Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a press conference at the West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on April 14, 2026.
Andrej Ivanov | Afp | Getty Images
… %!s()
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday returned fire after Trump administration Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed Ottawa tanked trade talks with the U.S. for political purposes.
"I don't think, with all respect, appointed, unelected cabinet members in the United States are experts on Canadian politics," Carney said during a press conference in Thunder Bay in northwest Ontario.
"We are always going to stand up for what's in the best interest of Canada," Carney said, after accusing the U.S. of making different claims about their red lines for a trade deal now that negotiations have been scrapped.
But the prime minister maintained that a deal benefiting both Canada and the U.S. is possible. "We're ready to sit down and strike that deal when the Americans are ready," he said.
President Donald Trump later Thursday morning appeared less open to rekindling the U.S. and Canada's chilly relations, however.
"It is very good for Canadian Politicians like Prime Minister Carney to make President Donald J. Trump 'the enemy,' until their Economy collapses," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "Then it will prove to be very bad for Politics — Worse than anything that has ever happened to a Canadian Politician. Just watch!"
Carney was responding to Lutnick's claim on CNBC's "Squawk Box" a day earlier that the Canadians "blew up" a nearly complete trade deal with the U.S. "for political reasons only."
Canada treated President Donald Trump "disrespectfully," but they will change their tune after mid-October "because their elections will be behind them," Lutnick asserted.
Canada has upcoming special elections, or byelections, in a handful of ridings, or parliamentary districts.
Negotiators walked away from trade talks last month after failing to clinch a deal before Trump's Aug. 22 deadline for new 50% tariffs on some $20 billion worth of Canadian imports.
Canada has retaliated with "dollar for dollar" tariffs on U.S. goods, which are set to take effect next week.
Each side has accused the other of making unreasonable last-minute demands. Lutnick said Wednesday that Canada tried to add tariff relief on medium- and heavy-duty trucks just hours before Trump's tariff deadline. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has previously denied Carney's claim that Canadian French-language requirements were a sticking point in the trade talks.
Carney in Thursday's remarks pushed back. "There are a few issues that the United States was arguing right up to the last hour. Red lines weren't going to change ... 'our way or the highway, take it or leave it,' you know, attitude."
"All of a sudden they don't care about Canadian language or culture and those elements," Carney said, adding, "Good. We welcome that. We care about those issues."
On the dispute over trucks, Carney accused the U.S. of backtracking on its demands.
"They're like, 'Of course, we weren't going to keep them out.' Well, they were going to keep them out," he said. "Some of what they're saying now is different than what they were were drawing the line on." %!s()
You're currently following this author!
Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.
Dave M. Benett/Getty Images
…
"Harry Potter" is a phenomenon that endures, 29 years after "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was first published in the UK.
That book series has turned into a behemoth that contains theme parks, a studio tour, multiple giant stores, a VR experience, conventions, a Broadway play, reality shows, and more.
But at the center of that media giant are the eight theatrical films, which began with a group of preteen actors whose lives were completely transformed when they became pupils at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
And now, a new set of actors is taking the baton. HBO just released a new trailer for its "Harry Potter" series, which premieres on December 25.
Ahead of this new crew of child actors joining the Wizarding World, we've ranked the child stars from the original film series from least to most successful, taking into account factors such as subsequent film appearances, awards, and social media followings.
Keep scrolling to see how your favorite "Harry Potter" actor stacks up.
17. Chris Rankin
Chris Rankin.
C Flanigan/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Chris Rankin played the prefect Percy Weasley in four films. He now works behind the scenes.
Rankin, 42, has had a few minor acting credits since "Deathly Hallows Part 2," and he has 50,200 followers on Instagram.
But he's been credited as a production coordinator on successful shows like "Downton Abbey" and "A Discovery of Witches," so while he doesn't have the same level of traditional Hollywood success, he's been busy. He did not appear in the HBO Max reunion, "Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts," in 2022.
16. Devon Murray
Devon Murray.
Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage via Getty Images
Devon Murray played Seamus Finnigan in all eight movies, but he hasn't done much outside "Potter." In general, he seems to be more interested in crypto than acting.
Murray, 37, has only one movie appearance to his name after "Potter" ended in 2011, an uncredited role in 2018's "Damo & Ivor: The Movie." He also appeared in a 2017 music video for "Every Time You Need Me" by Simonna.
