After 10 years, Daniel Radcliffe bids farewell to his beloved character, Harry Potter. In this exclusive interview, he opens up to MiNDFOOD about what 
it was like to grow up in the public eye, playing 
one of the world’s most loved characters.
BY MICHELE MANELIS | AUG 02, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 marks the end of one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises, raking in 
over US$6 billion and counting.
Along with Daniel Radcliffe, we’ve watched actors Emma Watson and Rupert Grint navigate their way into adulthood. For Radcliffe, the transition is a difficult process. Sitting with the 21-year-old, London-born actor in his hotel room in upscale Mayfair, he doesn’t hide his melancholia towards this all-important milestone. A little like the last day of high school, this inevitable conclusion is met with bittersweet emotion. In fact, Radcliffe seems close to tearing-up.
“It’s weird,” he acknowledges, stirring his tea. “It was more than 10 years ago that I was in this building giving a press conference when I first got the part. It’s strange. Here I am, more than a decade later, sitting here discussing it for the last time. It’s very, very odd and very sad.”
Although in many ways he became an adult over three years earlier, he says, “I feel far more of an adult now than I did at 18, probably because I don’t have to wear a uniform anymore. I see pictures of myself when I was 10 or 11 and think, ‘That innocent, wonderful small boy has become this!’” he laughs, gesturing to the fully grown man sitting before me. “How boring. I love the idea of staying 11 forever. How fantastic, even though that makes me sound a bit ‘Michael Jackson’, but I do miss it and it’s something I can never have back.”
RAGS TO RICHES
The legend of author J K Rowling’s rags-to-riches life story, albeit true, is as mystical and compelling as her bestselling novels. The journey from single motherhood, existing on welfare, to multi-millionaire status within five years, is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Her estimated wealth is now considered over US$1 billion dollars. The series, beginning in 1997 with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and ending in 2007 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, has seen her fans remaining steadfast throughout, with her readership, along with the well-formed characters plucked out of her vivid imagination, growing from children into teenagers.
THE POTTER PHENOMENON
The lengthy books resulted in similarly extensive blockbuster films, laden with special effects and winning many awards including nominations for several Oscars.
The esteemed author has earned countless accolades including an OBE in 2000 for her contribution to children’s literature. It’s widely viewed that she single-handedly reinvigorated a once diminishing market. Many parents were grateful for the books; bedtime reading sessions became something to look forward to for them 
as well as their children.
It could be said that Rowling enabled the vampire-themed Twilight series to become the phenomenon that it has. The subject of ‘the other Brit’, Twilight’s Robert Pattinson (whom, you may remember, got his start in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), rears its inevitable head.
“I think of myself as very lucky in relation to Rob,” says Radcliffe. “His fan bases are a lot more sexually aggressive than mine. My fans have grown up with me. They think of me more as a brother, whereas, [Rob’s] the sexy dude who just walked in,” he says with a laugh. “Rob’s great. It’s bizarre. Since he’s got so huge everybody assumes we must know each other, but we don’t.”
In the midst of his perpetual filming schedule during his formative years, along with maintaining regular student activities, Radcliffe was able to squeeze in some other performances. In 2006, he appeared in the Ricky Gervais comedy TV show, Extras, in which he parodied his image. He also starred in the Australian film December Boys.
AN AUSSIE CHRISTMAS
Radcliffe recounts an unusual experience while in Sydney. “I did a press tour of Japan in 2003 and the Warner Bros. present to my family for me doing that tour was to send us anywhere we wanted to go for Christmas. We said, ‘Australia please’. So, we arrive on Christmas Day and go to the hotel where the Christmas lunch was being served. There’s a family sitting opposite who recognise me and come over and chat. They invited us to their house to finish Christmas lunch. It was either that or the hotel room. So we experienced the meaning of Australian hospitality. They were really, really sweet. They even nipped out to get us presents,” he smiles. “We made some really, really good friends and, to this day, my mum and dad are still in contact with them.”
MOVING ON
Theatrically, in 2002, Kenneth Branagh (whom he met while they were working together on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) directed Radcliffe in The Play That I Wrote. And, in 2007, he caused much ado when he appeared nude in a scene on the West End and subsequent Broadway productions of Equus.
