Daniel Radcliffe: Old man in a young man’s body

Harry Potter is an adult man! We witnessed Danielle Radcliffe, 19, grow up on screen portraying a boy wizard and maybe didn’t even know who Daniel was. We saw Harry, cute Harry Potter is spectacles and school uniform, a guy who saved the world from Lord Voldemort. Now it’s time we met Daniel, a guy behind Harry Potter.

Daniel Radcliffe sat down to chat with Parade Magazine for its latest issue. The actor talked about his career, his plans, going nude on public and dating girls.

Here are some of the highlights. Get the rest of his interview in Parade.

On what Harry Potter gave him:

I wouldn’t have half the confidence that I have. I’m not saying that I’m a brazenly confident person. But I’m kind of sure of myself intellectually. And I know I wouldn’t have been if I had stayed in school because, before I did Potter, my confidence had been more or less destroyed by a couple of teachers. So I had it all restored by the people who taught me on the films.

I’ve had a happy and very healthy, really enjoyable childhood, and a fantastically interesting one. I genuinely think I am a better person for having done these films than I possibly would have been had I not.”

On being the richest teenager in Britain:

I have been very, very fortunate. But I’m not going to spend it on flashy cars or particular extravagances. What it does in terms of my career, which is how I like to look at it-it gives me the thing that George Clooney has, where he can go off and do a big-budget movie like Ocean’s Eleven, make a lot of money for it, and then go and do stuff that won’t pay as much. It gives you room to maneuver, basically. It’s one thing in my life that I am incredibly fortunate not to have to worry about. Money will never be the focus for me. That’s not how I’ve been brought up.”

On Broadway play, Equus, in which he got totally naked on stage:

I didn’t set out to shock people. I set out to do something different from Potter. If I had wanted to shock people I would have played, you know, a gay drug dealer.”

On Daniel behind Harry:

When I started out at the age of 10 or 11 I was essentially saying the lines as I myself would say them. When I became aware that that’s what I was doing, at 13 or 14, it didn’t make sense to change, because it would suddenly be a dramatic shift in the character… I’ve now reached a stage in my career where I am starting to break away. I just think I’m a bit too old for that now.

On dating girl older his age:

Girls my own age are not really an option. I find, generally speaking, they have to be entertained more than older girls do. So most of the girls I have had serious things with are generally sort of in their 20s.”

On turning 20 next month:

I’ve noticed I make noises when I get up and sit down now. I mean, my knees are rotten bad-I refused to wear knee pads too many times when I was doing stunts, and I just clobbered them up a bit. I am an old man in a young man’s body.”

Harry Potter And The Half-blood Prince opens everywhere 15 July 2009. Don’t miss the newly arrived featurette!

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