Daniel Radcliffe describes Ginsberg role as “biggest jump forward”

Daniel Radcliffe has described his role as poet Allen Ginsberg as his “biggest jump forward” since Equus. He says,

“It’s the first time I’ve ever watched myself on screen and been pleased and proud because I showed more range. That’s what I’ve been trying to do for a long time, and I think Kill Your Darlings is the first time I’ve succeeded on film.”

The key to achieving this, he says, was trying not to be “so self-conscious and concerned about how I’m looking.” Succeeding in this, he says, “freed me up as an actor.”

The role of Ginsberg demanded that Daniel face many new challenges, including crying on set. Daniel, who admitted that he had never cried properly on screen before, reveals that he was nervous about it. He says that Krokidas, the director of the film, “said to trust him and that he’d get me there.” It only took Daniel two weeks before he was sobbing openly on set. “It was a very cathartic experience,” he says. “Crying in front of a group of people… is amazingly liberating. And once you’ve done it, it felt like some hurdle had been got over. It was a good feeling.”

The way that Daniel decided to portray Ginsberg’s character was also carefully thought about. Daniel says that aspects of the character, such as the accent, were considered before filming, and he says, “We didn’t want him to be the Allen who everyone knows, who smoked a million cigarettes and had done loads of drugs.” The film focuses mainly on Ginsberg’s sexuality, and Daniel says that the film is about “young love, self-discovery, a young man finding his voice as an artist.”

Daniel also praises his co-star, Dane DeHaan, who he says plays Carr “brilliantly.” Daniel says,

“I read with eight different actors, all of whom were very good, a really interesting young group of actors, but Dane had an intensity and a charisma, and he’s electric – he just switches on, and he’s amazing. Dane is probably the best friend I’ve made in terms of actors through film-making.”

To read more please visit the original BBC article here. Kill Your Darlings is out in UK cinemas from tomorrow (December 6).

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