One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world. 12-year-old Lyra is an orphan who lives in a parallel world, where human souls take the form of animal companions called daemons. When her best friend disappears, Lyra promises to find him. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, doesn't want her to go, but the mysterious Mrs. Coulter offers to bring Lyra along for the adventure of a lifetime.

Where human souls take the form of animal companions called daemons. When her best friend disappears, Lyra promises to find him. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, doesn't want her to go, but the mysterious Mrs. Coulter offers to bring Lyra along for the adventure of a lifetime. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.

Three Good Reasons

• 1It's a unique take on the fantasy genre: no old wizards in pointy hats, but loads of talking, fighting, shape-shifting animals.
• 2Dakota Blue Richards beat out more than 10,000 other girls for the role of Lyra. Clearly, the kid's got something.
• 3Casino Royale stars Daniel Craig and Eva Green reunite, but this time he's an aristocratic explorer and she's a witch.

Bet You Didn't Know

12-year-old Lyra is an orphan who lives in a parallel world, where human souls take the form of animal companions called daemons. When her best friend disappears, Lyra promises to find him. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, doesn't want her to go, but the mysterious Mrs. Coulter offers to bring Lyra along for the adventure of a lifetime. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.

Where human souls take the form of animal companions called daemons. When her best friend disappears, Lyra promises to find him. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, doesn't want her to go, but the mysterious Mrs. Coulter offers to bring Lyra along for the adventure of a lifetime. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.

Three Good Reasons

• 1It's a unique take on the fantasy genre: no old wizards in pointy hats, but loads of talking, fighting, shape-shifting animals.
• 2Dakota Blue Richards beat out more than 10,000 other girls for the role of Lyra. Clearly, the kid's got something.
• 3Casino Royale stars Daniel Craig and Eva Green reunite, but this time he's an aristocratic explorer and she's a witch.

Bet You Didn't Know

When her best friend disappears, Lyra promises to find him. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, doesn't want her to go, but the mysterious Mrs. Coulter offers to bring Lyra along for the adventure of a lifetime. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.

Where human souls take the form of animal companions called daemons. When her best friend disappears, Lyra promises to find him. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, doesn't want her to go, but the mysterious Mrs. Coulter offers to bring Lyra along for the adventure of a lifetime. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.

Three Good Reasons

• 1It's a unique take on the fantasy genre: no old wizards in pointy hats, but loads of talking, fighting, shape-shifting animals.
• 2Dakota Blue Richards beat out more than 10,000 other girls for the role of Lyra. Clearly, the kid's got something.
• 3Casino Royale stars Daniel Craig and Eva Green reunite, but this time he's an aristocratic explorer and she's a witch.

Bet You Didn't Know

One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world. 12-year-old Lyra is an orphan who lives in a parallel world, where human souls take the form of animal companions called daemons. When her best friend disappears, Lyra promises to find him. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, doesn't want her to go, but the mysterious Mrs. Coulter offers to bring Lyra along for the adventure of a lifetime.

Where human souls take the form of animal companions called daemons. When her best friend disappears, Lyra promises to find him. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, doesn't want her to go, but the mysterious Mrs. Coulter offers to bring Lyra along for the adventure of a lifetime. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.

Three Good Reasons

• 1It's a unique take on the fantasy genre: no old wizards in pointy hats, but loads of talking, fighting, shape-shifting animals.
• 2Dakota Blue Richards beat out more than 10,000 other girls for the role of Lyra. Clearly, the kid's got something.
• 3Casino Royale stars Daniel Craig and Eva Green reunite, but this time he's an aristocratic explorer and she's a witch.

Bet You Didn't Know

12-year-old Lyra is an orphan who lives in a parallel world, where human souls take the form of animal companions called daemons. When her best friend disappears, Lyra promises to find him. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, doesn't want her to go, but the mysterious Mrs. Coulter offers to bring Lyra along for the adventure of a lifetime. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.

