Daniel Radcliffe was all over Toronto yesterday, giving interviews and making public appearances before heading over to the Scotiabank Theatre for the Canadian premiere of his latest film The Woman In Black.
It was apparent when Radcliffe arrived, because the gathered female fans started to scream. They were all vying for his attention, and the first thing you notice about him is that he gives it to them. He spent time signing autographs, shaking hands, and even leaning over the ropes to have his picture taken with them. While his bodyguard tried keeping people away, Radcliffe kept a smile on his face and continued giving his fans the attention they craved. You got the feeling that he would have gladly spent hours making sure that everyone got at least an autograph if he hadn’t been on a time constraint.
If you’re wondering why Radcliffe chose The Woman in Black, a Hammer Films produced horror movie, the answer is simple. ”It was mainly the story,” he said, “the story was the first thing I gravitated towards. Obviously it can be the part or the director, and those things were a factor, but mainly I wanted to be part of telling the story. It was so compelling and so thrilling and genuinely scary.”
Choosing a film to be the first after Harry Potter was sure to be a decision watched closely by his fans, but when asked about whether he felt any pressure he responded with “you know you want to make a good choice, and make a good film, but it’s not so much that you are constantly thinking is this different enough. I think I would have shot myself off from a lot of good parts potentially like that. So it’s not like that. But it certainly has to be different enough for me to feel like I’m stretching myself.”
In case you are wondering if he has a favourite horror movie, he does. ”The one I’ve seen, that I’ve watched the most is Dracula. I was such a fan of Peter Cushing.”
Radcliffe also expressed a desire to return to stage ”in the next couple of years.” His run on Broadway just ended on January 1st after all, but he did enjoy it. ”It’s a lot of work,” he said, “but to be able to go out there every night and have your mission to be to entertain people, it’s kind of a gift as an actor.”
The Harry Potter star also said that he keeps in contact with his former cast mates, even though he did get into “a little bit of hot water” when he recently said that he “hadn’t been texting Rupert regularly.” He clarified that comment by stating “you know me and Rupert are both lousy texters. I know I’ll see him whenever I see him and it’ll just be like old times.”
The Woman in Black hits theaters on February 3rd.
Tags: christopher lee, daniel radcliffe, daniel radcliffe in toronto, daniel radcliffe interview, peter cushing, rupert grint, the woman in black