In case you haven't heard all of the buzz, the 17 year old actor Daniel Radcliffe is trying to toss out his young Harry Potter persona and is acting in a London play where he appears nude and has an erotic fixation for horses.. Is this career suicide, or pure genius at setting himself apart from the Harry Potter role as a young man?
2007-02-01 16:51:45 · 24 answers · asked by yomama23 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Theater & Acting
He's just showing his versatility as an actor, from a wizard to a boy with a horse-fetish.
2007-02-01 16:55:00 · answer #1 · answered by F 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I'm pretty glad to read the intelligent responses to your question. From some of the press and commentary on the production, you'd think Daniel Radcliffe had taken up a career as a stripper, rather than what he's actually doing - jumping on the opportunity to play a leading role in a quality production of an award-winning play.
This is acting. He is old enough to legally play the part, and the production is going up this year, not in 2 yrs when he's 19 and all the harry Potter movies are in the can. He'd be silly to turn down this opportunity - it's a plum role for a young actor. I would imagine he really wanted to play the part just for himself, not for the big career-changing image or whatever. Most actors want a part like that - big, heavy, dramatic, intense, crazy.
2007-02-01 22:49:38 · answer #2 · answered by lalabee 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Frankly, no matter what he does hes still going to be Harry Potter in the minds of anyone who grew up on the books and movies. I think the drastic change in character, proving that he can play a much darker part and be a sexual being, will be good for him. He is, however, keeping himself connected with the Potter movies by starring in a play that also stars Richard griffith (uncle Vernon) and was origionally going to be directed by Kenneth Branaugh (Gilderoy Lockhart) It should be very interesting to see if his talent grows with new roles or if he will do a typical child star crash and burn. Frankly, I never thought he was a very good actor from the first Harry Potter movie on and assumed his father had a BIG part in landing him that role, but time shall tell whether he succeeds or not.
2007-02-04 07:02:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO! He's growing up, even JK admitted this a while back. The guy has a right to his life and acting career. Let people do what they believe is right for their lives and careers. I think it IS pure Genius! He's a master of his craft and is going to be a great actor. Could even be another Richard Burton!
I find the people who are "bad mouthing" Daniel "couldn't" get nude in front of a mirror let alone an audience!
Please, give the guy some credit!
I say BRAVO AND KEEP TRYING NEW THINGS! That's the way to gain the experience and knowledge necessary to be a GREAT actor! Which he is!
2007-02-03 14:11:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Career suicide"?
"Equus," unlike "Harry Potter" and all its sequels, is a SUPERIOR dramatic text. Kudos to young Mr. Radcliffe for realizing that, if he ever wants to be taken seriously as an actor, he needs to measure himself against the words and ideas of a writer the caliber of Peter Shaffer.
Before you reduce Shaffer's work to a play about a boy "...who has an erotic fixation for horses," I recommend that you read (or re-read) it. It's quite a masterful examination about the manner in which parental hypocrisy and a repressive (and overtly religious) upbringing leads to the explosive act of violence that Alan Strang commits that night in the stable. And that doesn't even assess the conflict faced by Strang's attending psychiatrist, Dr. Dysart.
If J. K. Rowling writes until she's 100, she'll never create anything that can stand alongside "Equus."
2007-02-02 03:37:02 · answer #5 · answered by shkspr 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think its a good thing that he is going out and doing other things for his acting career... although I would have to say that the choice he made to participate in Equus and having to be a nude is going to give him a bad name w/ younger Harry Potter fans... and even some of the older fans as well. I personally do not like him in this play... but like i said it was his choice. He will either pay the consequences or get highly praised.
2007-02-02 01:56:09 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think it's a mistake. He can't be Harry forever, and for that matter, most of us will not be able to see him in this play , right?
I think that parents really need to take that into account. (that, and honestly, why would a kid even need to be presented with the material that Radcliffe's going to be in? Do they have to know that he's going to be in this play? Small kids shouldn't have to worry about it or know about it, frankly if it's content that shouldn't concern little children. Just take them to the newest movie when it comes out and don't worry about it) It shouldn't mess with the harry potter movies at all. I'm still going to see them, so I don't know why anyone else wouldn't feel comfortable with it.
2007-02-02 13:47:33 · answer #7 · answered by thegreatlexini 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's a brilliant move. The play is a work of genius and takes a lot of guts to play the part. It shows he has real talent if he can pull of this part. If he really wants to be an actor he can't be typecast as Harry Potter for the rest of his life and doing something so daring will guarantee that he will be seen as a real actor and not just a child actor who can play one part.
2007-02-01 18:23:39 · answer #8 · answered by lochmessy 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well he can't be Harry Potter forever. No actor ever wants to get type cast that narrowly. To prove themselves as actors, they need to be diverse.....able to play a lot of different characters. That's all he's trying to do. He sees the end of this gig, and knows he has to have another one if he wants to keep acting. It's not genius, but it's not suicide. It's called growing up and "moving on".
2007-02-01 16:58:55 · answer #9 · answered by kj 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think he made a very good choice.
Equus isn't one of the only projects out of Harry he's been doing. He's also been in another movie called 'December Boys' and he's filming something for ITV this year.
I feel that Daniel will do very well in the play. I will go and see it.
2007-02-04 04:03:34 · answer #10 · answered by tinneke2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely not. If he wants to disassociate himself from being typecast, he HAS to take on adult roles. I think it's pure genius, especially from the press it is creating. It will force people to see him in a new light . . . . so to speak.
It's a lot like what Jim Carrey and Robin Williams had to do with their careers. They took on serious roles repeatedly until they were able to show their fine acting ability and not just their comedic talent. Williams has made his mark, so he's gone back to what he knows best. Carrey is still working on it. In fact, his next film, The Number 23, is a thriller.
2007-02-01 16:54:59 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