Daniel Radcliffe was one of the slew of child actors to get his big break as a character in the series Harry Potter Universe. Of all the children, Radcliffe has had a particularly enduring and unusual career in the years since the end of the franchise, making headlines for onstage nudity in Equus And taking on odd roles made him do his own Best Weird Al Yankovic Impression (No Vocals) or Gas expelled as a corpse in swiss army man. While Radcliffe has spoken candidly about turning to “exotic” roles, He remains open to talking about his magical time in Harry Potter, noting that while he’s moved on from the franchise, he’s still a part of his story.
Speaking to Andy Cohen about his extensive acting career, the Watch what’s happening live! The host complimented the actor on the way he approaches Harry Potter fan base and the work he did during his formative years. Cohen called the actor’s relationship with the franchise “refreshing”, also stating that she really enjoys her “Radcliffe reverence”, to which the actor responded:
Yes, exactly. That’s why – if I stop talking about Potter, I’m going to have to stop talking about 10 wonderful years of my life that I loved. And all the people I knew on it. So, I really have no problem talking about it. I just love being able to do other things now and it’s not like that for me anymore.
Andy Cohen also mentions celebrities who have had problems discussing primary roles in the past, and while he doesn’t mention anyone by name, there are definitely celebrities who have been reticent to cater to or even remotely enter into their fanbase when it comes to discussing popular roles. (*Cough* Speaking of Harrison Ford star Wars *Cough*)
Radcliffe has been on the press circuit for the Stranger: Al Yankovic Story recently, and Potter has appeared more than once. For example, in another wide-ranging interview where Daniel Radcliffe spoke fondly of his countless roles, one of the biggest things he touched on was portraying The Eight Harry Potter Movies between 2001 and 2011. Radcliffe admitted the work was “very intense” and “pretty crazy”. But it only worked right by how wild it was after the experiment was over. He recalled the process of looking back:
There was a lot on Potter that was so intense and crazy that you didn’t even think about it at the time. You’re just like, “Oh yeah, there’s a tank build where the D-stage used to be, they’re just like building a tank and they’re going to be shooting underwater for six weeks.” I had a log book of all the hours I spent underwater. It was really cool. I’ve heard we get an average of seven seconds of footage a day or something like that, usable footage. But again, this is one of those things where you go, “I’m never going to do that again, and if I do, I’ll be one of the only people who’s ever done it.” It was one of those moments where you look back and go, “That’s really special.”
When asked to expand on some of the moments that stood out more than a decade later Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – Part Two Filmed, Daniel Radcliffe had some very specific memories. He talked about filming the dragon sequences starring the Triwizard in the fourth movie. He also did some wire work in the sixth film that sounded difficult and dangerous when he described it. He was perfectly happy to share these stories.
He’s not the only ex Potter The actor who plays ball. Tom Felton recently wrote a book about his book Harry Potter expertise. In another interview, Felton also said recently Josh Horowitz from MTV that he didn’t think anyone would mind if he said that he and the other kid weren’t very good at acting when they started out. From what Radcliffe says, he learned a lot on the fly while making a Harry Potter Movies and that period helped him get to where he is today.
Seems like a healthy perspective to transition from a child actor into an adult career, all things considered, though I’m sure a lot of Potterheads would still love to see the actor return to the role one day. Even if Radcliffe is out, the aforementioned Tom Felton at least said he’d be game to come back for more Potter in the right context.
