Why Daniel Radcliffe Took So Many Different Types Of Roles After Harry Potter

Harry in Deathly Hollows Part 2

It's hard to believe, but it's been nearly 17 years since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone arrived in theaters, introducing us to a trio of lovable child actors. The public watched Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint grow up before our eyes, and transition into adult actors. Radcliffe has perhaps been the most busy, taking on a variety of film, TV, and theater roles. The 28 year old actor recently spoke to his process in choosing roles, and why he purposefully decided to play a variety of different characters. He said,

Directly after Potter, it was a real concern of mine [to show my versatility as an actor], but now, I think it's just a part of how I pick roles. I don't want to repeat myself, because that's not fun for me, but not because it's a part of any huge grand plan to continue to distance myself from Potter.

It looks like Daniel Radcliffe is just picking the most interesting projects nowadays. While the first few projects after he completed his eight Harry Potter films were purposeful to show versatility, but now it seems Radcliffe is just making sure his various projects are interesting and unlike anything he'd done before.

Daniel Radcliffe's comments to ET can be confirmed simply by looking at the actor's extensive resume. While his schedule was jam packed during his tenure as the boy who lived, he managed to play a leading role in Equus, making his Broadway debut in the process. The play gained attention for featuring a nude scene by Radcliffe, one way he began to challenge perceptions of him while still working on the beloved franchise. Following Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2, he starred in the supernatural thriller The Woman in Black and biographical film Kill Your Darlings as Allen Ginsberg.

While Daniel Radcliffe has definitely managed to establish himself as someone other than Harry Potter, many of his films do seem to contain aspects of the supernatural. In addition to The Woman in Black, Radcliffe was the star of 2013's Horns, where his character sprouted devil like horns from his head. And in addition to playing Igor in the less than favorable Victor Frankenstein movie, Radcliffe recently played a farting corpse in the somewhat controversial Swiss Army Man. While all very different movies, there's something about Radcliffe that lends itself to movies going for less than realism.

Aside from Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson is the second most successful Harry Potter alum. After the Potter movies she jumped into roles in films like My Week with Marilyn and Perks of Being a Wallflower before recently playing Belle in Beauty and the Beast.

You can catch Daniel Radcliffe in theaters Beast of Burden starting today. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.