Daniel Radcliffe Is ‘Intensely Embarrassed’ By His Harry Potter Acting

We’ve all cringed at old photos and home videos from when we were kids, but thankfully the majority of us don’t have to share our younger selves with the world. Daniel Radcliffe, however, can’t say the same. 

The actor was just 11 years old when he appeared in Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, and over the next decade his growth into a young adult was caught and documented – albeit through the lens of a wizard.

Radcliffe opened up about his experience working on the beloved franchise during an interview with Empire, in which he was joined by Elijah Wood to celebrate the 20th anniversaries of both Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings.

While Radcliffe noted that it’s ‘hard to separate my relationship with Harry from my relationship with the films as a whole,’ he said he was ‘incredibly grateful for the experience’.

Having gone on to appear in films such as What If, Victor Frankenstein and Now You See Me 2, the actor explained that his time on Harry Potter showed him what he wants to do with the rest of his life.

He commented: ‘To find out early on what you love is really lucky.’

However, while paving the way for a lengthy career, Radcliffe admitted that he is ‘intensely embarrassed by some of [his] acting’ in the films.

Considering the actor would have only just been going to secondary school when he appeared in the global hit, we can’t blame his acting skills for not quite being fully developed. At least he had 10 years and seven other films in which he could redeem himself.

During the interview, Wood and Radcliffe revealed they have been mistaken for one another in the past, with the LOTR actor once being heckled in an elevator with ‘Harry Potter!’

Radcliffe commented:

Though we’re both short, pale, blue-eyed and brown-haired, I would say that we don’t exactly look alike. But the idea of us is exactly the same… When people say to me ‘Lord of the Rings!’ I literally just say, ‘Nope. The other one.’