Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe Makes Mistake of Using "Reliant" and "Alcohol" in the Same Sentence
Posted 07.05.11 by Mandy
There is a certain expectation for child stars: After early success, they're supposed to become a hot mess in adulthood. Lindsay Lohan is a good example. In a recent interview with British GQ, Daniel Radcliffe was quoted as saying "I became so reliant on [alcohol] to enjoy stuff." He goes on to explain that "there were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person's lifestyle that really isn't suited to me." The Guardian published the story with the title "Daniel Radcliffe 'reliant' on alcohol for final Harry Potter films," which kind of makes it sound like he needed a 12-ounce glass of vodka just to get his day started when shooting Half-Blood Prince. To the magazine's credit, that would be a far more interesting story. But it doesn't sound like that's the real story.
As much as I would love to be a person that goes to parties and has a couple of drinks and has a nice time, that doesn't work for me. I do that very unsuccessfully. I'd just rather sit at home and read, or talk to somebody that makes me laugh. There's no shame in enjoying the quiet life. And that's been the realisation of the past few years for me.
It sounds like the actual story is that he was a kid who felt like he was "supposed" to party and have a good time, but while at crazy parties he had to get pretty snockered to enjoy himself. He has since grown up a little bit and realized that it's OK to take it easy, and now prefers a mellow night in to a crazy night out. Does that sound like an exclusively child-star-type of situation, or does that sound more like what happens to most people as they navigate their twenties? While it is unfortunate that Radcliffe feels he can't drink at all without getting out of control, it's not really fair for publications to throw the words "alcohol addiction" around.
The entire interview will appear in the August issue of British GQ which is out on July 7.