Warning: Adults Only - Dan Radcliffe - Wisdom

[Steve]

---  "P. Alexis Nguyen" <alexisnguyen at ...> wrote:
>
> Tonks_op:
> > As to his acting in this role, I don't think it was
> > a good idea this early in his career and with the 
> > Harry Potter role still running. I am surprised that
> > there wasn't something in his contract with WB
> > against it.
> <<SNIP>>
> > Sounds like a teenage rebellion to me. Had to get 
> > past the 'goodly two shoes' image. But overall I 
> > don't think that it was a good idea at this time. I
> > am notopposed to the play, just the timing.
> 
> Ali:
> 
> ... why are there so [seemingly] many opposed to Dan 
> playing the role of Alan Strang in Equus?
> 
> I don't buy the teenage rebellion bit since that's 
> more indicative of young Hollywood starlets posing 
> nude in Playboy or Maxim to shake their youthful image.

bboyminn:

Posing in Playboy, Playgirl, Maxim, etc... in my opinion
is pure titilation and attention seeking as far as I'm
concerned. That is certainly not what Dan is doing. He
is not being nude for the sake of being nude, it is a
very real and critical part of the play. In Dan's 
statements, he implies that it's part of the character
just as a particular accent or affectation would be. It
comes with the territory, and if you don't like that
territory, you shouldn't be there. (greatly paraphrased)

So, while I got your point in general, I don't agree
that is the equivalent of what Dan is doing.

> ~Ali continues:
>
> Equus is an immensely powerful play, and one  might
> call Alan Strang the role of a lifetime. Choosing to 
> do a play of such intense emotions and proven literary 
> value seems just like a good move for any actor to make.
> Moreover, one could argue that, since the HP movies are
> so immensely popular, Dan should be making the best of 
> his fame and accepting such wonderful roles since he 
> may never get offered a second chance like this.  ...
> 

bboyminn:

While I can understand certain fans not wanting to see 
Dan in this light, especially while he is still playing
Harry Potter, to some extent I think that is somewhat
greedy. No offense intended toward anyone, we are all
entitled to our opinoins, but I think this in a broad
and general sense. It's not about what /should/ Dan
do for himself, but how can he please me, how can he
serve me, how can he best entertain me, and I'm not
really discrediting that opinon, just asking people
to look beyond it. 

Dan reminds me of two other actors in particular, both
started out as 'Tiger Beat' Teen-Heartthrob, pretty-boy,
painfully-cute actors. Many actors try to ride that fame
and celebrity their whole lives, but that is a false God.
If the best you can be is painfully cute and precocious
then you are doomed before you start because painfully-
cute doesn't last and a precocious child is usually an
obnoxious adult. 

I'm reminded of one contestant on the current American
Idol, who sang terribly and came out crying and cursing
because 'he wanted to be famous'. As I've implied above
that is a doomed attitude from the start. Fame is 
secondary to success and achievement, and I think that 
is how Dan wants to be viewed, not as some one who is
/Famous/ or a /Celebrity/ but as someone who has 
accomplished something of value and substance. 

So the two actors Dan reminds me of are Leonardo
DiCaprio and Johnny Depp. Both these stars could have 
tried to ride their way to fame and fortune on being
young and cute. They could have tried to spend their
lives making teen romantic comedies for as long as fate
would allow. But they both knew that was a hollow and
fleeting victory. They both knew that the world would 
never see them as more than a pretty face unless they
proved early on that they had range and substance.

Leonardo DiCaprio =
Basketball Dairies - junky
Total Eclipse - gay poet
Romeo and Juliet - classic Shakespear modernized (very risky I might add)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape - retarted
Boy's Life - abused

Johnny Depp =
Cry Baby - just overal weird
Edward Scissorhand - still very weird
Benny and Joon - more odd than weird
Ed Wood - odd and weird
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - weird again

They had to prove to the world, especially to the 
Hollywood world, that they were not just a pretty face
to be exploited. I see Dan doing the same thing. If he
has any hope for a future in this business, he has to 
establish his credibility as soon as possible. 

The Harry Potter films are not going to establish him
as a REAL actor. I love Dan and I love the films, but 
we all know they have been gutted of substance, humor,
and emotion. Even the very best of them has been no
more that 'stand here, say your line - stand there,
say the next line'. The producers of the movies simply 
aren't in a position to have the time to allow any
emotional themes and therefore emotions to develope.

With only Harry Potter on his resume, Dan wouldn't 
have stood a chance of being cast in a major role again.
Those movies, as much as I like them, simple do not
showcase any real talent these actors might have.
Based on the Harry Potter movies alone, I know many
people who would say Dan can't act at all; that his
performances are wooden and shallow. Of course, I put
the blame for that on the producers, not on the actors.
Yet, when you are looking for future work, it doesn't 
do well to try to place blame on others, that simply 
not a good career move.

Consequently, the sooner Dan establishes himself as an
actor of depth and substance, the better off he is going
to be, the wider range of roles he is going to be 
offerred. At each stage in his acting life, he is going
to have to establish himself, prove himself, if he has 
any hope of continuing. The gutters of Hollywood are 
littered with actors who could only ride a pretty face 
just so far. 

So, let me close with a quote that I think is appropriate-

"I once met a man who was so poor he could have only 
money."

I think Craig Fergeson said it, but where he got it I
don't know. Again, it is about what you are chasing.
Those who are chasing Fame and 'Celebrity' are doomed to
fail. Those, like Dan, who are chasing success, 
accomplishment, and achievement are the ones who have
a chance at a long lasting and rewarding career. 

In taking on this play, Dan, in a sense, has risked 
everything on his own estimation of his talent. It could
have been a flop, though I never really expected that, 
and it could have meant that Dan was doomed to a few
minor roles and celebrity guest appearances for the
rest of his life. Instead, he has proven himself an
actor of range and depth. It was a calculated risk and
it seems to have paid off.

I say as long as Dan keeps challenging himself artistically
and challenging people's preception of him, he will do 
well. In the future, individual project may fail, but he
he will have proven himself an actor willing and capable
of stretching himself to and beyond his limits. 

I try to take the attitude that what's best for me in the
short run is not necessarily best for Dan, and what is
best for Dan in the long run is best for everyone. So,
I give him all my support in any role he may chose in the
future.

Just a few random thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn