Explaining his reason for taking the starring role in the horror movie post-'Harry Potter', Radcliffe says, 'I think any actor worth their salt wants to show as much versatility as they possibly can.'
- Jan 30, 2012
AceShowbiz - Daniel Radcliffe has admitted that he wanted to eradicate his fabled "Harry Potter" image by tackling a very different role in his upcoming film, "The Woman in Black". When discussing his latest movie with Twitch, the 22-year-old British actor opened up that starring in the horror pic was "a good first step" to break away from the wizard boy persona that has made him famous.
"I think this is a very good first step," he said. "I was under no illusions that people would see this film and go, 'Christ! He's not Harry Potter anymore, he's completely transformed!' I didn't ever think that was going to happen."
The London-born thesp continued on, "But I think it's a good first step in that I look very different, I'm playing a man rather than a boy, it's a different type of film to be in, and all that stuff is very useful at this point for an audience to see that I'm going to try and do different stuff."
Radcliffe confessed that he's been looking for a more challenging role that is totally different from the one he played in the famous Hogwarts School film franchise. "People ask us [the cast of 'Harry Potter'] those questions a lot, 'Why are you searching to be so different?' or 'Is it intentional that you want to be so diverse?' and the answer is, yes, it is," he explained.
"But I don't think that's something specific for someone coming out of a franchise," he added. "I think any actor worth their salt wants to show as much versatility as they possibly can. Over the next couple of years it's going to be about doing as much work as possible and making it as varied as possible."
Though taking a starring role in the horror movie, Radcliffe admitted that he was actually not a big fan of the genre when he was a kid. "I was terrified of them," said the actor. "A lot of modern horror can leave me cold, and I'm good with blood and gore and all that stuff. It's not fun for me, there's nothing entertaining about watching a film like that."
During the chat, Radcliffe also discussed how he prepared himself in portraying male lead character, Arthur Kipps, in "Woman in Black". He shared, "I have this very excitable energy about me, and Arthur should not, and it would be completely wrong for the character. One of the things [director] James [Watkins] was keen on was trying, as he put it, was to 'take the fizz out of the bottle, to let it go flat'."
"About stripping away my natural zeal, the attack I have with everything, and actually showing somebody who has been devastated by their loss to the point where they're in a state of emotional paralysis," he went on explaining.
Speaking about which British actors he would like to collaborate with in the future, Radcliffe gushed, "Judi Dench, we never did manage to get her in there. Helen Mirren. Ben Whishaw. Aaron Johnson. Russell Brand, actually I always thought he'd be fantastically entertaining and great to work with."
In "The Woman in Black", Radcliffe portrays widowed London lawyer Arthur Kipps, whose grief has put his career in jeopardy. The young man is sent to a remote village to sort out the affairs of recently deceased eccentric. However, upon his arrival, it soon becomes clear that everyone in the town is keeping a deadly secret.
The supernatural horror movie is due to open in the U.S. theaters on February 3 and in the U.K. on February 10.
