Daniel Radcliffe has revealed he became too "reliant" on alcohol while filming the last few outings in the Harry Potter franchise. "There were a few years there when I was just so enamoured with the idea of living some sort of famous person's lifestyle that really isn't suited to me," the actor told GQ magazine.
Radcliffe, 21, admits his lifestyle became an issue on the set of 2009 film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He went on to claim he has not touched alcohol since August 2010, shortly after completing work on the final Potter production. "There's no shame in enjoying a quiet life. And that's been the realisation of the past few years for me," he said.
The actor was just nine when he was plucked from thousands of other hopefuls to star as the boy wizard in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first of eight pictures based on best-selling books by JK Rowling. The franchise, which has earned Radcliffe an estimated £48m, ends with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 on 15 July.
Currently starring on Broadway in the farce How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Radcliffe said his aim is to forge "a career for myself after Potter … [If] it goes well, and is varied and with longevity, then that puts to bed the 'child actors' argument".
Significantly, the actor said he elected to skip the most recent Potter premiere party in favour of watching "the Discovery Channel ... [with] a bowl of Sugar Puffs". Being teetotal, he added, has made him nicer to be around. "I'm actually enjoying the fact that I can have a relationship with my girlfriend where I'm really pleasant and not fucked up totally all the time," he said.
