Dan Radcliffe New York TimesTalk full interview

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Update #1: Our forum member, NYC10016, attended the event and took a picture of Danie Radcliffe giving her an autograph and the autograph itself. See them below.

Thanks to reddiej, from SnitchSeeker for letting us about her meet with Dan Radcliffe @ TimesTalk in New York. While she was there, she took notes of the topics TimesTalk questioned Daniel Radcliffe and you can read her notes below.

For the latest updates & Pictures, visit our forum!!

Pictures of Daniel Radcliffe from the Event:

- Dan’s first experience with Broadway plays was the musical Chicago as a child, where his parents made him listen to the music from a young age; he said that the first play he saw live was probably Chicago, as well.
- He says that doing theatre work legitimises an actor more because of all the work put into it, and that a lot of training goes into it.
- He prepared for 18 months for Equus, though in the first two months was worried that he wasn’t going to be able to get the entire performance down (afraid he was going to be “awful”); said that with the help of director Thea Sharrock and his costars, if he messed up, he “could not be messing up with better people.”

- He first read Equus at about 14 years old (not as deeply and thoroughly as he later did), though it was about two years ago that he read it again and took interest in it (especially given how there are very few theatre roles for someone his age).
- Michael Gambon gave him advice on how to prepare for the play’s script, where he told him to get his lines memorised by the time they begin rehearsing; he then mentions that he spent a month in Australia (in 2006), learning his lines for the play, and by the time the opening night came around for Equus, Dan had the entire play memorised (his lines and everyone else’s), from having picked up what everyone said around him during rehearsals.
- Said that the two hours plus work on the play had exhausted him, but that he loved doing it every night (felt elated after the end of the play), so he had no complaints there. He said that live performance was a great rush, and felt like a free fall.
- He talks about how everyone perceived the play before it was even released, calling it pornographic, but that it’s only the last seven minutes of the play where the nudity and blinding took place; by the time the play was released there was a general talk about how good the play was in itself, and there was less of a focus on the nudity.
- He mentioned how surprised he was at the standing ovation received while doing his West End Equus stint, because it was not something done very often in Britain, but that in the US people just get up and clap even before a play begins, which he was somewhat astounded by.
- He said that the bond between actors on stage becomes tighter because there is a reliance on fellow actors to keep each other on track (in regards to what scene is being performed, or if lines are forgotten), so there is a stronger connection there. He mentions that although he gets along very well with Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, because in the Harry Potter films they can re-shoot a scene if something is wrong, the bond between actors in a scene is not as strong as it would have it had they done it live in front of an audience.
- He talks about a particular time whilst doing Equus, where he was sitting on costar Will Kemp’s shoulders, that when Will had to jump on a box (as part of the scene), he missed the box and kicked it across the stage, eliciting a shocked reaction from both cast and audience, but Will jumped back on the box eventually, though Dan admitted that he was laughing at the time because of the shock from the entire ordeal.

- Dan said that of the Half-Blood Prince move from November 2008 to July 2009, he was told about it 24 hours before the rest of the world, and begs everyone not to blame him for the move.
- About Half-Blood Prince Dan says that the parts with Dumbledore and Voldemort are the darkest, while the scenes with Ron are the funniest yet; he also mentions that Jessie Cave (Lavender Brown) was really great to work with.
- Dan talks about a particular incident on the Half-Blood Prince set, where Rupert had his first kiss with Jessie, and Dan was in the background of the scene laughing and trying to get Rupert to break out from character and laugh as well.
- Dan addresses how Emma Watson was hesitant about signing up for the final films, and her reason for doing so was not because she did not want to, but because of her education and the need to evaluate what her options were, especially since the last Harry Potter films would require another three years of their lives. Emma chose not to rush into the decision, but her reason was not because she did not want to.

- He said that initially his parents did not want him to be an actor, especially given their experience in the field; he said that he was five years old when he first told his mother he wanted to be an actor, to which she said no. However, as he got older, they became more supportive to his desire to act (to the point that his father gave up his job to escort and manage his son’s career).
- He said that the first contract he received for the Harry Potter films stated that he would have to sign up for the first six films and that they were to be filmed in Los Angeles, to which his parents said no. However, after meeting with producer David Heyman and director Chris Columbus and talking it through, the final contract was narrowed down to the first two Harry Potter films (at first) and for them to be shot in or around London, which they eventually agreed to.

- Dan spoke about My Boy Jack, especially his time in the trenches shooting the war sequences (noting that the rain machine had made the cast so cold that they were warming themselves up pouring hot tea onto their hands), where they had wet-suits under their uniforms so as to not get too cold.
- He was asked about his interest in World War I in relation to the movie, though noted that it wasn’t as great as the interviewer made it out to be.

