UK actor Daniel Radcliffe has been cast as Harry Potter in Warner Bros' Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone, scotching rumours over the weekend that fellow Brit Gabriel Thomson had clinched the role.

11-year-old Radcliffe recently played young David in the BBC's David Copperfield and also features in John Boorman's The Tailor Of Panama. Joining him in the cast as Harry's best friends are newcomers Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.

The film is scheduled to start shooting in October with Chris Columbus directing and David Heyman producing. The adaptation is written by Steve Kloves.

Rumours that an American actor would bag the part of Harry caused a stir amongst UK fans of JK Rowling's series of novels. The cast is now expected to be mostly British and actors such as Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall are all in talks to star.