In the years since the last Harry Potter film came out, there have been a lot of people who’ve started to look at the series differently due to the conduct of the book’s author J.K. Rowling. In fact, there has been so much outrage directed at her that Rowling was even called out by Pete Davidson on national television. Despite that fact, there is still no doubt that most people who ever enjoyed the Potter films have a lot of affection for the actor who played the series’ main character, Daniel Radcliffe.
Typically when Daniel Radcliffe talks about starring in the Harry Potter movies, he comes across as very grateful that he was chosen to headline the film franchise. However, that doesn’t mean that Radcliffe’s experience making the Potter films was always easy. In fact, on at least one occasion, Radcliffe was willing to admit that playing the main character in a blockbuster film series during his youth resulted in a dark truth.
A Shocking Revelation
In 2019, Daniel Radcliffe was a guest on The Off Camera Show, an interview series that arguably is among the best at getting celebrities to talk about the truth of their lives. After all, instead of asking gotcha questions or solely focusing on the latest gossip, The Off Camera Show host Sam Jones focusing on having a conversation with his guests about their lives and experiences.
While talking to Sam Jones, Daniel Radcliffe admitted that during his youth, he felt like wherever he went, all eyes were on him. Of course, given the fact that Radcliffe has been a huge star most of his life, it is obvious that the actor had good reason to believe that he was being watched when he was in the public. The only question that really remained was how Radcliffe was going to cope with the gaze of the public eye.
At one point, Daniel Radcliffe revealed that he wore the same outfit every day for months so that whenever the paparazzi took his photo, the images all looked like they were taken on the same day. To Radcliffe’s credit, that is a highly effective and truly hilarious way to deal with the paparazzi.
Unfortunately, during the aforementioned interview on The Off Camera Show, Daniel Radcliffe revealed an unhealthy way he chose to deal with feeling like he was always being watched. “In my case, the quickest way to forget about the fact that you’re being watched is to get very drunk. And then as you get very drunk, you become aware that ‘Oh, people are watching more now because now I’m getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more.’”
From there, Daniel Radcliffe went on to defend other former child stars who’ve struggled as they grew up in the public eye. “That’s like when people have a go at Justin Bieber and drag racing cars,” he continued. “I’m like, yeah, but stuff could be super crazy for him right now.”
On the bright side, Daniel Radcliffe then spoke about the fact that after trying to give up drinking multiple times with the help of friends, he was finally able to get sober. “Ultimately, it was my own decision,” he said. “Like I woke up one morning after a night going like, ‘This is probably not good.’”
Affecting His Performance
During the aforementioned appearance on The Off Camera Show, Daniel Radcliffe made it clear that despite all of the pressure, he always loved his work. “Even at the lowest point, I still loved my job so much. I loved going to set, and there was never a day where my own (feelings) would affect how I was on set, there was never a point where I was like, ‘Oh, I wish this hadn’t happened to me, I wish I wasn’t Harry Potter.’”
Despite his admitted past drinking problem, Daniel Radcliffe says he never imbibed while on the set of one of his most famous projects. “I can honestly say I never drank at work on Harry Potter.” However, Radcliffe was willing to admit that his performances were affected by his issues. After all, Radcliffe says that while he never hit the bottle on set, he “went into work still drunk”. As a result, he says that when he watches his most famous movies, Radcliffe can tell he was under the influence during the filming of some Harry Potter scenes. “I can point to many scenes where I’m just gone. Dead behind the eyes.”
While all of this is sad, fans are blown away by the fact he was able to still do his job to some degree. Here's hoping he never puts himself in this position again.
