Daniel Radcliffe became an international superstar when still a child after being cast as the lead in the Harry Potter series. It was a highly sought after role, but Radcliffe thinks he knows why he got it. He doesn't think he was inherently the best actor auditioning for the role, in fact quite the opposite. He admits that he wasn't the best actor at that age, but believes that he had a spirit that impressed those making the decisions to cast him. According to Radcliffe...
The thing that I will always say about myself is I was not the most gifted child actor. When I look at other young actors, like when I look at the kids on Stranger Things or shows like that, I'm just like, 'Holy! My god! How are you doing that?' It's amazing. The thing I think I really was good at, and the thing I had, which was a huge advantage for me, was I just loved it.
Sometimes there's simply no replacement for pure enthusiasm, which seems to be what Daniel Radcliffe thinks he had over other contenders for the role of Harry Potter. Certainly, the passion is important, as it drives you to want to do a job well. However, it's also important to have passion when playing Harry Potter, because it's something that the character himself very much has. Harry Potter tends to jump first and ask questions later, running headlong into danger without much consideration. If Daniel Radcliffe showed that he had the ability to play that sort of character, then it is possible that love was the reason he was cast.
The casting of the main three actors in the Harry Potter series was unique, simply because they were casting actors who would play the same role for over a decade. It wasn't just about figuring out who would do the part justice in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but also trying to figure out what these actors would be like years in the future, and making sure they would still fit the parts then.
Daniel Radcliffe goes on to tell The Huffington Post that his love for acting extended to being part of the team that worked on a set every day. He says he really liked the idea of being part of a large group responsible for making the movie, which, considering a lot of the crew as well as the cast worked on the series for years, was also important to the overall success of the franchise.
I loved being on set. I was good at being on set. I loved learning how to be helpful. The greatest thing about being on set is you get to be part of a team. That's the most special thing about it, and you get to feel like with everyone else you are making this thing together, and I loved that feeling straight away. I think that was definitely what made me a great fit for those films.
For many people, Daniel Radcliffe is Harry Potter. Whatever it was that got him the role, everybody else saw it as soon as the first movie hit theaters.
