Dan Radcliffe Talks Role of Harry in Entertainment Weekly

May 28, 2010

Posted by: EdwardTLC

Radcliffe Interviews

As readers will recall, yesterday we first told you that the upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly had included Harry Potter in their list of the 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years, as part of a celebration of the magazine’s twentieth anniversary. This issue hit newsstands this morning, and we now have for you the text of a short Q&A with actor Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter) contained in the article.

EW: You were 11 when you were cast as Harry Potter, who was already a global phenom. Did you feel pressure?

DR: If I had been older and slightly more self-aware about the following that Harry had, I would have been slightly more intimidated. Ignorance and confidence of youth- it’s enough to transcend that.

EW: How did you go about creating Harry? And how has your perception changed over the years?

DR: In the beginning, creating the character was all about the costume and the look. That’s how people thought of him. In terms of what I did to prepare, it was very much: Just learn the lines. I’m aware now that there are so many different ways to play any one line.

EW: What makes Harry interesting for you to play?

DR: That he is not perfect. He’s capable of being quite arrogant, quite stubborn, pigheaded, and a little bit selfish. He can make himself something of a martyr when he really doesn’t have to. All those characteristics are wonderful because it separates Harry from the archetypical superheroes hat you so often get in children’s literature.

EW: Has J. K. Rowling offered you advice on playing Harry since the first film?

DR: I did ask her for some advice on the fifth film. I talked to her about Harry’s emergence as the leader of Dumbledore’s Army. She said that it was very important because it’s the first time we see Harry be a leader, and eventually he’s going to have to lead large numbers of people.

EW: If you could have spent your adolescence playing any other character, who would it be?

DR: I was always unbelievably jealous of Tobey Maguire playing Spider-Man. I do think Spidey is the coolest of superheroes.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.