Daniel Radcliffe alcoholic: Harry Potter child actor success led to him drinking as a way to cope with success and uncertainty. The travails of fame.
Harry Potter child actor Daniel Radcliffe has admitted becoming an alcoholic following his success with the franchise series and fretting about uncertainty about life after his film character, Hogwarts growing larger than life.
Radcliffe now 31 — in an interview with the BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs told of becoming acutely aware of his surroundings as fame and recognition continued to follow him with the growing popularity of the Harry Potter series.
‘If I went out and if I got drunk I’d suddenly be aware of there being interest in that because it’s not just a drunk guy, it’s ‘Oh Harry Potter’s getting drunk in the bar,’ Radcliffe told the media outlet.
‘That carries some kind of interest for people and also a slightly mocking interest. It’s inherently funny for people,’ he further stated. While drinking more alcohol may not be the best advice, Radcliffe felt that it was the only thing he could do to cope at that time.
‘The way of dealing with that is just to drink more or get more drunk, so I did a lot of that for a few years,’ he said. The situation became so bad that Radcliffe was confused if he was drinking as it was in his nature or because the circumstances forced him to turn towards alcohol for relief.
‘A lot of drinking that happened towards the end of Potter and for a little bit, after it finished, it was panic a little bit, not knowing what to do next. Not being comfortable enough in who I was to remain sober,’ he said. Despite this, the actor confirmed that he has been sober since 2010.
Child actor felt scrutinized and watched and sought relief:
Radcliffe who was first cast as Harry at age 11, in the series’ first film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, went on to appear in the series for 10 years, starring in the lead role in all eight films culminating with the final film in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, released in 2011.
In his interview with the BBC- Radcliffe told of in present times being forced to be nice to people and fans because of the celebrity status that he gained for himself after appearing as Harry Potter. While he admitted that he loved being on the set and filming, he voiced out his concerns about young actors starring in a role for a long time and then losing their interests.
Daniel, who appeared in the movies with fellow child actors Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, went on to praise his parents and the others on set for giving him ‘enough perspective on my life and help me at key moments’.
The BBC interview follows a previous interview Radcliffe gave in which he discussed the inability as a world famous child actor to go anywhere without feeling watched, which comes with self-awareness and insecurity. Talking to the Off The Camera- Radcliffe discussed moving past his demons and subsequent addictions and ultimately finding true happiness.
