advice, especially when texting other people.

[Radcliffe and Darke] have dealt with marriage rumors a few times.

RADCLIFFE'S DATING HISTORY

Although Radcliffe didn't have a chance with Carter, he found love while filming the last "Harry Potter" film, "The Deathly Hallows." The lucky one was Rosie Coker, a member of the production team.

In 2012, he revealed he had been dating Coker for about a year. The actor described her as intelligent, kind, loving, and not crazy. He added that everything seemed better when they were together.

Radcliffe said he didn't like going on dates because he was terrible at it. He met his previous girlfriends through work and never went on dates.

His relationship with Coker didn't stand the test of time, and later in 2012, he started dating American actress Erin Darke. Born in September 1984, Darke began to work in the entertainment industry in the late 2000s with minor roles in short films and TV series.

She started attracting more attention in the mid-2010 with appearances in "Love & Mercy," "Don't Think Twice," and "Good Girls Revolt." In 2018, she landed a part in the TV series "Dietland" and worked on the Emmy-winning series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

Radcliffe and Darke met while working together in the 2013 film "Kill Your Darlings." He portrayed writer Allen Ginsburg, and she played his love interest, Gwendolyn. The actor said:

"Our characters are meeting and flirting with each other, so there is this kind of sweet record of us just meeting for the first time and flirting."

One of the first things the lovebirds bonded over was their love for acting. Darke admitted that being with someone who "innately" understood her was beautiful and added that they supported their careers.

They have been in a relationship for almost ten years, so they have dealt with marriage rumors a few times. Darke confessed she spent an entire week telling friends and family that they would learn from her if she married Radcliffe.

The actor added that some news outlets have mistakenly reported their marriage and even included Grint and Watson. Grint is his best man in their fictional wedding, and Watson is the maid of honor.

Nowadays, Grint is the only one of the three main "Harry Potter" stars raising a child. He and his girlfriend, "Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging" actress Georgia Groome, welcomed a girl named Wednesday in May 2020. Time flies!