Where human souls take the form of animal companions called daemons. When her best friend disappears, Lyra promises to find him. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, doesn't want her to go, but the mysterious Mrs. Coulter offers to bring Lyra along for the adventure of a lifetime. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world. One thing Lyra packs for the trip: the alethiometer -- a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to possess. When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.When the compass reveals to Lyra the truth about her friend's kidnapping and the evil force behind it, it's up to her to stop the war that threatens her world.

Three Good Reasons

• 1It's a unique take on the fantasy genre: no old wizards in pointy hats, but loads of talking, fighting, shape-shifting animals.
• 2Dakota Blue Richards beat out more than 10,000 other girls for the role of Lyra. Clearly, the kid's got something.
• 3Casino Royale stars Daniel Craig and Eva Green reunite, but this time he's an aristocratic explorer and she's a witch.

Bet You Didn't Know

This classically trained, gaunt actor with Byronic looks and a rich, haunting voice began his career on the London stage. Irons has specialized in playing upper-class types, frequently in period roles, and has achieved star status without compromising his reputation as a serious actor. He first gained notice for his performance as Franz Liszt in the British miniseries "Notorious Woman" (PBS, 1975) and achieved stardom with his performance as the observant narrator Charles Ryder in the TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited" (PBS, 1981). He won a Tony Award for his 1980 Broadway debut in the Mike Nichols-directed "The Real Thing", which co-starred Glenn Close.

After making a less than stellar debut as Mikhail Fokine in Herbert Ross' biopic "Nijinsky" (1980), Irons rose to screen stardom as Meryl Streep's leading man in Karel Reisz's "The French Lieutenant's Woman" (1981). He went on to more eclectic roles, including the caddish lover in David Jones' film version of Harold Pinter's "Betrayal" (1983), but seemed miscast as Proust's hero in "Swann in Love" (1984) and as a Jesuit priest in Roland Joffe's "The Mission" (1986). He gave a bravura performance as the deranged twin brother protagonists of David Cronenberg's "Dead Ringers" (1988) and won an Oscar as haughty international playboy and murder suspect Claus von Bulow in Barbet Schroeder's "Reversal of Fortune" (1990), which reunited him with Glenn Close.

Irons continued to display his versatility as a paranoid insurance clerk in Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller, "Kafka" (1991), a history teacher haunted by memories of childhood in "Waterland" and a conservative English politician undone by an obsessive affair with his son's girlfriend in "Damage" (both 1992). Although he tried gamely, his reunion with Cronenberg for "M. Butterfly" (1993) failed to impress critics or audiences. His second film with both Streep and Close, "The House of the Spirits" (also 1993), found them all miscast as South American aristocrats. Irons fared better providing the sinuous voice of the subtly villainous Scar in the animated Disney's mega-hit "The Lion King" (1994). His attempt to cross-over to more mainstream fare as the dyed-blond antagonist to Bruce Willis in "Die Hard With a Vengeance" (1995) met with mixed results.

Irons' next two roles were schematically linked: in Bernardo Bertolucci's "Stealing Beauty" (1996), he was an ailing writer who is reinvigorated when confronted with the voluptuous teenaged Liv Tyler, while in Adrian Lyne's remake of "Lolita" (1997), he was a well-chosen Humbert Humbert, enamored of the pubescent title character. In director Wayne Wang's "Chinese Box" (1997) he played a leukemia-ridden Hong Kong-based British financial reporter who has long held a torch for bar owner Vivian (Gong Li), a former "hostess" from mainland China, who eventually begins to reciprocate his affections. After making for an iconic Father Aramis in the 1998 film adaptation of the classic Alexander Dumas adventure "The Man In the Iron Mask" starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role, Irons' talents were squandered in a pair of villainous roles in two lackluster wannabe blockbusters, "Dungeons and Dragons" (2000) and "The Time Machine" (2002).