On the social media front, Murray has about 169,000 followers on Instagram and 235,800 on X, but overall, he is still known mostly for blowing stuff up as Seamus. He also did not appear in the HBO Max reunion.
15. Josh Herdman
Josh Herdman.
John Phillips/Getty Images for EA Sports
Josh Herdman played Goyle in all eight films, and he has continued to act.
Herdman, 38, is a professional MMA fighter as well as an actor. Since "Potter" ended, he's secured a few acting credits in the series "Marcella" and "Alex Rider" in 2020. He also appeared in the 2018 film "Robin Hood" starring Taron Egerton.
Most recently, he appeared in two episodes of "Andor" and two episodes of the Starz adaptation of "The Man Who Fell to Earth."
Herdman has fewer social-media followers than Murray (125,000 on Instagram), but his continued acting career and fighting career put him in front.
Herdman did not return for the reunion.
14. Oliver and James Phelps
Oliver Phelps and James Phelps.
Noam Galai/Getty Images
Oliver and James Phelps, who played the Weasley twins in all the films, are too much of a unit to separate.
The Phelps twins, 40, have sporadically continued to act together, rarely appearing in things without each other. While they haven't acted much since the end of the films, they've capitalized on their "Potter" fame, and each has over 2 million followers on Instagram (James has 2.4; Oliver has 2.3).
Their on-screen appearances include the 2021 psychological horror film "Last Night in Soho," directed by Edgar Wright. The two also appeared as themselves in the docuseries "The Cars That Made Britain Great" and are the hosts of the "Potter"-themed baking show, "Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking" on Food Network. Season three premieres this holiday season.
The twins also cohosted a podcast together, "Normal Not Normal," that saw them "talk to a star-studded selection of friends, colleagues, and personal heroes who stepped into the limelight at a young age, and find out what 'normal' means to them." It ended in 2023.
Of course, they also popped up at the opening of the new "Potter" theme park at Epic Universe in Orlando.
Hilariously, the Phelpses did appear in the HBO Max special, but their name labels were swapped.
13. Bonnie Wright
Bonnie Wright.
Jesse Grant/Getty Images for the Environmental Media Association
While Wright, 35, hasn't appeared in any blockbuster films lately, her clout has only grown since playing the youngest Weasley. In addition to the multiple indie films she's acted in ("The Sea," "After the Dark," "Before I Sleep"), she's also become a director and founded her own production company, BonBonLumiere. She also has a cool 3.7 million followers on Instagram.
Her directorial debut, a short called "Separate We Come, Separate We Go," starred her "Potter" costar David Thewlis and received positive reviews at its premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Most recently, she's focused on directing music videos.
She's been less busy since 2018, however, so we can't put her higher than some of her costars who are still working constantly. Wright had a small role in the "Potter" reunion in 2022.
12. Evanna Lynch
Evanna Lynch.
Antony Jones/Getty Images for Pimm’s
Evanna Lynch played the lovably loony Luna Lovegood for four films.
Lynch, 35, has found the most fame on social media — she has 3.6 million followers on Instagram — but she keeps busy with other projects as well. She hosted "The ChickPeeps Vegan Podcast" until 2023, and began a Substack in 2025 called "Penfriendship."
She also competed on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2018, finishing in third place. Acting-wise, she's appeared in a few indie films and did a play in Ireland this year, but her main focus seems to be on other ventures.
During the 2022 reunion, Lynch shared the fascinating story of how she was cast as Luna — for years, she was a pen pal of author JK Rowling.
11. Matthew Lewis
Matthew Lewis.
Scott Garfitt/BAFTA/Getty Images
Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom, is, of course, the man behind the phrase "Longbottoming," thanks to his drastic post-"Potter" glow-up — the cultural impact of that alone places him above some of his costars.
The 37-year-old is also still acting regularly, however. He appeared in the 2020 series "All Creatures Great and Small," as well as the 2024 series "Avoidance," "Ripper Street," "Happy Valley," "Me Before You," and even an episode of "Drunk History" are among his other credits. In 2026, he starred in the British series "The Fortune."
Lewis also hosted "The Official Leeds United Podcast" through 2024, and he has 2.2 million Instagram followers and 1.2 million X followers. He reunited with his fellow Hogwarts classmates during the HBO Max special.
