Dan Radcliffe on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

(Daniel was the last guest to be interviewed on the show. At the beginning of the show, Jonathan remarked that it was way past his bedtime and later, when interviewing Sharleen Spiteri, he asked her if she owned any Harry Potter underwear. When she said she did, Daniel laughed but looked slightly embarrassed. Each time the show cut to the Green Room and Jonathan made a quip at Daniel, he was keen and ready to answer back.)

Jonathan Ross: Before we meet our final guest, let's remember the first time we fell in love with the magic of Harry Potter. Here he is.

(Cuts to clip of the scene from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone when Harry, Ron and Hermione are fighting the troll in the bathroom)

JR: Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Daniel Radcliffe!

(Audience applauds. The in-house band sings "Daniel" by Elton John as Daniel comes onto the stage. He is wearing a red patterned shirt with a burgundy tie, black trousers and black and white Chuck Taylor Converse.)

JR: (To the band) Nicely done. Nicely done. Daniel, welcome to the show, and congratulations, you are our youngest guest ever on the programme.

Daniel Radcliffe: Really? That's quite an achievement, isn't it? I didn't have to do anything, just be young. I didn't have to do anything there, they just applauded. It's fantastic, I might be rubbish! You never know.

JR: Hang on, you've got too much energy for me.

Dan: I'm just trying to prove to you that it's not past my bedtime.

JR: Well, obviously. You're full of the vim and vigour of life! When was your sixteenth? When's your birthday?

Dan: July 23rd.

JR: So you are now coming up for sixteen-and-a-half.

Dan: Well... yeah.

JR: OK, what can you do at sixteen you can't do at other ages? You can't legally drive yet, can you?

Dan: No, seventeen. But Rupert, who's Ron, is having his lessons at the moment.

JR: And are you a bit jealous about that?

Dan: Not at all. I'm gonna be the worst driver in the world, cause my dad's a really bad driver, and I think I've got his genes, rather than my mum's, who's an amazing driver, but my dad's terrible and I'll be going down that road.

JR: OK. You're not old enough to... You could get married, I believe? With your parents' consent?

Dan: I could. I probably won't.

JR: OK.

Dan: Not yet, I mean.

JR: Hey, marry the films for a little bit longer. Take it easy. Um, you can't vote yet.

Dan: No.

JR: You can't drink alcohol yet.

Dan: No.

JR: So you've never tried alcohol?

Dan: No.

(Jonathan nods and smiles as the audience laughs.)

Dan: It's not actually a moral thing. I just tried a sip of wine once and I didn't like the taste very much. I think it's something you get when you're about eighteen, and you suddenly start to like it.

JR: Okay.

Dan: I mean, I might try it cause a lot of people do it, so there must be something in it. I mean, but I don't, I haven't yet, no.

JR: And I'm assuming you don't smoke at all.

Dan: No.

JR: That's excellent, that's good. Do you know any adult jokes?

Dan: Do you?

(Raucous laughter and applause)

JR: Your eyes are quite large. Quite large eyes.

Dan: Are they?

JR: You look a bit like you could also have been in Lord Of The Rings. The eyes that the fella has from that film.

Dan: Oh, OK. Yours are lovely as well, Jonathan, but I mean, I umm...

(Jonathan shakes his hand.)

JR: Youngest guest, most polite guest.

Dan: Um, no I mean, I've sort of grown up with them so I don't really notice.

JR: Course, yeah, you wouldn't.

(More applause)

Dan: This is fantastic! Yes, brilliant! Fantastic! Thank you!

JR: Hold on, don't get him too excited, alright?

(Woman in the audience shouts 'Harry!')

JR: Never mind shouting Harry. He isn't actually Harry Potter.

Dan: It's not real.

JR: He's an actor.

(Audience suddenly goes "Awwww" as a picture of Harry from Philosopher's Stone comes onto the screen.)

JR: Oh, look, they've all gone, now look at that little moppet.

Dan: It's great that you had time to show that photo.

JR: Did you, how old were you when you did the first film?

Dan: (Turns around to look at the picture.) I was eleven, and God, that's the first time, when you showed it, that I've actually seen the first film, pretty much since I did it.

JR: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You haven't gone back and watched it?

Dan: No! I sort of was flicking through the channels cause there was nothing on, and they were showing the first film, and I thought I'd sort of get up to adjust the sound on the TV, it was just, our voices hadn't broken! I was listening and it just sounded ridiculously high!

JR: But, it's so, when you look back now, but it looks so sweet, cause I've seen, I've seen all the Harry Potter movies and I'm lucky enough to have seen the next one.

Dan: Yeah.

JR: But you're now, you're proper grown-ups now.

Dan: Yeah.

