In a new interview with The Seattle Times, Daniel Radcliffe discusses his recently released film, Kill Your Darlings as well as some of his upcoming roles. Some snippets may be read below.
He came to Toronto with three varied films: the romantic comedy “The F Word,” the horror fantasy “Horns,” and the drama “Kill Your Darlings,” in which Radcliffe plays the young Allen Ginsberg. “I’m really proud that they’re all so different — they show such different sides of what I can do,” he said.
“We [director John Krokidas of Kill Your Darlings] worked on accent stuff, physicality, his backstory and his life in general. John also taught me things I’d never been taught before, like how to break down a script. I think everyone else just assumed that I knew how to do that! He gave me a way of working that I’ve never had before, so I’m very grateful.”Radcliffe arrived in Toronto fresh from a busy working summer, performing in the play “The Cripple of Inishmaan” by night and filming the second season of the TV miniseries “A Young Doctor’s Notebook” by day. The show, which aired in the U.S. last month on the Ovation channel, is set in 1917 in a hospital in Russia, with Radcliffe and Jon Hamm playing the same doctor at different ages. “There’s nothing else like it on television. It’s very gory, and very funny,” said Radcliffe, who acknowledges that the casting may raise a few eyebrows. “It’s not obvious, but when you see us next to each other it kind of works.”
Next up: playing Igor in Paul McGuigan’s “Frankenstein” opposite James McAvoy later this year (he’s “pleasantly nervous” about working with McAvoy, an actor Radcliffe has long admired). He’d love to do another musical someday — “a fantastically fun thing to do; it’s the only job I’m not doing anymore that I still miss” — and more stage work, and is in talks for several film projects that can’t yet be named. It’s a busy schedule for a young actor excited about the possibilities of his craft, far beyond Hogwarts.
“I want to prove to people that I’m an actor and not just a character,” he said. “I think I’m starting on my way to doing that.”
Sharp Magazine have sent over their brand new interview and some high resolution photos from their photoshoot with Daniel Radcliffe! Click the thumbnails below to see expanded images and read some snippets from the full interview as well. Parents be cautioned there is a bit of strong language.
Kill Your Darlings is pretty dark, and Horns, while I haven’t seen the movie, I’ve read the book, and it’s pretty dark. The Woman in Black was obviously dark. What’s the deal with all the dark @!*0? I know! I’m getting this question quite a bit. I don’t know what it is. I think the thing is, Horns is very dark, and Kill Your Darlings is very dark, but the thing I think that people will not expect about Kill Your Darlings is how it has a sense of humour. Same with Horns. The first 30 minutes of Horns is some Ionesco absurdist comedy. To do justice to the book, you have to capture some humour. I am drawn to the dark stuff. I don’t know what can be read into that. I just think it’s, on the whole, more interesting. And I think that dark things like Kill Your Darlings and Horns, the thing I like about it—even The F-Word as well—the thing that runs through all my upcoming films is that they’re unsentimental. The F-Word is a very sweet and romantic comedy but at the same time it does have this very real side to it. Which is why I think I liked it so much. The darker side of writing is where you’re going to find… the one thing I can’t stand about a script is sentimentality. If there’s a common thread, it’s that. Rather than darkness itself.
How strategic are you at picking what films you do next? People are always saying things like, “Oh, he must be really trying to shed the Harry Potter image.” I pick the films that I would want to see—and that’s it really. It’s hard to be strategic in the film industry, because you don’t know what project will get funding and what won’t. It’s hard to actually have a long-term, concrete plan. You don’t know what scripts are going to come in, so you have to just base your strategy on what scripts are available. With the scripts that I’ve been getting, I’ve been very fortunate in that I haven’t really been typecast. I’m not interested in the stuff that would have me playing stuff that was too similar to Harry.
You also seem like a fellow who takes acting quite seriously. And this should be a stupid question. Why do you think that is? I see actors that don’t. I think 90 per cent of actors do. The ones that don’t are the ones you read about. And that’s because they don’t. They’re more focused on parties and events rather than being on set. I think I didn’t spend much time at parties and events as a kid. I was just working. I was on the Harry Potter set. But when I did do it, going to a Harry Potter premiere when you are Harry Potter is intense when you’re a kid. It wasn’t something that I looked forward to. I looked forward to being on set and getting to do my work. I think that’s why I’ve been attracted to people professionally and personally who love what they do and who are good at it and take pride in it. I was doing a play in London for the last three months and during the last month of the play I shot a TV show at the same time. I was working from 6 in the morning to 11:30 at night, every day of the week. And everyone around me was saying, “God, you’re tired. Are you okay?” The secret, though, was that I was loving it. I was basically getting to do two of my favourite things at the same time. I’m fortunate to have my job.
