Daniel Radcliffe will forever be known as the ‘Boy Who Lived’ as he played the character of Harry Potter in the adaptation of JK Rowling’s fantasy novels. The actor grew up with the Harry Potter franchise, beginning his tenure at the age of 12. Since the franchise ended, he has been experimenting with his roles and has starred in a long list of indie films.
Radcliffe mentioned that though he is grateful for all that the Harry Potter films gave him, he almost considered leaving it midway through the franchise. He said how he was having second thoughts as his life had changed since he was cast in the films. However, he decided against it and saw the franchise through to its end.
Daniel Radcliffe Almost Quit Harry Potter
Daniel Radcliffe began his career and became famous worldwide when he was cast in the Harry Potter franchise. The actor was twelve when he was chosen after auditioning hundreds of child actors and began his tenure with The Philosopher’s Stone. Radcliffe played the role till he was twenty-two, ending with The Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
However, Radcliffe reportedly had second thoughts about the franchise midway through and almost quit the films while shooting Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The actor mentioned in an interview with The Guardian that he was thinking about acting on his ‘opt-out clause’ during the film, hoping that another actor could be able to establish himself.
However, he ended up deciding against it and signed on for more films as he began to have more fun with the character. He said,
“By the third film, I thought, if there’s a time to get out, it’s now; there’s still enough time for another actor to come in and establish himself. For a while, I thought, if I do all of them, will I be able to move on to other stuff or should I start doing other stuff now? But in the end, I decided I was having way too much fun. And actually, there aren’t many great parts out there for teenage boys, certainly not as good as Harry Potter.”
Radcliffe also mentioned that by the fourth film, he felt like he was beginning to improve his craft and that he thought it would be foolish to stop.
Another Harry Potter Actor Considered Quitting The Franchise
While many struggling actors would consider it a boon to have been offered a recurring role in a blockbuster franchise, the Golden Trio of the Harry Potter franchise reportedly all had second thoughts about staying on the franchise at different times. While Daniel Radcliffe almost quit during The Prisoner of Azkaban, Emma Watson was reportedly contemplating her exit before The Order of the Phoenix.
In the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return To Hogwarts reunion special, Emma Watson, who played Hermoine Granger in the films, revealed that the fame due to the franchise had gotten to her around the fifth film and she was hoping to exit. She said during the reunion special,
“[Order of the Phoenix] was when things started getting spicy for all of us. I think I was scared. I don’t know if you ever felt like it got to a tipping point where you were like, ‘This is kind of forever now’…The fame thing had finally hit home in a big way.”
Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, revealed that he too had similar sentiments but admitted that the two actors never spoke about their feelings. Watson said that she ended up continuing her tenure in the franchise without anyone’s coercion and mentioned that the fans’ support got her through.
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return To Hogwarts is currently streaming on Max.
