Daniel Radcliffe Says He Turned To Alcohol To Cope With Harry Potter Fame

Fame can be a difficult thing for any young mind to adjust to, making it hardly surprising that so many child stars go through periods of turbulence. And as the title character of one of the biggest film franchises of all time, Daniel Radcliffe was no exception.

From 2001 to 2011, Radcliffe assumed the lead role in eight Harry Potter films, and was just 12 years old when the first installment came out in theaters. Speaking on The Off Camera Show, the actor recalled being uneasy in public for much of his teen years, saying that his anxiety led him to turn to alcohol:

“There is an awareness that I really struggled with, particularly in my late teens when I was going out to places for the first time where you would feel — again, it could have largely been in my head — where you would feel watched when you went into a bar, when you went into a pub. In my case, the quickest way to forget you were being watched was to get very drunk. Then as you get very drunk, you become aware, ‘Oh, people are watching more now because now I’m getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more.’ It can affect your psyche.”

Radcliffe then went on to say that with the support of the people around him, he was able to confront his issue before things got too out of hand, adding that he never let his drinking habit impact his work because he still loved his job.

In the years since the Harry Potter series came to a close, Radcliffe says that he hasn’t been recognized as much in public, which likely helps relieve some of the pressure of day to day life. At the same time, the actor has continued to find gigs, most recently in the new comedy series Miracle Workers, which is currently in the midst of its first season on TBS.

As for Harry Potter, while Radcliffe seems content to have moved on from the character, he recently told TV Guide that he sees it as inevitable that the property will be rebooted at some point in his lifetime, with someone new in the lead role. For now, the idea remains little more than a distant possibility, but in the meantime, the Wizarding World continues to tell new stories, with plans currently in place for Fantastic Beasts 3.