blimey Harry didn't you ever wonder where your mom and dad learned oh one more you're a wizard
Harry this was Daniel Radcliffe but it's not who he is anymore if our adventures with time Turners
have taught us anything it's that you can't live in the past and Radcliffe understands
this better than most it's more than liquid luck that has kept him relevant for over 20 years for
half that time he was synonymous with a little boy wizard who lived under the stairs today his
proudest achievement is playing a corpse with a gas problem so how and why did Brad Cliff manage
to go from a star of a multi-billion dollar franchise to this they drugged me and they
like right through my I I think I need some antiseptic or something they're all they're all
red and sore and why does it work so well we'll be studying the magic behind Daniel Radcliffe's
peculiar and persisting career but first like this video And subscribe to nerdstalgic so you
don't miss out on our latest releases everyone is familiar with the Harry Potter franchise though
it's fallen out of critical favor in the last few years there's no denying the impact it had
on generations of book readers and movie viewers whether you're a Die Hard Potter head a casual
consumer or a staunch hater you've seen these faces before Emma Watson Rupert Grint and Daniel
Radcliffe became world famous stars practically overnight when they were cast as the leads in
the 2001 movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone they would spend the
next decade of their lives wrapped up in the Wizarding World and will likely spend the rest
of their lives struggling against the real world which sees them as Hermione Ron and Harry escaping
out from under the crushing weight of stardom at such a young age isn't easy in a fortunate twist
of fate the core cast of the Harry Potter movie franchise managed to emerge mostly unscathed Grant
has committed himself to the small screen with roles in TV shows like snatch and servant while
otherwise preferring to stay out of the spotlight to raise his family Watson was appointed U.N women
Goodwill Ambassador in 2014 spends a great deal of time on humanitarian efforts and has appeared in
several high-profile films Radcliffe is also well known for his humanitarian efforts but when it
comes to his work well 300 to fix her broken urine purifier yeah the European purifier is broken
there's something special about the trajectory of Daniel Radcliffe as an actor something unhinged
during a GQ interview in October of 2022 he had this to say about his work outside of the Harry
Potter films early on I wanted to you know try and get a reputation for being someone who wanted to
try lots of different stuff obviously you want to be known as an actor who's just saying lots
of different stuff rather than just a character or a specific character Radcliffe recognized that
if he wanted to distance himself from his most recognizable role he'd have to take on a variety
of projects that brought him as far away from Wizards and Wands as possible first came Equus
a Broadway and West End stage show in which the then 17 year old actor performed totally nude of
course there's a lot more to Equis than that the play deals with several dark and complex themes
including religious trauma sexual repression and the pain associated with Coming of Age Radcliffe
for his part received High Praise for his leading role still when Equus went into previews in
February of 2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix hadn't even hit theaters yet it was
difficult for the general public to separate the growing Radcliffe from the young boy who lived
even today his time on stage is largely remembered as that time Harry Potter got naked at least for
the masses the industry however was taking note for an entirely different reason according to
Radcliffe I have had directors say to me since that even if they didn't like say it at the time
that was knowing that that had happened kind of put me on their radar as somebody that was
obviously willing to you know try stuff some like Kill Your Darlings director John krakidis wanted
their shot at Reinventing the image of a child star clearly his plan to diversify his portfolio
worked out now we know how Radcliffe's odd career got its jump start but we still don't know why
being willing to try new things and reinvent yourself doesn't necessarily equate to being
willing to run down the street in your underwear with guns attached to your hands no no these these
are just my hands you're fine you're fine I'm not gonna do anything else to you I'm sorry that's a
level of chaos many actors aren't willing to put themselves through especially actors with such
a monstrously popular franchise in their rear view mirror and more money than they know what
to do with now why would someone like Daniel Radcliffe choose these types of projects and
risk his reputation as a child star success story wouldn't it be easier to rest on his Laurels and
insert himself into some Oscar Bait movie every few years of course Radcliffe did rack up some
more serious credits before he got weird literally you're all just a bunch of normals okay I'm
he tried his hand a war drama with 2007's my boy Jack and his first movie after wrapping
the Harry Potter franchise was 2013's the woman in black a grim haunted house style horror movie
from there Radcliffe moved on to biopics rom-com's Fantastical horror comedies and every sub-genre he
could get his hands on but his interests always seem to lean into the dark and strange which led
him to his first real breakout into the outlandish in 2016 Radcliffe played Manny the corpse opposite
Paul Dano and swiss army man he has since gone on record to say that was one of the truly one of the
best experiences I've ever had and probably the film that I'm like proudest of which is
quite a statement considering his filmography you might not think a movie full of fart jokes
and gross out humor would be something to be particularly proud of but there's a surprising
amount of heart at the center of Swiss army man some of that obviously comes from the Daniels who
served as both the writers and directors but credit must be given to Dano and Radcliffe's
Stellar performances in the face of such ludicrous material it's not easy to play a corpse or to play
off of one yet Radcliffe delivers his lines with a naive earnestness that keeps the tone exactly
where it should be and maybe all it'll take is one person to just be okay with that and
then the whole world will be dancing and singing and farting and everyone will feel a little bit
less alone and Dano responds with a gentle energy that makes the ending genuinely tear-jerking by
his own humble admission Daniel Radcliffe wasn't exactly pulling out award-worthy performances in
any of the Harry Potter movies moreover he's made it clear that he's essentially been learning on
the job ever since he takes inspiration from the more accomplished actors he works with and tries
to apply the lessons he learns to Future projects Swiss army man was the culmination of years of
this practice and it really cemented Radcliffe as a kind of offbeat wild card while he still
finds himself in the occasional Blockbuster and lends his voice to a few hyper popular TV
shows uh it's it's definitely a sun first a king with a penis what do you want from me Radcliffe
really excels in the unusual both 2019's guns at Kimbo and 2022's weird the Al Yankovic story are
equal parts fever dream and film and Radcliffe is right at home in that kind of bizarre environment
his current Focus the Anthology TV series miracle workers has put his wackier Tendencies to good use
Radcliffe has made it clear on multiple occasions that he gravitates towards roles he's never done
before with every new season of miracle workers he gets to work out a new character each one
more Off the Wall than the last and he gets to do it with one of his biggest influences Steve
Buscemi Radcliffe has called out bolt busemi and Harrison Ford as two actors he's tried to model
his career after like them he wants to be an actor that can do it all herein lies the true answer
for why Daniel Radcliffe has decided to go down this weird and winding career path and also why
we've grown to love him for it Radcliffe doesn't throw himself into projects just to shake off any
attempts at typecasting or pigeonholing there's a lot more to his choices than that first he chooses
scripts that are genuinely interesting to him his naturally eccentric tastes expanded his repertoire
into vastly diverse territory with horror Thrills action comedy and heart he also seeks out unique
challenges in order to prove to himself that he isn't one note that humble approach to acting has
left him grounded and open to improving which he's certainly done over the years and through it all
he has never taken himself too seriously is there still a large collection of people who look at
him and see the kid with the lightning-shaped scar absolutely but his actions and attitude since 2007
have ensured the longevity of his career outside of Potter you're not gonna get her to be that easy
as long as he continues to make similar decisions Daniel Radcliffe will likely remain in the hearts
and minds of audiences for decades to come no love potion or magic charm should be required
the spell he has cast is one of creative Instinct hard work and humility so if there's one lesson
to be taken from his career it's that nobody is above playing a farting corpse not even Harry
Potter thanks so much for watching today's video all the way to the end be sure to hit that Thumbs
Up Button if you liked what you saw And subscribe to nerdstalgic for more videos just like this one
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