Daniel Radcliffe on Maggie Smith: “She got me the job at Potter”

Back in November, Daniel Radcliffe greeted an audience of nearly 1,000 aspiring journalists with a surprise appearance at the 2011 Fall Journalism Education Association.

In the interview, which you can watch in full right here (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4), Dan not only talks Potter, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, but also The Woman in Black, his new movie which is due to be released this coming February.

Dan talks about the comparison of filming The Woman in Black mere weeks after finishing on Potter:

“It was kind of odd. I finished filming Potter…in July and then it was about two months before starting The Woman in Black filming. It was kind of weird, because I was rehearsing 9 hours a week dance rehearsal, 6 hours of a week singing rehearsal, for this fun, joyous musical and at the same time I was preparing for this demoralized, devastated, introspective, detached character at the same time, so it was kind of a weird balance at the same time, but it was one of those moments as an actor you just kind of have to celebrate the situation you are in because having two such different exciting jobs to juggle at the same time is a blessing.”

Near the end of Dan’s visit, the moderator asked Dan to say the first thing that came to mind when he mentioned a Potter cast member. When Maggie Smith was mentioned, Dan said this:

“Well she got me the job at Potter, practically, so for anyone who doesn’t know that story, I basically owe everything to Maggie Smith because I worked with her on David Copperfield and then she came over to Potter as McGonagall and said to the director, you need to audition this boy.”

Thanks to Snitch Seeker for the tip!