Credit: Warner Bros.In a recent interview, Daniel Radcliffe reflected on the impact left by the more veteran Harry Potter actors, including the late, great Michael Gambon.
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Harry Potter is arguably the most influential film franchise of the 21st century. Not only did it kick off the careers of numerous young actors, including Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), and Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory), but the series introduced a whole generation to veteran actors as well, including Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall), Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), and Gary Oldman (Sirius Black).
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However, no one has stood out more than Daniel Radcliffe. The titular Harry Potter, Radcliffe has gone on to have a fascinating career on stage and screen, including Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022), Miracle Workers (2019-present), Victor Frankenstein (2015), Swiss Army Man (2016), and The Lost City (2022). And according to the new father, he owes much of his success to his Harry Potter mentors.
Daniel Radcliffe Reflects on His Harry Potter Mentors
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During Variety’s annual Business of Broadway Breakfast, Daniel Radcliffe appeared with his castmates from Merrily We Roll Along (2023), Tony Award nominee Jonathan Groff and Tony Award winner Lindsay Mendez, to talk about the process of making Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical come to life. Naturally, Radcliffe was asked about the late Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore) and how much the pair spoke about acting. The answer? Not so much.
“We probably did, but the wonderful thing about Michael is that he wasn’t an actor you talked about acting with,” said Radcliffe. “His true passion was restoring 19th-century Italian dueling pistols, so he would talk about that much more.”
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“It was something that was a part of his brilliance… He would be messing around, trying to make me laugh, right up to the word action… You might watch that and go, ‘Wow, he messes around,’ but it was a very skillful way. He knows he is at his best when he is the most relaxed and the most playful.”
While he never spoke much about acting and theater with Michael Gambon, Radcliffe did share deep conversations with Richard Griffiths, the actor who played Harry’s uncle, Vernon Dursley. The two shared the stage together during the 2007 revival of Equus.
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“I did Equus with him for so long. And watching the way he approaches theater and approaches it as a process of constant and relentless refinement of you’re never done. The last show should be your best. And especially in a show like Equus and in a show like Merrily [We Roll Along]. There is so much to dig into, and the material is so rich and so deep that you’re not gonna get bored by continuing to mine it. Ever.”
Despite their opposing processes and viewpoints, it’s clear that both actors had a massive effect on Daniel Radcliffe. And you can definitely see these influences in the quality and variety of roles we see Radcliffe play to this day.
What’s your favorite Daniel Radcliffe performance? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!