JR: And it is so weird now, seeing that clip and seeing these sweet little kids. I mean that's a picture from the new movie.

(He shows a picture of the trio from Goblet of Fire, after the riots at the Quidditch World Cup.)

JR: What are you doing to Hermione there?

(Dan laughs.)

JR: Whatever it is, she don't like it!

Dan: I'm being very, very protective, I think. Or that's the excuse I'm giving.

JR: When you, when you got the part, it was a huge source of interest to people, everyone was accused to find out who would get to play Harry Potter cause the books had already been remarkably successful. The audition process, I believe, was quite long, and quite, quite a big deal?

Dan: Yeah.

JR: How many people auditioned, do you know how many people auditioned for Harry?

Dan: I actually have no idea.

JR: It was actually in the thousands, I believe.

Dan: I think so, yeah, but I sort of was quite lucky, cause I skipped a lot of that, which was quite nice, because I sort of came in about a month before we started filming, or something, you know. A ridiculously short time close to filming, really. And so I was sort of cast at the eleventh hour, so I, I'd only been to like four auditions.

JR: So that was a nice thing for you of course?

Dan: Oh, great, yeah.

JR: And what did they ask you to do at the audition? Did they ask you to, to, you know demonstrate how you would hold a wand? Or what you would do, you know, presumably, well... No, seriously, there's stuff you've gotta do, and it's got to look convincing, you can't just *dangles hand*, you know. So there's, I imagine, some sort of a wand-based technique?

Dan: It's in the swish and flick thing.

JR: Wingardium Leviosa!

Dan: Um, but, um, yeah, no. I was in the auditions and I sort of, I did, I remember Chris Columbus, who directed the first film, sort of cracked an egg at one point, and let the yolk go on the script. And I don't now, looking back, I've no idea what relevance it had to anything.

JR: Was he hungry?

(Dan laughs.)

Dan: I don't know, it was just, I think it was...

JR: Wait, cause hold on a minute, do you think he brought it in on purpose?

Dan: He might of, to try and throw me, and see how I reacted.

JR: So he got an egg out?

Dan: Yeah, and he cracked it on the script, and I guess, I'm sure there was a reason, I think it was to do with, it's the scene in the first film where we're in Hagrid's hut and they have the dragon egg. It's something to do with that. I don't know what, looking back. But, then in the end, I think it was partly out of desperation, partly out of you know, um, being, being, being, um, I don't know, not an attention seeker, but something along those lines, and um, that I actually ended up doing the Match of the Day theme tune on my cheeks, with my, slapping my hands. A bit like a primitive version of playing the spoons, but like...

JR: Wait, hang on, hang on.

(Laughter)

JR: I'm finding this story quite hard to follow now, because we started with the audition and the wand, then there was an egg, and now you're playing Match of the Day on your cheeks?

Dan: Yes. It made perfect sense at the time.

JR: This has actually happened this was or have you, or have you, have you...

Dan: It was in that order.

JR: Have you been doing Art recently and you accidentally breathed in the fumes of one of those paint tubes?

Dan: No, I dropped Art. This is true.

JR: So, can you still do the Match of the Day theme on your cheeks?

Dan: I don't know, I mean, I'm sort of...

JR: Well I think we'd like to hear this if we can...

(Cheers and applause)

JR: I don't think you can tease us with a story as juicy as that without delivering.

Dan: I can try. I'll try. I'm not guaranteeing like a perfect thing, thing of it. I mean like, Gary Lineker's not going to POP up afterwards, or anything. It's not going to be that good but...

JR: If he did, that would be great though, wouldn't it?

(Laughter.)

Dan: That would be, that would be a cool thing.

JR: What if he, cause we're at the BBC, what if he's in the building and he hears it and thinks *looks at wrist*, "I'm late!" and he ran in. We'd all then think you actually had magical powers. Maybe you do, let's give it a try.

Dan: OK, here we go.

(Dan plays the tune, near perfectly on his cheeks. He gets halfway through and looks at Jonathan's expression. He starts to laugh, and the audience applauds.)

Dan: Hold on, hold on! Wait there's more!

JR: (To the audience.) Wait, wait, let him finish.

Dan: There's the dur-dur-dur-dur-dur bit.

(He finishes the tune and jumps up, arms out. The audience applauds.)

Dan: There we go. Thank you.

JR: I wish I could say it was the first, but David Attenborough did the same thing when he was on.

(Dan laughs.)

JR: That's great. Presumably you're a football fan, then are you?

Dan: No!

(Laughter)

JR: This all makes perfect sense, somewhere.

Dan: I think I probably was at the time, but I'm not anymore. But Chris Columbus, at the end of that, he said, "Well if that doesn't get you the part, then nothing will." And it did!