- He spoke about criticism, especially about his work in Equus, and said that he avoided reading critiques, thinking that if they were bad they would put him down, and that if they were good it would make him more self-conscious in that he would wonder what particular bits he did well and focus on doing those scenes right again, which would become frustrating. (He got advice from fellow actor Kenneth Branagh, how after having read a terrible review from a film he did - Peter’s Friends - which he thought he’d done well, he was utterly devastated, so Dan figured it was preferable to avoid criticism all together).

- He mentioned (to general amusement), that Americans are treated more by psychiatrists more than Brits are, quipping that with Brits that if they were depressed, then they should just “walk it off!”
- He said the great thing about Equus is that allows people who have never seen a play to come in and see one, which he thought was amazing, and to have a greater appreciation for theatre.

- Deathly Hallows will go as planned, despite the Half-Blood Prince move, where it will start production February 2009 and will shoot for around 14 months. Dan also mentions potential future projects, including the Dan Eldon biopic, though he said that it’s too distant in the future to consider.

- He talks about the difference between Broadway and West End productions of Equus, where he mentioned that in the former his character Alan’s parents will take a different approach to how they got along together, as well as their marriage, and how it was affected by their son’s birth and existence.
- When asked about the incident where Gary Oldman made Dan cry on the Order of the Phoenix set, he mentions that Gary shook him and shouted at him so fiercely that after he let go, Dan said he was nearly about to fall into a fetal position because of how distraught he had become. He said that Gary’s a lovely director, and gave him advice as to how to react to someone dying, saying that he should throw his head back and scream, which he had done at the end of Order of the Phoenix when Sirius died in the Department of Mysteries.
- When asked about the five bands he’d want to see go on tour together, he said: The Libertines, The Pixies, The Sex Pistols (though not with Sid Vicious), the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, and another band.
- The good and band things about New York City: he said he’s constantly surprised by all the noise in the city, and the fact that buildings are being built left and right. He mentioned an encounter at Barnes & Noble bookstore, where when he went to buy some things, the cashier did not show recognition towards him until the very end, where they asked when the play would start (which made him happy). Dan did complain about the horns and alarms that blared in the city, however, and took note of the new signs around that were fining those who kept blowing their car horns.
- When talking to Equus writer Peter Shaffer: Dan asked about Alan’s character in detail to help get into character. He mentioned that Richard Griffiths was a great source of information (an encyclopaedia of information) about everything, including the play, which was a great comfort to him. Dan also said that he visited a stable recently, where he learned to properly groom horses so as to better get into character.
- He spoke about the play, in that it was impossible for Alan (his character) to blind 26 horses (which was in the original work), so that was lowered to a reasonable level; he talked about the relationship with the girl he gets intimate with briefly, as well.
- When asked to describe himself: Dan said that he was passionate about cricket; loved literature (says his favourite books are Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway and various works by Hunter S. Thomspon) and poetry (mentioning his favourites John Keats, Tony Harrison, and Robert Frost); that he had a very strong work ethic; and that he was just someone who got very lucky eary in life.
- He said that Harry Potter was what got him into reading (saying that after finishing the first two books he took his time because he got lazy), but that after the movies he got back into the swing of reading. He was asked if he would do so kind of classroom-like discussion with students, though he admits he never thought about it.
- Dan’s role models: Gary Oldman (who worked very hard); Stephen Fry (who he credits for making Britain brilliant; and a very talented all-around person); his parents; his best friend Will; and several cricket players.
- He was asked about his choreography in Equus, and he gave credit to the actors playing the horses for perfecting their roles.
- As for other musical or play roles he’d like to go for Puck from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream; and the musical Company.
- He was asked about whether or not he was aware of the Wizard Rock Bands, and admitted he had heard of Harry and the Potters, though not their music.
- If he had the choice between theatre and film, Dan said he’d stick to film, as it was where he started, but that with theatre there is a greater adrenaline rush.
- When asked what scene from the Harry Potter books cut out from the films that he would like to have filmed, he said that he would have wanted to do any scene with Sirius so as to work with Gary Oldman more.
- Dan was asked about why there hasn’t been a wrap party for any of the Harry Potter films (to which he said bad organisation was to blame); and that after the end of the series all the actors go out on holiday and be allowed to do things that were hitherto restricted by their insurance policies (he mentions this in jest), such as hand-gliding, etc.
- He mentioned that if they needed a new spell in the Harry Potter films, they could always call Jo Rowling and ask her to invent on, figuring that it all originated from Latin, so they could use that in the films.
- He said with Deathly Hallows, he is looking forward to the walk through the forest (chapter 34), rather than the fighting sequences; and that in the script for the film Sirius is in it, so there is a chance he will have another scene with Gary Oldman.
- He spoke about his dyspraxia, which he regrets mentioning because of the reaction it elicited. He said he doesn’t affect him as much, and that having done gymnastics from the age of 11 has helped him better coordinate himself.
- The last question was about his religious upbringing, in that between his mother being Jewish and his father being Protestant, because neither one of them were very religious he was not, as well, though he was not brought up in a “moral cesspit,” either.

162 Responses

Courtney

August 20th, 2008 at 1:53 am

Lovely job on this!