10. Clémence Poésy
Clémence Poésy.
Marc Piasecki/WireImage/Getty Images
Clémence Poésy played the half-Veela, half-human Fleur Delacour in three films.
Poésy, 43, has appeared in more than one iconic property — besides "Potter," she had a small arc during season four of "Gossip Girl" as Chuck's French girlfriend Eva, and she was in the 2020 Christopher Nolan film "Tenet."
Poésy also starred in the Apple TV+ miniseries "The Essex Serpent" alongside Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes. From 2023 to 2024, she played Isabelle in "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon."
Up next is another Apple TV+ series, "Neuromancer," set for 2027, which also stars Callum Turner, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Emma Laird, and Briana Middleton.
So, what she lacks in social media (141,000 Instagram followers), she has made up for with parts in prestige projects — she also appeared in "127 Hours" and "In Bruges" in between her "Potter" films.
9. Katie Leung
Katie Leung.
Mike Marsland/WireImage/Getty Images
Katie Leung played Cho Chang in five films, starting with "Goblet of Fire."
It's taken Leung, 39, a few years, but she's seriously poised to become one of the more successful members of the "Potter" cast.
In the past few years, she's appeared in "T2: Trainspotting," the Prime Video series "The Peripheral" and "The Wheel of Time," and the BBC series "Nightsleeper."
Leung also had a voice role in the Netflix animated series "Arcane," which is part of the "League of Legends" universe. It wrapped its two-season run in 2024.
Of course, her largest role to date was playing the villainous Lady Araminta in season four of "Bridgerton," introducing her to a whole new generation of fans.
She also has an impressive 548,000 followers on Instagram.
It's only up from here for Leung, although she did not return for the 20th-anniversary special.
8. Alfred Enoch
Alfred Enoch.
Dave Benett/Getty Images
Alfred Enoch's run on "How to Get Away with Murder" was popular enough that there's a significant number of people who know him better as Wes Gibbins than Dean Thomas. The Emmy-winning show, which wrapped up its six-season run in May 2020, puts him in the upper echelon of "Potter" child stars.
The 37-year-old continued his TV success in the Apple TV+ series "Foundation," which costars Jared Harris and Lee Pace. He was on the first two seasons.
In 2025, he appeared in the BBC/PBS series "Miss Austen," and earlier this year, he starred in the Netflix miniseries "Run Away," based on the Harlan Coben book of the same name.
Enoch was one of two fellow Gryffindors from Harry's year who returned for the special, though he didn't have a huge part.
7. Freddie Stroma
Freddie Stroma.
Desiree Navarro/WireImage/Getty Images
Freddie Stroma played the annoying Cormac McLaggen for three films.
Yes, Stroma's appearance in "Bridgerton" bumped him up a few spots — how could it not? It was a major hit, and he played a literal prince.
But the 39-year-old has been steadily acting for years outside "Bridgerton." He starred in "Unreal," had a role in "Pitch Perfect" (No. 2 phenomenon), and appeared in an episode of "Game of Thrones" (the third phenomenon he's been involved with to date).
A fourth came in 2022: He plays Adrian Chase, aka Vigilante, in the HBO Max series "Peacemaker," a spin-off focusing on John Cena's character from "The Suicide Squad." Season two premiered last year, and DCU chief James Gunn has hinted we'll see more of Adrian in the future.
He also starred in "Time After Time" as HG Wells and starred in "The Crew," a Kevin James-led sitcom on Netflix, which was canceled in 2021.
6. Tom Felton
Tom Felton.
Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images
While Felton, 38, is still best known for Draco Malfoy, he's been able to capitalize on that in a way few other "Potter" stars have.
Whenever he posts a throwback from the set, it makes headlines. It's helped him gain a massive 11.7 million Instagram followers and 2.8 million X followers.
Felton still acts, though — he had a sweet arc on "The Flash" as Julian, appeared as Laertes in "Ophelia," and has been in other indie films over the past decade.
This year, he appeared in the horror film "They Will Kill You."
But most famously, he returned to the stage role of Draco in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" in November 2025, and has extended his run until January 2027 due to popular demand. Per Playbill, since he joined, "Cursed Child" has "consistently been among Broadway's highest-grossing shows."
In 2022, Felton published his memoir "Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard," which was a New York Times bestseller.