They also posted a behind the scenes video which you can view below:
Teen Vogue has posted a new interview with Daniel Radcliffe where he discusses his life post-Potter, Kill Your Darlings and more! Some pieces may be read below, with the full interview over at Teen Vogue.
Kill Your Darlings is such a different project for you. What drew you to this role?
The brilliant script. It’s about Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William Burroughs, and as you read the script, they just become Will, Jack, and Allen. It’s much more about their lives and you stop caring who they are. You could take out the fact that these guys were in a great literary movement and it’d still be a fascinating story to tell. The fact that it’s the true story of something that actually gave birth to a generation of writers makes it more interesting.
You had two other films premiere at TIFF, Horns and The F Word. What is the difference between working on the Harry Potter series and working on indie films?
There a lot fewer people on set with indies. But films are always chaos. Everyone assumes because Potter had time and money, it was really efficient. Not the case at all. The more time and money you have, the more you will probably waste. Time and money give you the luxury of not having to make a decision right away. With smaller films, the decisions have to get made. They have no money and time so you actually end up with great momentum on set and you film really quickly.
Are there any similarities?
Ultimately, every film crew is the same and every film is the same. It’s a group of people, some who know each other, some of whom don’t, who get together for a period of time and bring something ordered and beautiful out of chaos. But that’s the fun of it. That’s one of the reasons I love my job and I love the industry—you get to watch that journey.
You really are passionate about your craft!
Every time I step onto a set with a new director, there’s something new to watch. They all have a different way of working, and they’ll do something and I’ll go, “That’s freaking amazing!” I want to do that when I direct. It’s a constant learning process and I find it fascinating.
What advice do you have for young people trying to achieve their dream?
It all depends on what your definition of success is, because the only one that matters is the one you set yourself. People can say I’m successful—I’ve had a very charmed life and I’ve been very lucky to have done the things that I’ve done—but at the same time, I was never 100% happy with the work I did during Potter. My definition of success is about making a transition out of Potter and forging a long-term career for myself with longevity. Define success on your own terms and don’t give up until you get there.
Daniel Radcliffe was a guest on Robin Milling’s podcast, Milling About, where he talked about his newest film, Kill Your Darlings. Visit this page to listen to the podcast in full.
Daniel Radcliffe was once the bespectacled boy wizard of Harry Potter. With a bit of a scruff and near 25 it doesn’t seem odd that he prefers Dan. Speaking to him since he’s 10, you happily adopt the name as he’s permanently left the Hogwarts building. In Kill Your Darlings he may still be wearing Potter-shaped glasses but the comparisons firmly end there. Dan joins host Robin Milling to discuss taking on the role of Beat poet Allen Ginsberg. He tells Robin he modestly dabbled in sonnets when he was 17, but now he’s working towards writing screenplays he can direct. To get into the mindset of unrequited heartache for Lucien Carr (played by Dane DeHaan), director John Krokidas, who also joins Robin, suggested he borrow Renee Zelwegger’s method of listening to music before the scene. Dan chose jazz singer Jo Stafford while Krokidas turned to bands such as The Libertines with similar torture in their relationship.
John, who is well versed in the Beat Generation keyed into Ginsberg for being openly gay in the 40s and taking his freedom of expression all the way to the Supreme Court. He tells Robin he aspires to be that brave and hopes the film will do the same for audiences. ‘Maybe,’ he says, ‘you will take pen to paper and create something revolutionary.’
Daniel Radcliffe chatted with Nikki and Sarah on their Live MTV show on October 10th. He talks about being “normal,” his lack of a twitter account, and more! The show does have a bit of mature content, so parents be cautioned.
Over the past few days a few past Potter stars have commented on the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film, which will be produced by Potter producer David Heyman. Mugglenet chatted to Ralph Fiennes who played Voldemort in the films who said he would be open to reading the script (to possibly direct.) This has no bearing on actual film news, it’s just interesting to see that he would consider it.
Daniel Radcliffe and Alan Rickman also talked about the film with MTV:
“I don’t think I’m going to be coming back…. We can’t be doing these characters when we’re 40, so there has to be a line drawn,” Radcliffe said. He wouldn’t, however, say “no” definitively “because I never know what Jo [Rowling] is going to write, but at the moment I’m in the same position that everyone else is in — waiting to hear what information is coming out because I don’t know anything about these new films.”
“I don’t really know what she’s doing,” Rickman said. While he answered the question as diplomatically as Radcliffe, unwilling to rule out an appearance, he had the same reservations. “I suppose I’m wise enough to never say ‘never,’ but I’m dead so I don’t know where I’m going to be scrapped back from. I’m so dead.”
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