Daniel Radcliffe Discusses Acting Experience, Directorial Dreams, and More on “The A24 Podcast”

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On a recent episode of The A24 Podcast, released June 30, three Daniels sat down together and talked about everything from karaoke to pranking the Sundance Festival. The episode, “Off to the Races with Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, and Daniel Radcliffe,” offered hilarious quips and moments of true reflection from the Harry Potter star.

 

 

The first thing we learn is about Daniel Radcliffe’s love of the popular restaurant chain the Cheesecake Factory. (“It’s got the biggest menu in the world,” he said. “It has cheesecake the size of your arm.”)

Directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert are no strangers to Daniel Radcliffe, having directed him in their indie film Swiss Army Man. The two took a moment to compliment Radcliffe’s zeal on set, commenting especially on his physicality. Radcliffe described how this enthusiasm translated to earlier acting experiences, including his time on the Harry Potter set.

One of my best friends on Potter was my stunt double, and so we hung out at lunchtime pretty much every lunchtime […] He was having me jump off porta cabin roofs and stuff.

Regarding their shared project, the three had plenty to reminisce about. Swiss Army Man was a film of such undeniable weirdness, it stunned its audience at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016. They took a moment to laugh at the memory of people walking out of its first showing.

I was in my head going, ‘Wait, I didn’t expect this.’ But I’d forgotten that we’d made a weird movie, I think.

 

Movie Poster for Swiss Army Man

Daniel Radcliffe starred in the indie film “Swiss Army Man” in 2016.

 

Swiss Army Man follows the story of Hank (Paul Dano), a castaway who befriends Manny (Radcliffe), a corpse that washes up on a beach. Kwan and Scheinert recalled that they had “pranked” the festival by pitching it as a drama. This led to confusion and quasi-revulsion at the premiere when the film revealed itself to be a comedy that was alternately dark and puerile. Despite the mixed reception, Radcliffe maintained that Swiss Army Man was something special.

It was so clear to me that there was stuff in there that was obviously silly, and there’s fart jokes, but it was so obvious to me that there was such a beautiful film in there as well that was also just fun and crazy and like nothing I had ever seen.

Scheinert added that the cast and crew bonding during the making of the film was also something to behold. They recalled the British-themed pub they had gone to after the first week of filming, crowd-surfing during group karaoke, and Daniel Radcliffe’s performance of Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady.”

They also discussed Radcliffe’s experience as a child actor, with Kwan commenting on how Radcliffe’s parents helped him navigate the industry safely. Radcliffe concurred with this assessment.

I do see myself as incredibly lucky, not just with my parents but also with the crew of the Potter films that became like a second family. […] Film sets have a really bad reputation as places for kids to be, but in my experience, and I know in the experience of definitely some other people that I know, they found it incredibly broadening.

He went on to say that, while other young actors may have felt pressure from their parents in their careers, he had never had that issue. “My mom and dad asked me between every film, basically, ‘Are you still enjoying it, and do you want to go back?'” Radcliffe would always reply in the affirmative. “I was always like, ‘Yes. I hate school,'” he said.

The discussion turned to future goals. Radcliffe, whose most recent project was playing the titular character in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, stated that he enjoyed the challenging pace and musical numbers. That said, he has found that he wants the creative fulfillment that comes with directing.

I just want to direct one day because I feel like I love film crews, and I love being on set, and I feel like being a director and getting to lead a set and getting to make a crazy decision every second of the day seems really exciting.

 

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