Felton was also a large part of the 20th-anniversary special, sharing anecdotes about shooting scenes with his on-screen dad, Jason Isaacs; remembering his on-screen mother, Helen McCrory, who died in 2021; and even talking about his special bond with Emma Watson.
5. Harry Melling
Harry Melling.
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for BFI
Harry Melling is unrecognizable from his days as Dudley Dursley. You might've seen him in "The Queen's Gambit" and not even realized.
Melling, 37, has become quite the actor since leaving "Potter" behind. After his last appearance in "Deathly Hallows Part 1," he's appeared in "The Lost City of Z," "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," "His Dark Materials," "The Old Guard," "The Devil All the Time," "The Queen's Gambit," "The Tragedy of Macbeth," and "The Pale Blue Eye," among other projects — a very impressive résumé for someone who used to be known as the annoying, evil cousin.
Melling also costarred with Alexander Skarsgård in the romantic comedy "Pillion," which won a best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival last year, so it's safe to say we'll only be hearing more from him. We're especially excited to see him act opposite Jodie Comer in the coming film "Stuffed."
We only got a glimpse of him in old footage in the reunion.
4. Rupert Grint
Rupert Grint.
Dave Benett/Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/WireImage/Getty Images
Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, is most successful in his native country of England.
The 38-year-old hasn't appeared in many films since the saga ended, but he has been successful on TV. He starred in (and executive produced) the Crackle series "Snatch" alongside the future "Bridgerton" star Phoebe Dynevor and the "Skins" heartthrob Luke Pasqualino.
He also starred in the Apple TV+ series "Servant," which the horror icon M. Night Shyamalan produced, from 2019 to 2023. He teamed up with Shyamalan for his 2023 film, "A Knock at the Cabin," too.
Later this year, he'll appear in the latest retelling of "A Christmas Carol," called "Ebenezer," starring Johnny Depp as the titular character. Grint will play Bob Cratchit.
In 2027, he'll once again become Ron Weasley — he's playing the character on Broadway in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child."
He joined Instagram in 2020 and now has over 5.2 million followers.
During the anniversary special, Grint shared that he actually thought about quitting the movies, as did Emma Watson, because of the pressures of fame.
Fun fact for 2010s teens: Grint has been in a relationship with Georgia Groome of "Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging" since 2011. They have two children together.
3. Emma Watson
Emma Watson.
Arnold Jerocki/GC Images/Getty Images
Emma Watson, 36, went from "Harry Potter" to a Disney princess in the live-action "Beauty and the Beast," an infamous criminal in "Bling Ring," a beloved manic pixie dream girl in "Perks of Being a Wallflower," and the eldest March sister in "Little Women," among other roles.
She also graduated from Brown University, was appointed a UN Goodwill Ambassador, launched the HeForShe campaign, is part of the G7, and has done extensive modeling.
Her impact will still be felt around the world, whether or not she retires from acting — her Instagram has a staggering 70.9 million followers.
It's no wonder she almost quit the series, as she revealed in the special.
2. Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe.
Jamie McCarthy/WireImage/Getty Images
Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter himself, has become quite the actor since leaving Hogwarts.
He's shied away from big-budget films, instead focusing on bonkers films such as "Guns Akimbo," "Swiss Army Man," and the interactive finale of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." He also appeared in the magical film "Now You See Me 2," in which he pointedly is not a magician.
He starred in the TBS anthology series "Miracle Workers" from 2019 to 2023 — a clip of Radcliffe performing "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" in drag went viral in 2020.
In 2022, Radcliffe co-starred with Channing Tatum, Brad Pitt, and Sandra Bullock in "The Lost City" and played Weird Al Yankovic in the biopic "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story."
He's now starring in the breakout NBC sitcom "The Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins." Later this year, he'll voice the Prince in Netflix's animated retelling of "Cinderella," called "Steps." Amanda Seyfried will voice Cinderella.
The 37-year-old has also had a successful theater career. He famously starred in "Equus" and the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," which earned him a Grammy nod. He also has two Drama Desk nominations under his belt, and in 2024, he won a Tony for his performance in the revival of "Merrily We Roll Along." He received another Tony nom in 2026 for "Every Brilliant Thing."
Radcliffe, of course, had lots of screen time in the reunion, having special moments with not only Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, but also with Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter (whom he had a crush on), and director Chris Columbus.
1. Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson.
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Robert Pattinson, who appeared only in "Goblet of Fire," is easily the most successful child star to come out of "Harry Potter."
Pattinson, who does not have an Instagram account, spun his one-movie role into the leading man of one of the other biggest franchises of the 2010s: "Twilight." Today, he's the most successful star from that franchise, too.
After a decade of distancing himself from big blockbusters by starring in films like "Good Time" and "The Lighthouse," Pattinson, 40, officially had his mainstream comeback. He starred in "Tenet," "The King," and is Batman, for crying out loud.
And it's only up from here for Pattinson.
This year has been the biggest for his career so far, kicking it off with "The Drama," then going straight into one of the biggest movies of 2026, "The Odyssey." He's already been meme-ified from the trailer for "Primetime," the film about Chris Hansen and "To Catch a Predator," which comes out this fall, and he's wrapping up 2026 by costarring in "Dune: Part Three." It's the year of RPattz!
There's no one else who compares, honestly.
Read next
Gabbi Shaw
You're currently following this author!
Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Gabbi Shaw is a reporter on Business Insider's editorial partnerships team. She covers entertainment, travel, food, and lifestyle for Business Insider, and Insider Inc.'s partners, including MSN, Apple News, and Yahoo.She graduated from Tulane University in 2017 with a degree in public health and now lives in New York City. She can be reached on X or LinkedIn.Please send all inquiries, comments, or tips to [email protected].Selected stories:
I traveled from New York City to Disney World and back in 24 hours. It was exhausting, but I saved hundreds of dollars.
I tried $5 value meals from McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. They're the perfect way for chains to lure customers.
Hannah Brown says her post-'Bachelor' hookup with Peter Weber 'wasn't good' and ended with him leaving her with his parents and a $100 bill
A billionaire heir built one of America's largest homes. His bitter divorce means his $195 million mansion is for sale.
Every movie and TV show in Marvel's Phase 5, ranked
I shopped for holiday decor at Five Below and Dollar Tree. Both impressed me, but only one is catering to Gen Z.
Apple TV+ is the most underrated streaming service. Here are the 24 best shows to watch.
See inside Oheka Castle, the 127-room Long Island estate that inspired 'The Great Gatsby'
I went to Arby's for the first time. I paid $38 for a delicious, meat-filled feast that easily could've fed 3 people.
After a summer of turmoil, 'The Bachelorette' finally let reality in, and it points to a promising future for the show
In the first proper scene of By Any Means, the new picture by Elegance Bratton (The Inspection), a musclebound thug (Mark Wahlberg) looms over a man tied to a chair. The latter pleads and screams, his cries echoing through the empty warehouse; the former responds by beating him harder still with his baseball bat.
… %!s()
It’s a scene that plays like a thousand we’ve seen before, in a thousand other crime drama — or it would, if not for the preceding prologue. By Any Means actually opens with a black-and-white montage of news footage about the disappearance of three civil rights activists in 1964 Mississippi. Wahlberg’s Scarpa isn’t thrashing the man over some run-of-the-mill gangland dispute; he’s torturing him for intel on the whereabouts of the victims’ bodies.
By Any Means
The Bottom Line
An odd combo doesn’t always make a successful one.
Release date: Friday, Sept. 4 Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Wahlberg, Nicole Beharie, Giancarlo Esposito, Josh Lucas, LisaGay Hamilton, LaChanze, Ethan Embry, David Strathairn Director: Elegance Bratton Screenwriter: Sascha Penn
Rated R,
1 hour 47 minutes
In that light, the interrogation sequence takes on unexpected thematic resonance, teasing something richer and knottier than your run-of-the-mill potboiler. But the marriage of familiar story beats and less familiar history proves an awkward and uneasy one — albeit one still capable, here and there, of producing nasty thrills.
Sascha Penn bases his Black List script on the somewhat true story of the unlikely and initially unwilling partnership between Gregory Scarpa, a real-life Brooklyn hitman with his own Wikipedia page and everything, and Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Matteen II), a fictionalized Black FBI agent. Strider is by no means the first of his kind, as he’s always quick to point out, but he’s still enough of a rarity that Scarpa’s nickname for Strider is “Jackie Robinson.”
