TORONTO – Daniel Radcliffe isn’t done doffing his duds.
The Harry Potter star, who bared all in the play Equus in 2007, also shows lots of skin at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
“Every film that I have at TIFF this year, there is some form of nudity in it,” the British charmer said in an interview for the horror-comedy Horns.
“There’s a skinny-dipping scene in The F Word and there’s a gay sex scene in Kill Your Darlings and a sex scene in this.
“So I’m going to start to get called an exhibitionist soon. It’s going to start happening.”
Read more: Complete TIFF coverage
Along with his body, Radcliffe is also exposing a huge acting range at this year’s festival in the three aforementioned films.
In the Vancouver-shot Horns, based on the dark fantasy novel by Joe Hill (son of horror novelist Stephen King), his anguished character sprouts a pair of devilish head projections amid accusations he killed his girlfriend (Juno Temple).
Kill Your Darlings has him playing a young poet Allen Ginsberg in the early days of the Beat Generation. Dane DeHaan is in the role of Ginsberg’s charismatic Columbia University schoolmate Lucien Carr, who murdered their friend David Kammerer in 1944.
And the Toronto-set comedy The F Word stars Radcliffe as a lovelorn pal to an animator (Zoe Kazan) for whom he secretly pines.
Radcliffe said he wasn’t feeling any pressure starring in so many projects at one festival.
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“I think it’s a lot of work in terms of I’ve got to promote three films and talk about them, but when they’re three films that you’re proud of — and it’s really exciting for me because they are all so different — it’s a nice chance for me to be able to show people a bit of range.
“So I’m trying to look at it as just being an exciting thing rather than an intimidating one.”
Loads of caffeine also helped.
“It’s one of those days,” he said with a laugh as he placed a large latte down beside his large iced mocha.
“I’ve got a long day ahead. I’m not actually at the point yet where I feel I need this much coffee but I’m going to have it anyways and see where the day goes.”
As someone who doesn’t usually drink much coffee, he predicted the aftermath wouldn’t be pretty.
“You’ll see me crashing through a wall,” he quipped.
Radcliffe’s co-stars and colleagues were equally charged up about his projects.
“I think he’s such a great actor. He’s so daring,” said Jack Huston, who plays Jack Kerouac in Kill Your Darlings. “He’s got a real ability to now transform himself, and when I say ‘daring actor,’ like, he challenges himself and it’s paying off in a big way.
“And I tell you what — it was such fun working with him, because he loves his craft, he really enjoys it, and you can see he’s always wanting to get better. Not that he needs it, but it’s exciting to be playing opposite other people who you think really are great actors.”
Brendan Gleeson, who played Hogwarts professor Mad-Eye Moody in the Harry Potter films, said Radcliffe’s dedication to his craft is why he’s evolved “in a way that nobody thought he could.”
“He was a great kid when I knew him, and he’s a great man now in terms of, he’s a serious actor at this point and has broken through a thing that’s very, very hard to do,” he said in an interview for the festival film The Grand Seduction.
“It’s because of his commitment. And he’s a fantastic, generous actor. It’s none of this star stuff. He’s actually going back into the trenches and he’s making new foundations for himself.”
The F Word director, Michael Dowse, said one of the great charms of the film is Radcliffe’s hilarious performance.
“I think that’s going to be the great thing about when people see the film, is that people are going to realize just how funny Dan is as a person.”
Kazan said she first got a sense of Radcliffe’s range when she saw him in two very different Broadway plays. She also heard loads of praise in the theatre industry about “his commitment to his work and how incredibly talented he is and how hard-working.”
“So I knew that he was a more serious actor and a more versatile actor than people knew, and I’m just excited to see his growth. I think he’s tremendously talented and so hard-working.
“I think the sky’s the limit for him.”
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