He says of his future: “I’m ready to move on and I’ve got other films happening which is, of course, exciting.” He has already starred on Broadway this year in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. “My next project is The Woman in Black, based on a 1983 ghost story, and is very, very frightening.” He will also star as the deceased photojournalist, Dan Eldon, in the upcoming biopic The Journey is the Destination. Notably, Eldon’s mother hand-picked him to portray her son.
LIVING A NORMAL LIFE
An only child, Radcliffe’s father, a Protestant from Northern Ireland, Alan Radcliffe, works as a literary agent, and his mother, Marcia Gresham, is Jewish, raised in Essex, and works as a casting agent. Radcliffe has said that although he’s proud of his Jewish roots, he has declared himself an atheist.
Nowadays, he can count himself as one of Britain’s wealthiest (richer than princes William and Harry), but in person you’d never know it. Dressed plainly in dark trousers and a checked shirt, he is completely unassuming in appearance and demeanour.
Perhaps it’s for this reason that he’s able to assume a relatively normal life. “I go to the cricket, the pub, it’s very easy. It’s not as hard as everyone imagines it must be. You get a bit of attention but it’s normally pretty fleeting. And, also, you make friends very easily, particularly at the cricket. It’s great.”
As with many actors, his sexuality has come into question. Although he is slightly effete, it’s fair to say that many expensively schooled, frightfully well-raised British gentlemen with a subtle masculinity are often misperceived. Radcliffe is an activist against homophobia and contributes to The Trevor Project, promoting awareness of gay teen suicide prevention. It’s also this passion that raises a red flag for narrow-minded folk.
His other philanthropic efforts include the financial support of a hospice in Kent, as well as donations to the 2004 tsunami victims and Get Connected UK, a London-based charity.
SERIAL MONOGAMIST
Despite his wealth, fame and youth, Radcliffe isn’t cashing in on any of it when it comes to his personal life. He’s not clubbing at the hottest spots or chasing models. “I’ve never been out with a model. I met some supermodels once. It was weird,” he says.
“I was in a relationship for three years, and before that I was with someone for two and a half years. As Australian comedian Brendon Burns would say, ‘I’m a serial monogamist’. That’s sort of how it’s been over the last few years for me.”
Surely, with his star status, he must have women falling all over him? He laughs. “No, not at all. That’s never been the case.”
Sounds a tad too self-deprecating to be true? He visibly stiffens. “Well fame isn’t a guarantee of being incredibly attractive to women. People think when you’re famous you’re going to be very, very cool, especially if you’re an actor. And I’m not cool.” He pauses. “I’m overtalkative and quite hyperactive. I don’t have that chilled-out-let-the-world-come-to-you thing. I’m not that guy. The girls I would want to be with certainly wouldn’t chase someone for their fame.” He is currently in a relationship he’s managed to keep under wraps, other than to state, emphatically, that she’s 
not an actress.
OFF-SCREEN INTERESTS
It seems Radcliffe spends a good deal of time with his head in a book. “What I love to do more than anything is read and write. I also watch a huge amount on the Discovery Channel and I’m becoming more and more fascinated by archaeology.”
Although an avid cricket fan, he says of participating in the sport: “Oh, I’m terrible, really abysmal. I’m fit. I can run and I’m very agile. I can jump around for as long as you’d like me to. If you give me a huge pile of rubble and say, ‘Climb over that really quickly,’ I’ll do it.
I’ve done it on film. But in terms of sports, I’ve always been rubbish really. My football career peaked in the St Thomas’ B team at the age of eight. Since then it’s all been downhill. But what I love about the game of cricket is that there’s a place for hopeless enthusiasts,” he laughs. “That’s what I am, so if I can do nothing else, I can bring the half-time oranges and keep score.”
A MAN OF MODESTY
It’s unusual to hear any man describe himself as a failure in the sports arena, like most will describe their driving abilities to be nothing short of excellent.
“Maybe it’s a natural Englishness, but there’s an embarrassment about being too self-congratulatory. I’m not being self-deprecating. I can be proud about some things. Like, I’m a really good singer and I will happily say that, but I really am crap at sport,” he laughs.
“I’m just being honest, I’m afraid. There’s no false modestly about it.” He pauses. “I don’t think there’s anything to be gained by being so sure that you’re brilliant. That’s just not me.”

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