Daniel Radcliffe really seems to have found a home on Broadway. I remember how “scandalous” it was when he made his debut in Equus, but now, he’s an old pro with a Tony Award under his belt. Daniel’s new show, “Every Brilliant Thing,” opens in February for a limited, 13-week run. It’s about a man whose mother struggled with mental health issues when he was a child, so he attempted to cheer her up by making a list of everything that makes life worth living. The play follows how that list has influenced his adult life. It’s a one-man show with a lot of audience participation. Dan was on Good Morning America recently, where he described it as a “short, very funny play about depression.”
During his appearance, the hosts mentioned that Tom Felton, who just made his Broadway debut by returning to the role of Draco Malloy in “The Cursed Child,” also sat down with them recently. Tom had nothing but kind words to say about Dan, which led to a discussion about the new Harry Potter series that’s coming to HBO. The hosts asked Daniel if Dominic McLaughlin, who is playing Harry in the series, has ever reached out to him for advice. Dan revealed that he actually made the first move by writing a very kind, supportive letter to Dominic.
A new Harry Potter is set to walk the hallowed halls of Hogwarts, and Daniel Radcliffe has his own special brand of magic to pass on to the young wizard.
Radcliffe, known as “the boy who lived” in the “Harry Potter” film series, has long completed his time at the school of witchcraft and wizardry. Now, he’s handing the mantle to 11-year-old Dominic McLaughlin — who’s starring on the HBO adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s book series and happens to be the same age Radcliffe was when he began his magical journey.
During a Tuesday appearance on “Good Morning America,” the actor was asked whether he had received a call from McLaughlin, prompting him to speak about his connection to the cast and production.
“I know a few people that are working on the production,” Radcliffe said right before noting that he’d written to McLaughlin.
“I wrote to Dominic,” he continued. “I sent him a letter and he sent me a very sweet note back.”
The actor went on to say that he doesn’t want his legacy to loom over the new generation of witches and wizards.
“I do not want to be, like, a specter in the lives of these children at all,” he said. “I just wanted to write to him and say, ‘I hope you have the best time and an even better time than I did.’”
He concluded by saying he had a “great time” filming the magical film series.
And as for Radcliffe’s future involvement? The actor addressed that in a 2023 interview with ComicBook.
“My understanding is that they’re trying to very much start fresh, and I’m sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere,” he said at the time.
Dan is such a good egg. While he has made no secret that he’s disappointed that She Who Will Not Be Named has joined the Death Eaters, I am not at all surprised that he reached out to McLaughlin. He knows the weight that comes with playing Harry and just how much Dominic and his fellow child actors’ lives are about to change. He’s also beaten the demons that come from being a child star. I truly believe that he wants to give them all a hug and then impart some solid advice on how to deal with the fame so they can grow up and live a “normal” life.
I saw the picture of McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton (Hermione), and Alastair Stout (Ron) that HBO released (below), and my goodness, they really look so young. Dan and his co-stars were so fortunate that Chris Columbus and the rest of the Harry Potter production team went to such great lengths to protect them and take care of them. Columbus even carefully considered the parents of each actor before casting them, something that he was inspired to do after working with Macauley Culkin in Home Alone. That really went such a long way towards helping the OG HP actors grow up “normal.”
Here’s the video of Daniel’s GMA interview. At one point, he and the other hosts exchanged what they’re grateful for. It was a really lovely and refreshing watch at a time when there isn’t much positivity in the news.
Image courtesy of Aidan Monaghan/HBO via Warner Bros. Discovery Press, Photoshot/Avalon