Every actor starts their career somewhere, but not every actor kicks it off by playing one of the biggest pop culture icons of the 21st century. Daniel Radcliffe, however, did just that when he took on the role of The Boy Who Lived himself in Warner Bros’ Harry Potter movies. And while playing Harry from age 11 no doubt helped launch Radcliffe’s career, there are downsides to stepping into the spotlight at such a young age.
Speaking with Empire, Radcliffe revealed one of those downsides is looking back on the franchise and seeing what an amateur he was back then. Of course, every actor probably feels this way, but Radcliffe’s early movies are still widely played and referenced, meaning he can’t just put them in a box and forget about them. “I’m intensely embarrassed by some of my acting, obviously,” he said. “But yeah, it’s like asking, ‘How do you feel about your teenage years?’ There’s so much in there that it’s almost impossible to single out one feeling. It’s hard to separate my relationship with Harry from my relationship with the films as a whole.”
Despite having some unpleasant emotions when looking back on that time of his life, Radcliffe emphasized how thankful he is for the role that started it all. “I’m incredibly grateful for the experience. It showed me what I want to do with the rest of my life. To find out early on what you love is really lucky.”
Was there a rivalry between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings?
When the Harry Potter films first premiered, there were a lot of comparisons with the Lord of the Rings movies, which were also huge at the time. Talking alongside Elijah Wood, who played Frodo in those movies, Radcliffe set the record straight: There were no tensions between people working on either series, even if the idea wanted there to be.
“Certainly from our standpoint, no,” Wood said. “It was just admiration of another significant saga that was being made concurrently by incredible filmmakers with an amazing cast.”
Radcliffe followed up by highlighting how ridiculous it felt whenever the press would bring up a feud between the two franchises. “Yeah, very much the same. That’s why the rivalry stuff, when it came up in the press, really annoyed me, because I was like, ‘We don’t feel this.’ It always seemed very ridiculous.”
There you have it: Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fans can rest easy, knowing there’s a mutual appreciation between those working on both sets.
For a more current look at Radcliffe’s acting work, check out some of his newer projects, like the era-hopping comedy series Miracle Workers.
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