After he finished playing Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe set himself a specific acting goal, and his latest movie, The Lost City, and that has been a purposeful choice by the actor.
In a recent interview (via Radcliffe’s latest role as Al Yankovic in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story proves that he is achieving what he set out to do. Weird Al the whimsical, curly-haired parodist is a character so far removed from Harry Potter that it has given the actor the opportunity to demonstrate his range.
Why Audiences Stopped Seeing Daniel Radcliffe As Harry Potter
Having played the main character in one of film's biggest franchises, it was always going to be a difficult task for Radcliffe to be viewed as anyone but Harry Potter, in the same way that Elijah Wood's career has been defined by his role as The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, was frequently compared to his Harry Potter performances given it was also set in a fantasy world. But as Radcliffe's career has progressed, he has been able to shake off the Potter tag as he has proven himself as an excellent actor who can play a wide range of characters.
In the decade since Radcliffe's time as Harry Potter, he has starred in horror flicks, romantic comedies, crime capers, pure comedies, and action movies. Arguably Guns Akimbo was the turning point for the actor, as a high-octane action comedy movie that sees Radcliffe with guns bolted to his hands. It is a stark contrast to the Harry Potter movies. Radcliffe's two major roles since then, as the prison breaker Tim Jenkin in Escape from Pretoria and billionaire megalomaniac Abigail Fairfax in The Lost City, have continued his trend of playing different and quirky characters. His intriguing role as Weird Al Yankovic further adds to Radcliffe's different reputation, given the parodist is such a unique, eccentric personality that enables him to perform in a way that he hasn't before.
Why Daniel Radcliffe Needed His Post-Potter Career For His Goal
To achieve his personal aim of being known as an actor who takes on a variety of projects, Radcliffe had to get away from fantasy movies. By throwing himself into interesting characters across all genres he has been able to prove his acting talent, which by his own ission was often quite one-note after Radcliffe was cast as Harry Potter. While he will always be best known as The Boy Who Lived, with Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Radcliffe has once again shown his commitment to trying new things and is now widely regarded as one of Hollywood's most talented and versatile actors.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story premieres November 4 on The Roku Channel.
