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Daniel Radcliffe is one of many former child actors who went on to take wilder roles wilder after finishing their stints in recognizable IPs. Since the Harry Potter movies (which we’ve ranked) concluded, he’s played a gassy animated corpse in Swiss Army Man, a man who wakes up with magical horns on his head in Horns, a parodied version of Weird Al Yankovic in Weird and many whimsical characters from the anthology series Miracle Workers. As Radcliffe continues to challenge himself as a performer, one of his former Harry Potter directors, David Yates, weighs in on how he feels about the inspired career choices he’s made since leaving the Wizarding World behind.
David Yates saw Daniel Radcliffe as The Boy Who Lived while directing him in the last four Harry Potter movies, but he’s also followed his adult career since the franchise ended in 2011. Yates told Looper that he’s noticed the wild trend in the roles Radcliffe has taken, and it sounds like he couldn’t be prouder of the 34-year-old star:
Dan is fearless, and I’ve admired what he’s been doing. He’ll dive into any number of different roles to redefine himself. It’s admirable that he keeps trucking, and he’s done particularly well recently. So all strength to Dan, and I hope he keeps going. I’m sure he will.
You love to see that the actor is getting this kind of support from his former director, and I totally agree with the filmmaker. I hope the star continues to try new ventures. It can definitely be difficult for a former child actor to break out of a certain mold. But luckily, each one of his roles since the magic-centric film franchise have been memorable, unique and bizarrely entertaining. We’ve seen him go from Potter to horror in The Woman in Black and even take on action and comedies like Now You See Me 2 and The Lost City. Radcliffe is also expanding his talents on stage starring in plays. He’s appeared in the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and is currently starring in the hit money-making musical Merrily We Roll Along on Broadway playing second protagonist Charley Kringas.
When you’ve played the same role for a decade, it’s natural that an actor would want to try to flex their muscles. That’s why Daniel Radcliffe wanted to take on many different roles following his stint within the Wizarding World. He’s certainly carved out a lane for himself. When talking about playing Weird Al Yankovic in a separate Looper interview, the British actor explained that he would feel bored if he didn’t get to explore the realm of a movie doing fun, crazy stuff compared to characters just sitting around and talking. Can’t say I blame him on that front.
If the actor could think about the one role that served as a “statement” for his life apart from Harry Potter, it would be Equus, a play that required he appear nude for a segment. The show opened shortly before The Order of the Phoenix premiered and was a major shift for the star. It was considered controversial at the time for the then-17-year-old actor to star in this role since he would be in his birthday suit. But the performer said the role was very important to him, as it would show the world he’s was ready for a life outside of the confines of Hogwarts.
It’s great that David Yates appears proud of his Harry Potter star for venturing into roles much different than the boy wizard character that launched his career. Since Daniel Radcliffe became a father, he’s been looking to do fewer movies. Though I’m confident that whenever he does line up a gig, he’ll continue to keep us on our toes when it comes to his range.
You can watch the actor in Merrily We Roll Along playing at the Hudson Theatre in New York, and keep an eye on the schedule of 2024 new movie releases in case he lands a project there. Those who want to watch the Harry Potter movies in order can also stream them using a Max subscription.