New interview with Dan from Esquire Mexico. You can view the article on their website or read the English version below.
IF YOU ARE FAMOUS AT 13 OR 14 YEARS OLD, YOU MAY COME AT 20 AND YOU FIND OUT THAT YOU DON’T LIKE THE ACTION. THEN EVERYONE WILL SAY YOU ARE A FAILURE. BUT I AM LUCKY, BECAUSE IT WAS NOT MY CASE AND I WAS ALWAYS SURROUNDED BY GOOD PEOPLE
ESQUIRE: Between cinema, television and theater, what do you enjoy doing the most?
DANIEL RADCLIFFE: I think everyone allows me to do different things. Television and cinema are very similar. My experience in TV has been much more in comedy, that’s why I think it’s so fun for me. I will always love the sets because I love being there and living the whole process. I’ve done it since I was nine years old and I love being in that world. I think the theater has helped me to be better. I have learned a lot and every time I do it with more confidence.
ESQ: Do you have any favorite genre?
D: I love comedy. Making people have fun gives you life.
ESQ: Let’s talk about the issues that will determine the cinema during this year: which do you think will be the most important during 2020?
D: I think you’re right … many times the tone of the movies is defined by what is happening in the United States or in Hollywood. A few years ago journalism dominated, and I think there will be a lot about politics this year, because for them it is a year of elections. I haven’t done anything like that, particularly, although I think Escape from Pretoria has a bit of that.
ESQ: How do you decide whether to take a project or not?
D: The story is always the most important, as is the character. Generally it is when I read something and I realize that I have not done anything similar, or that it would help me to explore in my acting work; something that is original and that I would like to see in the cinema. When I did Swiss Army Man, for example, I thought: “I will never be in a movie like this; it is unique”. Other times, the decision has nothing to do with the script but with the director.
I TRY TO WRITE. PEOPLE SUGGEST TO WRITE ABOUT WHAT IS KNOWN, BUT FOR ME IT’S DIFFICULT, BECAUSE IT IS NOT EASY FOR PEOPLE TO IDENTIFY WITH MY LIFE
ESQ: If you could play any role, which one would you choose?
D: I don’t know. There are books I would like to be in. I would love to be Winston Smith, 1984. He is a great character in a great story. My favorite book is The Master and Margarita, if there was a role for me in that story it would be cool. It’s hard to say what I would like to be because the reason I like many characters has to do with the actor who played them, and I wouldn’t like to say that I can do better than them. I have no intention of doing anything about Shakespeare, for example, and one of the reasons I would not like it is that I have seen many of my favorite actors play their characters and I know I could not do better.
ESQ: You started acting from an early age, how do you think you have evolved since then?
D: When you are a child on the set you just stand and say what you have memorized. I never had a process to decipher the character. As I grew up in Potter I saw how other actors did it and tried to imitate them … the process has been very gradual. When you are a teenager you are very aware of your own face and do not want to do anything weird; It’s scary not to see you cool. Growing up, I have learned to accept my own natural rarity and better take it as something that will make me unique. In short, I think it’s about that: to become less insecure.
ESQ: What do you think makes you unique as an actor?
D: I think it would be better if the question was answered by people … there are things in which I consider myself good, and many times it has to do with throwing myself to do things; there isn’t something I don’t try, I always like to try hard.
PHOTO SHOOTS > STUDIO SHOOTS > 2020 > ESQUIRE MEXICO
Find the full interview in their March 2020 issue. Interview by Constanza Alcocer and photos by César Balcázar
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