Strider is an idealist who was inspired to join the Bureau in the first place because, he says, “I believe in justice, and I believe Negroes have to be a part in getting it” — which only makes him more frustrated that the agency seems completely uninterested in serving the Black community. (That’s putting it lightly: The film makes no reference at all to the fact that around this time, the FBI was actively surveilling and sabotaging prominent civil rights figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Fred Hampton.)
But an exception is made in January 1966, when members of the local Ku Klux Klan chapter firebomb the home of NAACP leader Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito, striking in a brief role). Incensed by the blatant disregard for his recently signed Voting Rights Act, President Lyndon B. Johnson demands someone answer for the murder. The very next day, Mississippi chief Roy (David Strathairn) summons Scarpa, an off-the-books associate willing to do the dirty work the FBI won’t, and assigns Strider to act as his handler.
Their relationship is not immediately a harmonious one. Where Strider is cautious and by-the-book, Scarpa is casually violent and confident in his own untouchability. Where Strider, a born-and-raised local who knows too well how little protection even his FBI badge provides him, gives white bigots a wide berth, the Italian American Scarpa declares that were he a Black man surrounded by racist hillbillies, he’d “kill ’em all, every last one.”
Where Strider carries a copy of King’s Why We Can’t Wait in his car, Scarpa expresses his admiration for Malcolm X — not so much for the man’s racial politics, which he’s indifferent to, as for the take-no-shit attitude that gives this film its title.
But the longer Strider is stuck with Scarpa, the more Strider comes around to Scarpa’s vicious methods. Call it a reverse Green Book: Rather than the uncouth white man being edified by the classy Black one, By All Means offers the straightlaced Black man being taught to play dirty by a white brute.
It is, in its way, sickly gratifying. In a world where justice is still too hard to come by for victims of racist violence, there’s a dark but undeniable satisfaction in watching a sadistic cop unceremoniously gunned down in the street, or a Klansman who’d threatened to hang Strider from a bridge find himself begging Strider not to hang him off a bridge — and particularly when the various beatdowns, shootouts and car chases are shot so crisply, and backdropped so elegantly by Terence Blanchard’s smoky jazz score.
While the constitutionally Bostonian Wahlberg seems somewhat miscast as such a Brooklyn gangster archetype (to say nothing of the checkered if distant personal history that makes him an especially odd choice for a film about battling racists), the rapport that emerges between Scarpa and Strider is interestingly prickly. Abdul-Mateen is so reliably magnetic that he makes you believe fully in both Strider’s inherent decency — most palpable in scenes with his wife (Nicole Beharie, trying and almost succeeding at elevating a nothing role) — and his increasing tolerance for Scarpa’s brand of ugliness.
Abdul-Mateen is so good, in fact, that it takes a moment to notice how little Penn’s script is doing to square the two sides of the character. Strider’s arc would seem to be that of an antihero or at least a very conflicted hero, as he increasingly crosses legal and moral lines in his pursuit of a greater good.
Instead, By All Means offers the seductive but queasy fantasy of a violence that makes no mark on the soul at all. It does so by painting Strider as hopelessly naïve — too deferential to white institutions that dismiss or demean him, too rulebound to do what really needs to be done in such an ugly world — and Scarpa’s brutality as empirically correct.
It’s Scarpa’s stomach for savagery that saves Strider when he’s threatened by a gun-toting witness or an angry mob, and that yields the answers polite questioning cannot. It’s only once Strider starts to indulge in a bit of bloodshed himself that he starts to get the respect he’s due and the results he’s after. By framing violence as the only solution, the movie lets Strider off the hook for engaging in it, and us by extension for enjoying it.
But it’s an equilibrium that can only hold for as long as the film declines to engage with Strider as a three-dimensional character — one who might be transformed by his walk in the shadows, who might come out the other end of it with a changed understanding of his moral code or the movement he’s trying to protect or the community he’s surrounded by — rather than a two-dimensional avenging angel, compelled to extract vengeance for our viewing pleasure. The latter framing makes By Any Means, in its way, gripping. It doesn’t make it particularly deep, or ultimately very satisfying. %!s()
“She always wanted to keep everybody being positive around her and put that out there in the world,” Richie Owens says
Dolly Parton kept her cancer battle to herself so everybody could focus on happier things, her cousin says. “She always kept things private because she always wanted to keep everybody being positive around her and put that out there in the world,” her first cousin Richie Owens told Today. “Just, ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m going to be fine.’ Just show the love.”
