It was obvious even before Daniel Radcliffe’s tenure as the world’s most famous boy wizard ended that his career would not be following the path laid down by previous child actors: Some big budget action wannabe-franchises that never quite got traction, a rom-com or two, some moderately received indie flicks followed by a slow slide into obscurity and maybe a stint on reality TV. In between Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Radcliffe had a cameo in Ricky Gervais’ decidedly un-kid-friendly series Extras playing, in his own words, “a very, very warped version of myself in a scouts uniform.” (For a sample of how “warped” we’re talking--he hits on everything that moves and carries around an unwrapped condom that he accidentally throws on Dame Diana Rigg's head.) A few months later he raised eyebrows for starring in a West End revival of Equus, a play which received massive critical acclaim since it was first written in 1973 but, due to Radcliffe’s involvement, became better-known as “that play where Harry Potter strips down and wants to get intimate with a horse.” For a somewhat… different theatrical experience, Radcliffe starred in the 50th anniversary revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, which opened on Broadway a few months before the premiere of the eighth and final film in the Harry Potter franchise.
So, yes. Radcliffe’s never evinced a particular interest in doing run of the mill studio projects, a trend that’s continued now that Potter’s behind him. His films may not always be good, but they’re never boring. Case in point: His newest film, Horns, out today, in which Radcliffe plays Ig Perrish, a ne’er-do-well who develops literal horns and a side order of demonic powers after he’s accused of murdering his girlfriend (Juno Temple). Personally, I didn’t like the film, and neither did our reviewer Nick Schager, but I respect that Radcliffe chose a project of potential substance over some milquetoast Nicholas Sparks drama, even if said substance didn’t materialize. He's interesting. Hop on your Nimbus 9000 and join me as we see what else Radcliffe’s been up to these days.
The Woman in Black is by no stretch of the imagination a good film—endless, cheap jump scares are paired with an overbearing score and a general atmosphere that’s not nearly as creepy as it should be considering the abundance of weird antique dolls—but Radcliffe’s performance is solid, and he certainly could have played it safer for his first post-Potter outing than a low-budget Gothic horror flick from the legendary Hammer Films. Luckily, Radcliffe’s next project would prove to be better.
Kill Your Darlings (2013)
In this indie biopic by first-time director John Krokidas, Radcliffe plays Beat legend Alan Ginsberg, back when he was still a college runt deciding whether he wanted to pursue poetry as a career. It’s an engaging film filled with quality performances from actors like Dane DeHaan, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, and Elizabeth Olsen. I know this is Radcliffe’s list, but I have to single out Ben Foster as author William Burroughs, because it was one of the best performances of 2013. Yeah, 2014 Supporting Actor Oscar Jared Leto, you were OK, I guess. As with Equus, Kill Your Darlings was to a certain extent overshadowed by people's obsession with what “Hey, that’s Harry Potter!” gets up to sexually in his films. Specifically, Radcliffe’s Ginsberg had one gay sex scene and a romance(-ish) subplot with DeHaan’s character. Radcliffe is not impressed with people making a big deal out of it.
Director Michael Dowse’s (It’s All Gone Pete Tong, Goon) What If suffered a massive disservice at the hands of its trailer, which made this charming—if not necessarily groundbreaking—rom-com about a man (Radcliffe) in love with his best friend (Zoe Kazan) look like the result of someone puting every clichéd rom-com from the past 20 years in a blender and hitting puree. Given Radcliffe’s already-established tendency for out-there projects, watching the trailer had many fans scratching their heads as to why he’d appear in a movie that asks an honest-to-God 21st century audience the question, “Can men and women ever really be friends?” (Short answer: Yes. Of course. Why are we still having this discussion? When Harry Met Sally… could get away with it, but that was 25 years ago.) Luckily, that’s not at all the question the film is asking, going instead for the related but not incredibly stupid “What happens when someone feels romantic interest in a friend who only views them platonically?” What If didn’t make a lot of money, but I for one thought it was a fine little film, and one of the more emotionally honest rom-coms I’ve seen.
A Young Doctor’s Notebook (2012-2013)
From there we go to a mini-series starring two of the world’s most buzzed-about actors that came and went without much fanfare on British TV channel Sky Arts. Watch A Young Doctor’s Notebook (it’s on Netflix streaming), and you’ll see why. This story of a fresh-out-of-medical-school doctor (Radcliffe, with Jon Hamm playing an older version of the character who pops in to give advice) in Soviet-era Russia assigned to a small village hospital out in middle of nowhere is a comedy, but an extremely dark one. As in, there’s an extended sequence of Radcliffe amputating a young girl’s leg with a dull handsaw. The sense of humor is also very dry, as can be expected from British shows. You can see why this one might have been tough to market to a wide audience.
See above. I would like to emphasize how incredibly dumb is it to center this movie around the mystery of "Who killed Ig's girlfriend?" when it is entirely obvious from the second time you meet them who the perpetrator is. The only doubt I had as to the identity of the killer is when I thought "No, it couldn't possibly be [that person]--it's way too obvious." But lo, it was.
What’s Next
Projects Radcliffe’s currently attached to include a retelling of Frankenstein from the perspective of the Doctor’s (James McAvoy) hunchback apprentice Igor (Radcliffe); a Judd Apatow comedy with one of the most eclectic casts I’ve seen in ages (comedian/actors Amy Schumer and Bill Hader… plus Radcliffe, Ezra Miller, Marisa Tomei, Brie Larson, Captain Phillips’ Barkhad Abdi, wrestler John Cena, hip hop artist Method Man, basketball player LeBron James, and Tilda Swinton?); and Brooklyn Bridge, about a civil engineer who picks up his architect father’s work on, wait for it, the Brooklyn Bridge. That one sounds like it has the potential to be your typical Oscarbait biopic, so I’m sure something interesting will pop up about it sooner or later. Maybe it’ll be a musical! Maybe he'll rap.
As to what remaining oddness Radcliffe can add to his filmography after that… Bollywood? A relaunching of the German expressionist movement? An experimental quasi-documentary on sloths? Who knows. The guy's unpredictable.
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