The Wizarding World continues to be a wildly popular global IP, but arguably the most iconic aspect are the Harry Potter movies. That franchise (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription) made household names out the Potter cast, who grew up before our eyes. Chief among them was Daniel Radcliffe himself, who used to be stressed when fans saw him as The Boy Who Lived. Although now it looks like his perspective has changed.
Daniel Radcliffe recently did a Harry Potter movie bracket, so he's obviously more comfortable with his tenure at Hogwarts when when he had just finished the franchise. In an interview with Rolling Stone, to which the actor said:
Oh, my God, yes. I have always been fairly fine with it. I don’t need people to forget that I did that in order to enjoy stuff I’m doing now. In fact, it often leads people to seek me out in other things.
Points were made. The Harry Potter films are constantly re-watched to this day, so there are entire generations who were brought up on Daniel Radcliffe performance as the title character. And the Tony-winning actor seems to think this is actually a good thing, as it will encourage them to try out some of his other credits from the screen and stage.
Radcliffe has heard every Harry Potter joke imaginable, and has also likely been accosted by countless fans over the years. Later in the same interview, he went on to explain how he was originally insecure about his ties to his signature character. As he put it:
Coming out of Potter, I was probably more stressed about it. The first time I did a musical, I went into rehearsal rooms like, "Fuck, everyone thinks, ‘What’s this movie kid doing here, and is he going to be any good?’” It’s nice to not walk in feeling those things anymore.
Of course, Radcliffe has proven himself as an accomplished stage actor, recently winning the Tony for his work on Merrily We Roll Along (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription). But in the beginning of his time on the stage he was seemingly worried about the perception he was only hired due to his work on Potter. Luckily that's not the case anymore.
Soon enough there will be new Boy Who Lived, thanks to the upcoming Harry Potter TV show. We'll just have to see if this makes Daniel Radcliffe any less synonymous with his time in the Wizarding World. Personally, I'm not holding my breath.
