‘Harry Potter’ Star Daniel Radcliffe Recalls ‘Crazy’ Premiere of ‘The Deathly Hallows Part 2’
The Harry Potter film series made Daniel Radcliffe a major movie star in the early 2000s. And after working in the franchise for a decade, he recalled the “crazy” moments surrounding the premiere of the finale, The Deathly Hallows Part 2.
As Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe was part of one of the most successful film franchises ever
Radcliffe started his career at age 10, appearing in BBC’s David Copperfield. Two years later, in 2001, he took on the role of the boy wizard in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Radcliffe was the face of the franchise for the next decade. He starred in eight Harry Potter films. His last on-screen appearance as Harry Potter was in 2011, in The Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Just before the release of the final Harry Potter movie, Radcliffe took on the lead role as J. Pierrepont Finch in the 2011 Broadway production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He’s gone on to work on several popular projects since including Now You See Me 2 and Escape from Pretoria.
Daniel Radcliffe recalls the ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2’ premiere
The Harry Potter movie series, which is based on J.K. Rowling’s novels, became one of the most successful film franchises in the world. And by the time The Deathly Hallows Part 2 was released, Radcliffe was one of the most recognized movie stars around.
When talking to Collider, the actor recalled his hectic schedule leading up to the film’s premiere, traveling from New York to London. “I remember a lot, obviously,” Radcliffe said. “The release of that film was insane because I was doing a musical on Broadway at the time, so they flew me back. They closed the theater for a few nights and flew me back and had the last premiere in London.”
Radcliffe recalled how massive the premiere crowd was. And he noted it felt like a bittersweet ending to his decade-long role as The Boy Who Lived.
“It was just more people than I’ve ever seen anywhere else in my life or will ever see again outside of sporting arenas,” he explained. “So it was crazy and cool, and I think the last film, as well, was filled with a kind of, ‘Oh it’s ending?’ sort of feeling. But even that didn’t become real until it actually ended, so it was strange and lovely, and I have tons of incredibly fond memories of that last film.”
He currently stars in ‘Miracle Workers’ on TBS
Radcliffe currently appears in the TBS comedy Miracle Workers, opposite Steve Buscemi. The anthology series is based on humorist Simon Rich’s writings.
In the third season, Oregon Trail, Radcliffe plays a preacher trying to get his people across the Oregon Trail in 1844. “The original pitch… started in the darkest way possible that an Oregon Trail thing could start,” Radcliffe told Collider.
“And we do eventually get to that point in the season, but it was like great we’re going to be able to have the show we have – which is light and fun and sweet – but also go to some incredibly dark places, so that was very, very exciting.”
Season 3 of Miracle Workers premieres on July 13 on TBS.