… %!s()
Owens, who co-wrote songs with Parton in the mid-Sixties and produced her Hungry Again (1998) and Precious Memories (1999) albums, said Parton even kept her diagnosis from family members. “She of course posted herself that she had been going through health problems, but no one really knew what a lot of that was, including myself,” he said.
He also discussed Parton’s funeral, the details of which had previously been kept vague, according to her wishes. “She wanted to keep it very quiet,” Owens said. “The word keeps getting brought up, ‘funeral,’ and I don’t believe that was really the case in this situation. It was a burial, to be buried beside her husband.” Parton was buried next to her husband, Carl Dean, who died last year, on Aug. 28, a few days after her death. The occasion was small, with only a few family members in attendance. “It was very quiet, very quickly done, and not for any bad reasons whatsoever, it’s just that’s what she wanted,” Owens said. “She wanted to keep it very, very private.”
Trending Stories
Part of the reason Parton wanted it kept quiet, he said, was so that people wouldn’t mourn her in the wrong way. When she died, he said, her wishes were that “she would much rather see people take that $50 you should spend on flowers and give it to her Imagination Library.… She really cared about her charities.”
A day before her funeral, Parton’s sister Stella honored her sister with a Facebook post. She wrote that what the public saw of the country star was “exactly who she was.” “My sister was always thinking of others and if you want to honor her legacy, show more kindness, lift others up, and give more of your time and resources, as she continued to do to the very end,” she wrote. %!s()
(Image credit: Getty Images - Photo by Leonid Faerberg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Stalker 2 studio GSC Game World has joined with Ukrainian charity United24 on a new fundraising initiative that aims to raise $100,000 to help fund efforts to remove mines and other explosive devices from the real-world Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.
… %!s()
The Zone—the real one—was established in 1986 following the disaster at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It's not quite as fanciful as the videogame counterpart but it is hazardous, and public access is restricted; as one of the most radioactively contaminated regions on the planet, it's also of considerable scientific interest.
Facilities in the zone also require ongoing maintenance, which became a problem when Russian troops seized the Zone and power plant during the early days of the invasion of Ukraine. The troops withdrew a couple months later—some reportedly received "significant doses" of radiation during their time there—leaving behind mines and explosives that pose a significant hazard to returning workers and researchers: United24 says at least eight explosions have wounded or killed staff and soldiers since the Russian withdrawal.
"Demining the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone is first and foremost about the safety of the people who work there every day—scientists and energy workers," said Ihor Bezkaravainyi of Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy and Environment. "Particular attention is being paid to creating safe routes for firefighting and rescue teams, allowing them to respond to fires in the Zone more quickly, without putting their lives at risk from mines."
Clearing mines is its own reward—the United Nations reported in 2025 that civilian injuries and deaths caused by landmines had reached their highest level in four years, in part due to funding shortfalls for demining efforts—but anyone who kicks in a minimum of $10 to GSC's fundraising campaign will have a shot at some swag, including patches, t-shirts, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl Ultimate Edition keys, and a pretty groovy collectible statuette.
The real pièce de résistance, though, are the five "Artifact keychains" carved out of the wreckage of a Russian Mi-8 helicopter that was shot down over the Zone. Sweet.
(Image credit: GSC Game World/United 24)
"Chornobyl is the beating heart of our gaming universe," GSC Game World said. "For us, it’s far more than just a setting or a narrative backdrop—it’s a vital piece of the Ukrainian cultural code and an inseparable part of our identity. Today, amid the ongoing war, we want our work to carry real-world power and help our country overcome the devastating consequences of the Russian invasion.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
"That is why this new joint project to demine the Exclusion Zone is a deeply symbolic and meaningful mission for our entire studio. Having had a fantastic experience collaborating with United24 in the past, we are immensely proud to continue this partnership. Our goal is simple: ensure that danger exists only within the game, while real Ukrainian soil becomes safe once again as quickly as possible."
GSC Game World's first collaboration with United24 raised more than $120,000 for the Bring Light Back campaign to provide generators for schools in Ukraine, which suffers from frequent power failures and blackouts as a result of the ongoing war. Donations to GSC's demining campaign can be made at u24.gov.ua.
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill. %!s()
