Radcliffe Almost Turned Down Potter Role

After the world has watched Daniel Radcliffe grow up on screen in 8 Harry Potter films, the British star reveals that he was very close to turning down the role initially.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Radcliffe said “Chris Columbus had seen David Copperfield and said, 'I want to audition this boy'. They went to my parents, and, at the time, the deal was to sign on for, I think, six films, all to be done in LA, and my mum and dad simply said, 'That's too much disruption to his life. That's not gonna happen'.”

Columbus, director of the Potter films, would not back down, however. After hearing of his parents’ concerns, he negotiated the contract by shortening it’s length and relocating all filming to the UK.

"I didn’t know any of that had gone on. And then, maybe three, four months down the line, the deal had changed and it was going to be to shoot two films, and they’d both be done in England, and so they said, 'OK, we'll let him audition'. And then it all went from there really,” Radcliffe continued.

Radcliffe and his family were obviously unaware of the time what this role would mean to his career and lifestyle. He explains that although he is grateful for the opportunity to act, there are some downsides as well.

"There are, obviously, upsides to it, but I'd say that the upsides, for me, are the upsides that come from my job rather than from the celebrity aspect. I mean, celebrity is horrible - that's the truth, is that it's a ghastly, vile thing."