Now Dan ( Was: Thoughts on Rupert - Comedy)

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at ...> wrote:

Geoff:
 > > I think that Daniel has his head screwed on right and
> > will avoid the pitfalls that some child stars have run
> > into. I have seen that he mentioned Jack Wild  in one 
> > of his interviews.

bboyminn:
> Actually I agree, he does have his head on straight, but
> he does live in a world of quicksand. When you are rich,
> who can you trust? How do you know if someone is scamming
> you, or if they really are friends and honest business 
> associates? 

Geoff:
I've snipped a large amount of our interchange for brevity.

I think there is a difference between young stars here in the 
UK and across the pond. Jack Wild was in some ways a maverick. 
He lived up to his name even as a child actor. Over here, we 
often see US youngsters as being pampered and spoiled and 
he same doesn't seem to apply with us. Perhaps we tend to 
shelter them a little more.

I've picked out some bits of the Observer article for members 
to look at - the link to the full article is on my last post - 
except that it's now the fourth article down....

<quote>
But as Harry Potter knows only too well, fame and success 
attract dark forces, too. Dan understands that, now he's 
approaching adulthood, his celebrity means that the paparazzi 
- and citizen snappers armed with camera-phones - see him 
as fair game. Even if you're not the kind of star who goes 
partying without any pants on, you have to be careful.

'If [the paparazzi] got a picture of me at 15 doing vodka shots 
- which by the way I wasn't - then they'd be having a field day. 
I do have to watch myself going out and things.' At Reading, a 
mate asked Dan to hold his pint for a second; he had to decline. 
He's been in this game long enough to imagine the resulting 
headline: 'Harry Blotto'.

Going to gigs, he says, is relatively risk-free, even if you have 
been a Vanity Fair cover star. 'People are there for the music. So 
most of the time they don't recognise you. I went to see Radiohead 
at Hammersmith and there was not a single person who wasn't 
transfixed by the stage.' Clubs are out of the question, but he's 
not into the music they play.

*****

But why did he decide to do this arduous, psychologically 
challenging role? 'It is a really intense, sexual and in some ways 
violent play,' he concedes. 'And some of the audience may be 
shocked. People may even possibly think that I shouldn't be 
doing it because of the Potter fans. But I think that would be a 
mistake ... the person at the centre of all the attention should 
always be the one to lead where the attention goes,' he concludes 
firmly and with savvy flourish. And here I see the other side of 
Dan. This combination, of the gauche and the worldly-wise, is 
rather endearing. You'd like to have a beer with this chap, you 
think. When he's legal, of course.

*****

But the summer brings an even more pivotal development in 
his young life: on 23 July, Dan turns 18 and he will get access 
to his considerable fortune. He's no flash Harry but reckons he 
might buy a Toyota Prius (not that he's passed his test, and not 
that he's 'a real environmentalist - I always forget to turn the 
lights off'). Or he may indulge his passion for modern art; he 
loves Jim Hodges's work, although his favourite artist is Jackson 
Pollock. He's also considering buying his own place, and he's 
looking forward to going to the pub and holding a pint without 
fearing the flash of a camera-phone. One thing he won't be 
doing, though, is having a party. He'd be useless at organising it, 
he says, 'I'm not really a party person. I don't really know what to 
do with myself when I'm standing there.'

*****

Dan is remarkably mature and confident for someone not yet 
legally an adult. Even with his fine line in luvvie-speak he's the 
least bumptious, most charming teenage millionaire superstar 
you're ever likely to meet. 'Someone recently thought I was 19, 
despite my diminutive stature [he's 5ft 5in],' he says proudly. 
'That was quite cool. I must just exude a halo of maturity at 
all times,' he declaims with a mock theatrical ponceyness.

*****

'And with the nudity thing... The thing is, if I did the first production of Equus in 30 years 
and didn't get my kit off in probably the most iconic scene in the play, people would be 
going, "He's not really committed to this!" It's got to be done, it's a great moment in the 
play. It makes me look much more vulnerable if I've got, you know, pants off rather than 
pants on!'

And Dan Radcliffe snorts like a teenage boy. Albeit a super-rich, ultra-famous, highly 
talented, rather smart and decent one ...
</quote>

I think he'll do well.