Fresh from Thursday night’s North American premiere of his new horror film The Woman in Black in Toronto, Daniel Radcliffe was at The Morning Show studios Friday to talk about his new project, and life after Harry Potter.
Relaxed, chatty and full of anecdotes, the 22-year-old British actor revealed to the hosts that starting a new chapter was essential in being able to pick roles, especially after the success of the Harry Potter franchise.
“I will never be in another film that is even remotely commercially successful as Harry Potter and in a way that’s a lovely thing to accept now and not to try to live up to,” smiles Radcliffe. “It is completely liberating.”
“It did feel a little weird when we did the premiere in London … knowing that I was getting ready for the premiere, and knowing that Rupert (Grint) and Emma (Watson) were not getting ready somewhere in the same hotel was actually quite a strange sensation,” he adds. “But other than that, it’s been really nice to step out and be on my own.”
Radcliffe shot to fame playing child wizard Harry Potter, based in a book series by author J. K. Rowling. The young star felt immense pressure after the film franchise, which has become the highest grossing film series of all time, earning $7.7 billion worldwide.
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“You want it to be a good film. It’s not as strategic as I think people think in terms of how you make choices,” says Radcliffe, referring to his leading role in The Woman in Black. “You’re going off your instincts as always. I read the script … and go ‘I really wanted to see this film.’ That’s the first test.”
In The Woman in Black, Radcliffe plays a young lawyer and father who is given a tedious job organizing the affairs of a recently deceased woman. He later sets upon the ghost of a vengeful woman intent on killing his son.
“With this film it really was the story, it was so chilling and so genuinely scary that I wanted to be a part of telling that story,” says Radcliffe.
During the The Morning Show interview, a small crowd of about 25 fans were snapping photos outside the studios to catch a glimpse of the actor.
“I think you just have to laugh at it and remember at the end of the day – it’s you – and how hilarious that this is happening to me,” says Radcliffe, opining on fame.
“As much as I am now trying to carve a path for myself and do other films, I never ever want to be one of those people who kind of turns their back on the thing that made them famous and gave them a career.”
He adds, “I love Potter and I love what it did for me. To turn my back on those films would be to turn my back on ten formative years as a teenager and everything that it encompassed. I loved it.”
Radcliffe will be shooting his next film Kill Your Darlings in March, where he will be playing beatnik poet Allan Ginsberg.
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