‘Never say never’: Daniel Radcliffe ‘not interested’ in reprising Harry Potter role for now
British actor Daniel Radcliffe has no immediate plans to reprise his iconic role in the Harry Potter film franchise.
In an exclusive interview with The New York Times for his upcoming The Lost City film with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, Radcliffe said that he’s not interested to go back to the Wizarding World for now.
“This isn’t the answer that anybody’s going to want, but I think I was so able to go back and enjoy it because it’s not a part of my day-to-day life anymore,” Radcliffe said. “I’m getting to a point where I feel like I made it out of “Potter” OK and I’m really happy with where I am now, and to go back would be such a massive change to my life.”
Last November, Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two Harry Potter films - 2001's The Sorcerer's Stone and 2002's The Chamber of Secrets, said that he would love to work on a movie adaptation of the 2016 play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with original cast members Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.
"I would love to direct The Cursed Child. It’s a great play and the kids are actually the right age to play those roles," Columbus said. "It’s a small fantasy of mine."
The play, which is written by Jack Thorne along with author J.K. Rowling and John Tifanny, is set 19 years after the events of 2007's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
However, Radcliffe admitted that he is not entirely closing his doors to the possibility of reprising his role, noting that he’s “never going to say never.”
“The Star Wars guys had like 30, 40 years before they went back. For me, it’s only been 10. It’s not something I’m really interested in doing right now,” he said.
In January, Radcliffe appeared in the HBO Max special Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, reuniting with his fellow actors Watson and Grint along with some of the cast members in the film franchise.
After Radcliffe concluded his stint as the Boy Who Lived in 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the actor shared that instead of appearing in blockbuster films, he has opted to accept projects that interest him.
“It’s not a deliberate decision (to stay away from blockbuster films). I go where the scripts are. It’s hard to get anyone to spend money on (scripts that are) too big of a risk,” he said in a 2019 interview with StarLifestyle.
He furthered: “A lot of the big studios, I find the scripts are not as challenging or weird or interesting as the stuff they make in the indie world or even in the TV world.
So the things that I gravitate to, so far they just happen to be in the indie world. But if there’s something happening in the studios and I love the script, I would love to be a part of some crazy big movie. It’s just about waiting for the right script.”
Radcliffe also shared in a separate interview with fellow actor Elijah Wood for Empire Magazine (transcribed by NME) that achieving financial security after portraying his titular role early in his career is liberating.
“I’ve actually found it’s an incredibly liberating thing, to do the biggest thing you’re ever gonna do really fucking early,” he told Wood, who, just like him, appeared in a trilogy of his own: The Lord of the Rings franchise.
“The financial success thing, that’s done. So just do things that make you happy. And I definitely get a sense of that from your career, Elijah,” he added.
As for other projects, Radcliffe recently wrapped filming his upcoming biopic film, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.