The 'Harry Potter' actor used to believe that the easiest way to escape from self-consciousness was consuming alcohol.
- Oct 21, 2015
AceShowbiz - Daniel Radcliffe opens up about the root of his past struggles with alcohol in an interview with Playboy Magazine's November issue. Daniel, who has been forthright about his former addiction since announcing his sobriety in 2012, explains how camera phones played a role in his drinking problem.
"Anytime I'd go out to dance, camera phones would come out. That would make me very self-conscious, and what's the easiest way to escape being self-conscious? Alcohol is a quick way of doing that," the "Horns" actor shares, "So it was related in that way."
"A few years ago there was a TV ad that showed a lot of inventors, including a guy who invented the camera phone. He was smiling smugly into the camera, and I was just like, 'F**k you.' What have you wrought? [laughs] Camera phones are definitely not my favorite," he continues.
Daniel, who called himself "a really annoying, loud, inappropriate, messy drunk" in a candid 2014 interview, explains in what ways he's "messy." "It becomes painful to watch your personal issues that you've tried to be sincere about get turned into fodder for TV gossip shows," he says, "I was forthright about it, as you said, but once you start talking about this, that's all you talk about. I can say lots of well-meaning stuff-why it happened and how I stopped-for three hours, and the headline would be DRUNK ON THE SET OF HARRY POTTER. So I don't talk about it as much now."
Daniel then opens up about starring in Broadway's "Equus" in a part which required ample nudity. "I was s**t-scared and 17 when I did 'Equus', which is the age when you're most self-conscious," he explains, "And I was very aware that a certain percentage of that audience was coming to look at my d**k every night. Looking back, that was mental. I have a lot of respect for myself for having the balls to do it, so to speak."
When asked if the attention he got from "Harry Potter" has gone away, Daniel says, "It feels like I get recognized more now. Here's what's scary: If you were 14 when the first film came out, you'd now be almost in your 30s and could well have a child under 10 whom you're now introducing to 'Harry Potter'. We're already getting the next generation. That's just bizarre. It's never going away."