Daniel Radcliffe Admits Taking 'Woman in Black' Role to Break Away From 'Harry Potter' Image

January 30, 2012 08:37:07 GMT

Explaining his reason for taking the
starring role in the horror movie post-'Harry Potter', Radcliffe
says, 'I think any actor worth their salt wants to show as much
versatility as they possibly can.'

has admitted that he wanted to eradicate his fabled "Harry
Potter" image by tackling a very different role in his upcoming
film, "". When discussing his latest movie with Twitch, the
22-year-old British actor opened up that starring in the horror
pic was "a good first step" to break away from the wizard boy
persona that has made him famous.

"I think this is a very good first step," he said. "I was under
no illusions that people would see this film and go, 'Christ!
He's not Harry Potter anymore, he's completely transformed!' I
didn't ever think that was going to happen."

The London-born thesp continued on, "But I think it's a good
first step in that I look very different, I'm playing a man
rather than a boy, it's a different type of film to be in, and
all that stuff is very useful at this point for an audience to
see that I'm going to try and do different stuff."

Radcliffe confessed that he's been looking for a more
challenging role that is totally different from the one he
played in the famous Hogwarts School film franchise. "People
ask us [the cast of 'Harry Potter'] those questions a lot, 'Why
are you searching to be so different?' or 'Is it intentional
that you want to be so diverse?' and the answer is, yes, it
is," he explained.

"But I don't think that's something specific for someone coming
out of a franchise," he added. "I think any actor worth their
salt wants to show as much versatility as they possibly can.
Over the next couple of years it's going to be about doing as
much work as possible and making it as varied as possible."

Though taking a starring role in the horror movie, Radcliffe
admitted that he was actually not a big fan of the genre when
he was a kid. "I was terrified of them," said the actor. "A lot
of modern horror can leave me cold, and I'm good with blood and
gore and all that stuff. It's not fun for me, there's nothing
entertaining about watching a film like that."

During the chat, Radcliffe also discussed how he prepared
himself in portraying male lead character, Arthur Kipps, in
"Woman in Black". He shared, "I have this very excitable energy
about me, and Arthur should not, and it would be completely
wrong for the character. One of the things [director] James
[Watkins] was keen on was trying, as he put it, was to 'take
the fizz out of the bottle, to let it go flat'."

"About stripping away my natural zeal, the attack I have with
everything, and actually showing somebody who has been
devastated by their loss to the point where they're in a state
of emotional paralysis," he went on explaining.

Speaking about which British actors he would like to
collaborate with in the future, Radcliffe gushed, ", we never
did manage to get her in there. . . . , actually I always
thought he'd be fantastically entertaining and great to work
with."

In "The Woman in Black", Radcliffe portrays widowed London
lawyer Arthur Kipps, whose grief has put his career in
jeopardy. The young man is sent to a remote village to sort out
the affairs of recently deceased eccentric. However, upon his
arrival, it soon becomes clear that everyone in the town is
keeping a deadly secret.

The supernatural horror movie is due to open in the U.S.
theaters on February 3 and in the U.K. on February 10.

© AceShowbiz.com

 

Original post:
Daniel Radcliffe Admits Taking 'Woman in Black' Role to Break Away From 'Harry Potter' Image