JR: So you think that was what swung it for you.

Dan: J.K Rowling saw that and thought, "That's my Harry!"

JR: That's my Harry. Anyone that can play Match of the Day on his cheeks. They're great, fun books, they're a lovely read.

Dan: Yeah.

JR: OK, now there are seven in total when it's completed?

Dan: Yeah.

JR: Six so far released. OK, I think I've read the first four. I don't think I've finished the fifth and I've got the sixth to read.

Dan: *gasps* Oh God!

JR: Well, don't, was that your voice breaking?

Dan: Sorry.

JR: Wouldn't that be a great moment if that happened, live on TV?

Dan: On TV, yeah.

JR: Well, it's kind of, your voice isn't going to break in that squeaky way. Well it's already, it's going to...

Dan: MY VOICE HAS BROKEN!

JR: I think it could still get a bit deeper, alright?

Dan: That would be good actually, cause I heard, you know, it's not, it's be good to get deeper and taller would be good, but my mum's quite short, and so I don't know if these genes, you know, but they're not good.

JR: Well, you might still shoot up, but you know, as long as, you know, you feel comfortable in your skin, I don't think it makes it a big deal anymore.

Dan: I know, but I would like to be taller.

JR: I know, well, you could possibly, get you some big shoes or something.

Dan: Or a very small person to stand on!

JR: OK, well look, let's talk about, um, when you're making a movie, like any of the Harry Potter movies of course, it's a great story. We're following the lead character, Harry, he's going through a great journey, which we're very involved with, but also, one of the great thrills in the books and the films is the magic, it's the special effects is what's going on. And it just seems to get better with every film, with every book. She's a tremendous writer, for that sort of thing.

Dan: Yeah.

JR: A tremendous imagination. And this was the film I was most looking forward to, cause you've got the big sequences where you and the other people in the Triwizard championship...

Dan: Yes.

JR: Have to take on dragons.

Dan: Yeah!

JR: But when you're filming all this of course, unless I'm very much mistaken, they don't actually have dragons there?

Dan: No, cause they're not, I mean, dragons don't, they're not... real.

(Laughter)

JR: Who told you, how old are you?

Dan: Sixteen.

JR: Who told you that?

Dan: It was, well, no, I just assumed it was because instead of having a really cool, terrifying dragon, there was a special effects man with a flamethrower.

JR: Is that where you get to? That can be scary in itself though.

Dan: Well, it was a flamethrower! What do you mean that's all, that's pretty cool.

JR: So you find out, and what about the scenes where you don't have someone like that to work against, presumably there's some scenes where you have nothing there and you have to act against that? Do you...

Dan: Yeah, I mean it's OK actually, cause it's sort of, cause I started doing the films when I was eleven, it's quite easy to do that sort of stuff, cause it's all I've ever known. I mean, I did David Copperfield and Tailor of Panama before, but in terms of the most time I've spent filming has obviously been on Harry Potter. And, um, you know, it's sort of all I've known so I've got used to it really.

JR: And, and, presumably, if things go according to plan, and I can say without any fear of being contradicted down the line, this film's going to be a huge success. So you've got four hit movies. I would have thought that they're going to make all seven, cause if they hadn't worked, they wouldn't have filmed them all, I guess.

Dan: No.

JR: But as it is now, uh, and we're all looking forward to the ending, cause the ending of course, I've forgotten, how do the books end again?

Dan: I don't know. Honestly, I don't. She doesn't say to anyone.

JR: She's not told you?

Dan: No, no, no.

JR: Not trying to trick you then?

Dan: No, no, no. But you're very good, I mean, if I had known, I would have, you know, you should do interrogation.

JR: I thought Hermione got married to Harry at the end, is that not what they told you?

Dan: What? Have you not been watching the films? She's like, her and Ron!

(Shouts of agreement from the audience)

Dan: Thank you!

JR: Listen fella, listen son, listen up, listen. A lady plays hard to get for a little while, alright? That's what she's doing, and then she'll come round.

Dan: What'll happen to Ron?

JR: Who cares?

(Laughter)

JR: The film isn't called Ron and the Goblet of the Fire, is it? He's a lovely bloke, but we're as interested as in you with the old 'zip, zip' *marks scar on head*, Leviosa Wingardium! Voldemort Pfhoot. Oooh Voldemort! What are you laughing at?

Dan: Sorry, you're funny!

JR: I wasn't trying to be funny, I was trying to be serious.

Dan: That's what's funny.

JR: Um...

Dan: No, it's very funny, no you're um, it's great. It's fun doing this.

JR: You know I can send you to bed, don't you?

(Laughter)

JR: Your dad said I could do that if you got out of line.

Dan: Yep.

