Ever since the Harry Potter film series ended in 2011, Daniel Radcliffe has gone on to take on wild roles in live-action movies. However, the British actor has also lent his voice to a number of adult animated shows, like Robot Chicken, Rick and Morty and the 2023 Netflix TV series Mulligan. With the Swiss Army Man actor taking on more lighthearted roles lately, he revealed what he prefers to watch compared to “heavy” dramas. I’ve got to say, it makes me feel so seen!
If you take a look at the 75th Emmy winners, The Bear and Abbott Elementary won major awards for the comedy categories. While The Simpsons won the Outstanding Animated Program award, there weren’t any animated series nominated in the major comedy categories even though they’re watched and loved by many people. In his interview with CBR, Daniel Radcliffe got honest about why he turns to watching cartoons compared to “heavy” dramas and I can fully relate to this:
Honestly, I watch cartoons, and I watch reality TV. I've never seen Breaking Bad. I've never watched The Sopranos, or The Wire. All the sort-of, heavy hour-long stuff. Just, I can't... I think it does probably in part stem from growing up on The Simpsons in the way that I think so many people of our generation's kids. I was watching Jeopardy! the other night, and one of the contestants credited a ton of his trivia knowledge to The Simpsons. That's absolutely true of me as well. There are so many weird facts, and things from my general knowledge of the world to my sense of humor were formed in some way by The Simpsons.
I completely understand where Daniel Radcliffe is coming from, as I can never watch “heavy” dramas on repeat without a humorous comedy series in the mix. It’s a good way to inspire some chuckles and laughs throughout the day. I've event have been getting into classic reality shows like The Real World and other throwback MTV reality series with my Paramount+ subscription.
After a while, you just want to watch a show that’s entertaining and not feel mentally drained the way you would with an hour-long drama episode. Plus, a great thing about watching adult animation shows on Netflix is you don’t have to remember events from the previous episodes to follow the next one. You watch them more for the hilarious situations and feel good by the time the episode is over.
It’s also no secret that Daniel Radcliffe is a Simpsons fan. He did, after all, play himself on the long-running animated series. He also guest-starred in two more episodes as Bart’s new friend Diggs and as a vampire in Treehouse of Horror XXI. It must have felt like a dream come true getting to guest star on one of your favorite animated shows. If The Simpsons Movie finally gets a big-screen sequel, let’s hope the Miracle Workers actor finds a way to make his voice come through there.
Other than The Simpsons, the BAFTA nominee made sure to commend some of the best-animated TV shows, like BoJack Horseman, for their ability to go further than the limits of live-action shows. They can get away with violent running gags that are not to be taken seriously, like Homer strangling Bart. Like Daniel Radcliffe said, dark moments like those wouldn’t fly well in a live-action series, as it would be seen as “a horrendous act of child abuse.” In animated comedy shows, you just take moments like that with a grain of salt knowing the animated characters will survive without a mark.
It looks like Daniel Radcliffe strays away from “heavy” dark shows and would prefer to entertain himself with cartoons and reality TV. Hearing this coming from the Harry Potter actor truly makes me feel seen, as I may like drama shows as much as the next person, but I need to throw in some short episodes of feel-good series to bring fun to my daily TV schedule like Radcliffe does.
You can hear Daniel Radcliffe voice King Jeremy Fitzhogg in Mulligan, as Part 2 is now available to watch with your Netflix subscription. If you’d like to see Radcliffe’s guest-starring roles in The Simpsons, you can find them with your Disney+ subscription.
