‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ Nearly Starred Daniel Radcliffe

Ever since leaving Harry Potter behind, Daniel Radcliffe has made some radical choices. The actor rose to fame as “The Boy Who Lived” in the film adaptations he led from 2001 to 2011. But Radcliffe has earned a reputation for playing offbeat and downright weird characters in the past few years. Still, it might surprise some of his fans that the actor nearly took on a role in the critically acclaimed 2022 release Everything Everywhere All At Once.

‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ is from the team of ‘Swiss Army Man’

The new film comes from director Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who collectively are known as “Daniels.” It follows a laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh), who finds herself caught up in a threat against the multiverse. The film brings a blend of family drama, absurdist comedy, martial arts action, and high-concept science fiction that has universally won over critics.

Everything Everywhere All At Once isn’t Daniels’ first directorial effort, however. That would be 2016’s Swiss Army Man, which was oft-referred to as the film that stars Radcliffe as a farting corpse. While that description isn’t far off, the movie has a whole lot more to offer than that. In fact, Radcliffe so enjoyed working on Swiss Army Man he was ready for more Daniels.

Daniel Radcliffe nearly played a role in the multiverse movie

Radcliffe has openly spoken about how Swiss Army Man is among the best experiences he’s had making a movie, even likening a scene in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story to it. So he was eager to take on a role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. But as he told Empire, he wasn’t able to make it work due to a scheduling conflict.

“I’m so excited. It’s the best. At one point, they were trying to get me in for it, and I was doing a play. So I could not be there, which I’m still gutted about. They are probably the only people in the world that I would say yes to doing a movie of theirs without even seeing the script. If they want me in something, I know that it will be for a reason and that if they’re making something, it’s because they have found something amazing to make. So yeah, I would follow those guys to the ends of the earth really.”

Radcliffe’s enthusiasm — and the fact that Daniels offered him a role — make it sound inevitable that the directing duo will find a way to work with the actor again at some point. Right now, there’s no indication what Daniels will take on next. But if the right part presents itself, it sounds like Radcliffe would sign on without a moment’s hesitation.

Who would Daniel Radcliffe play in ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’?

Now that fans have seen Everything Everywhere All At Once, the real question is who Radcliffe would have played. The ages and genders of most of the characters seemingly eliminate most of the roles. Certainly, Radcliffe would have had more than a minor part in the movie, given his star power. But one obvious answer stands out.

Most likely, Radcliffe would have played the role of Chad, which ultimately went to Glee alumnus Harry Shum Jr. Without delving into spoilers, the character’s storyline fits nicely with what Radcliffe did in Swiss Army Man, even serving as a comical inversion of sorts. Hopefully, Daniels can confirm if that was the role they wanted Radcliffe to play.