JR: Um, when, when, inevitably Harry Potter ends, because it must end of course, what do you have planned? I mean, presumably you've enjoyed acting, you'd like to stay in the movies. Do you have any plans? Do you have any kind of thoughts as to what kind of film or what kind of career you would like to map out for yourself?

Dan: Well, I'm definitely, I'm actually filming something in - at the end of the year in Australia, in Adelaide, which is incredibly exciting. You know cause it's something different. It's five and a half weeks shooting not, not, not a blue screen in sight which is, which is different from Harry Potter.

JR: So, it's a different sort of acting experience for you?

Dan: Yeah, and I mean it's really different, it's six day a week and it's proper hard, really, you know, even tougher than the days we do at Leavesden, so it's a wake up call, I think. But yeah, I would definitely like to um, I definitely want to carry on acting, without a doubt. I mean, the thing is what kind of a role would I like to do? I mean, it's hard to, anything that's interesting and different from Harry Potter, cause I don't wanna be you know...

JR: Would you sign on though, for another series of films, which became a franchise? For example, if they were to offer you a part which was going to be repeated, would you, would you take on that again? Cause here's something really, which is, it's not going to be that hard, I suspect, for you to shed Harry Potter when you want to, because you are a different person and...

Dan: You're the first interviewer that's said that.

JR: Yeah, it's specific. I don't think you're gonna be typecast as him. I think, I think you'll be clear from that, but sometimes, sometimes actors do get, so would you, would you go back into another series of films, if you were offered?

Dan: I mean, the part would have to be amazing and it would have to be one of those things where I would be reeeally stupid to turn it down and...

JR: OK, well lets, let's imagine, say you got offered Bond in five years time.

(Laughter)

JR: Well, hold on, what are you laughing at, that's...

Dan: That's a perfectly reasonable thing, I'm very suave, um...

(More laughter)

JR: You get the part of Bond, right? Say you got offered that, which would be to many actors, especially British actors, that's the kind of, you know you've arrived, if you're even mentioned in the same company as people who play Bond. So would, would you consider doing that?

Dan: It would be weird because I've done these for obviously so long, I mean, five years at this point, and I haven't done any other films as of now and so doing this other one's fantastic and I'm, I'm not sure whether I would want to do any series, even if it was James Bond, for a, for a, for a, you know, f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f...

(Jonathan raises both eyebrows suggestively)

Dan: If something was going to sway me, that would be it though!

(Laughter)

JR: (Puts on an accent) Mr Bond, I see you have had...

Dan: You'd make an exceptionally good Bond villain actually! If you had sort of a white pussycat.

JR: (Continues in voice, stroking imaginary cat) Mr Potter...

Dan: That's the thing, that's what we'll get, a crossover!

JR: Bond versus Potter!

Dan: Not versus! We'd be on the same side, we're both cool, we fight Voldemort, and one of the other ones...

JR: Yeah, but you know what would happen in the end, you'd be looking for Hermione and Bond's got her in the pod... or in a dragon egg or something!

(Laughter)

JR: Let's have a look at a clip from the film, because, I'm telling you, without any, um, need to say this, I'm not saying this because Daniel's here and he's been a lovely guest, but genuinely, I saw the film with my family, and we all loved it and we all thought it was the best so far, and it is just fabulous. It's going to be huge. And you guys are great in it, so, congratulations.

Dan: Thank you very much indeed.

JR: The film is called Harry Potter, and there's a goblet involved in the title somewhere. You'll be able to figure it out for yourself. It'll be on all the posters. Here it is.

(He shows the clip of Hagrid showing Harry the dragons being released.)

(Applause)

JR: Very good. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. opens all over the country, I believe, on November 18th. Which, coincidentally, is the day after my birthday.

Dan: Well then, happy birthday for November 17th.

JR: Yeah.

Dan: Yeah.

JR: Any idea what you're gonna get me yet?

(Dan looks at him, thinking and draws back a breath to speak.)

JR: Just keep making the movies, that'll be good enough.

Dan: Yeah, OK.

JR: Daniel, it's been a pleasure having you on the show.

Dan: Not at all, thank you very much.

JR: What a lovely guest, and congratulations on the film, and on being such a charming and level-headed young fellow. Ladies and gentlemen, Daniel Radcliffe. Thank you so much.

(Loud applause and cheering.)

Dan: Thank you so much.

Transcripted on 5th November by Laura Wilson.

---

MuggleNet is an unofficial Harry Potter fan site. Please email us if you have any questions or concerns. MuggleNet's original layouts were designed and created by Navy. All subsequent layouts by Dylan Spartz.

© 1999-2008 MuggleNet.com. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy | COPPA Policy | Feedback | Credits
Random Addresses

1,841 muggles currently online