Daniel Radcliffeknows he’s lucky to have landed the role of Harry Potter at age 11. One of the best parts of working over the eight-film franchise? Being introduced to some of the most esteemed actors working today.
Speaking with PEOPLE in support of his new adventure comedyThe Lost City(in theaters March 25) withSandra BullockandChanning Tatum, the actor still marvels at the caliber of his costars over the years — particularly those he worked with onPotter.
“There are so many people that I could talk about who are incredibly influential on me,” says Radcliffe, 32. “The people that I come back to the most are actually some of the people that take their job really seriously, but also know that we’re not saving lives, and are there to have fun, and there’s no reason to be horrible to be an actor. So people like that: [Harry Pottermovie alums] Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis, Michael Gambon — who arguably takes acting less seriously than any other actor I’ve ever worked with and is better than all of them. He’s incredible. And Gary Oldman was obviously a huge influence on me.”
Radcliffe also citesHelena Bonham Carteras a favorite and revealed that they’ve stayed in touch following the recent 20-year Harry Potter reunion whereRadcliffe revealed a crush on Cartervia a sweet handwritten letter.“Over the last few months, I’ve actually texted with Helena a bit since the reunion. I think when I’m back in London we’re definitely going to try and hang out at some point,” he says. “One of the nice things about the Harry Potter reunion actually was just getting to have adult conversations with people I’d only known as a child, that was so cool, and in a way that I hadn’t really expected. But kind of going like, ‘Oh, we could hang out now. This is fun.’ Yeah. So that’s been really nice.”
WARNER BROS.
Radcliffe also notes that costars who’ve had a positive influence on him extend beyondPotter.
“I would also say John Larroquette, who I worked with on [Broadway musical]How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. There are so many people that I’ve met at the right time in my life,” he says. “I have been insanely lucky to work with all these people.”
And while Radcliffe has cultivated a successful career outside ofPotter, he doesn’t mind that he’ll always be ‘Harry’ to some fans.“I always think if you’ve done something that can help somebody through a bad moment, that is really all art is for,” he says. “That is the highest, noblest thing that a film can do, I think, is just provide escape or catharsis or something like that. And so, it genuinely doesn’t get old when people come up and are like, ‘These films mean a huge amount to me.’ And it’s a very, very lovely kind of gratifying thing. So yeah, maybe one day I’ll be horrible and jaded, but it hasn’t happened yet.”
The Lost Cityopens in theaters March 25.
source: people.com
