Having grown up in front of the entire world, Harry Potter‘s Daniel Radcliffe became one of the most recognized faces in the world as soon as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone premiered. And only more and more recognizable with the Harry Potter films that came after that. For that reason, the actor revealed that he began coping with fame by drinking, which ultimately caused more problems.
Radcliffe sat down with Sam Jones of YouTube’s “The Off Camera Show” on February 19th. He spoke about growing up in the spotlight and how he constantly felt like he was being watched — because to the outside world, he was Harry Potter.
“There was an awareness that I really struggled with, particularly in my late teens, when I was going out places for the first time, where you would, like, feel — and again, it could have largely been in my head — but, you would feel watched when you went into a bar, when you went into a pub.”
The actor, who now stars in the new TBS series Miracle Workers, told Jones that he would use alcohol to shake that feeling of being watched.
“The quickest way to forget about the fact that you were being watched was to get very drunk,” Radcliffe said. “Then as you get very drunk, you become aware, ‘Oh, people are watching more now because now I’m getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more.'”
“It can affect your psyche,” Radcliffe said of fame. “There is no blueprint for starting young, and working stuff out.”
He then stated that he has a lot of sympathy for other celebrities who started their careers early in life. The public can take swats at young celebrities all they want, but there’s no way to know what these people are going through unless we’ve been in their shoes. Growing up in Hollywood can be really tough.
“Part of the thing is the expectation that you should just be delighted all the time,” Radcliffe continued. “You have a great job, you’re wealthy — you don’t have a right to ever feel sad or to not be, like, excited about the whole thing all the time. I think that’s a pressure as well, if you suddenly start to feel like, ‘man if I am feeling some human emotion of sadness does that mean I’m doing this wrong? Does that mean like, I’m not good at being famous or not good at living my life?'”
For Radcliffe, he puts up with the pressure because he loves the work.
[fm_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfCsVPJsw-E"]That love for what he does matched with the people he surrounded himself with was what pulled him out of that dangerous downward spiral with alcohol. “And I don’t miss it,” Radcliffe said of his former “chaotic” lifestyle.
At the 3 broomsticks, 12 butter beers deep. #wizardproblems
— Call Me Lysosome (@CallMeLysosome) February 20, 2019
You can check out Radcliffe’s entire Off Camera Show playlist, starting right here. He talks Potter, Equus, and life in general.
[fm_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGs1m-q_F2U&list=PL3AUS4PSeKCRuL8zfDWElwIjkfsWSKokF"]Now, Radcliffe is taking on comedy, both producing and starring alongside Steve Buscemi, Geraldine Viswanathan, and Karan Soni in Miracle Workers, a sitcom about angels trying to prevent God from destroying the Earth.
[fm_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBVqgz0a4Kc"]And so far, people are really digging Radcliffe in his newest role. He truly is a versatile actor.
I never knew how desperately I needed a show where Daniel Radcliffe played a neurotic mess of an angel whose greatest joy comes from helping people find random missing stuff while maintaining balance in the universe but here we are. Watch Miracle Workers and thank me later.
— Laura Sebastian (Mostly Updates) (@sebastian_lk) February 15, 2019
Like, people are really digging it. Add the show to your list.
THE “MIRACLE WORKERS” PILOT IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I’VE SEEN IN YEARS.
— Bailey Pennick (@BaileyPennick) February 13, 2019
There are flying letters involved. Potterheads will like that nostalgic throwback.
It has been 18 years and Harry Potter still tries to catch the letters flying through the air instead of picking up the ones off the ground #MiracleWorkers
— Lollison P (@LollisonP) February 13, 2019
And there are some ~wooshy~ sounds similar to those in HP. Wooshy wooshy. We believe.
I simply adore Daniel Radcliffe in #MiracleWorkers pic.twitter.com/ytruEwMvEm
— Emily Redenbach (@aussiemily) February 20, 2019
Radcliffe plays Craig, an angel responsible for answering prayers. Billions and billions of prayers.
And Steve Buscemi plays God. Because of course he does.
Duh! We couldn’t agree more.
Whoever was behind the decision to cast Steve Buscemi as God in #MiracleWorkers deserves a raise.
— D.J. Jones (is still writing a novel) (@TheRealDJ_Jones) February 11, 2019
Plus, Jorma Taccone and Radcliffe are now best buddies because of Miracle Workers. This is a friendship we never knew we needed in our lives until this moment.
We’re officially freaking out. Someone help us.
Daniel Radcliffe may have gone through a tough period after jumping into stardom, but his hard work and dedication to the craft has paid off. We can’t wait to see what projects he’ll sign onto next.
