One day after his 25th birthday and about a month before the Aug. 22 opening of his new movie "What If," we got a few minutes on the phone with actor Daniel Radcliffe. Talking to us from Toronto, where the romantic comedy also starring Zoe Kazan, Rafe Spall, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis and Megan Park was filmed, he talked about life post-Potter.
Q: Happy birthday. How did you celebrate?
A: We went out for a lovely dinner in the evening. We ended up in one of those spin clubs and played table tennis. It's like the only hand-eye coordination game I have ever been good at.
Q: In “What If,” your character celebrates certain milestones with “Fool’s Gold,” a butter-soaked, hollowed-out bread loaf stuffed with peanut butter, jelly and bacon. Did you actually eat it?
A: I certainly did. It was absolutely fantastic. Delicious. What's not to like? Peanut butter, bacon and jam.
Q: Elvis supposedly loved it.
A: I've been known to sing "Hound Dog" at karaoke.
Q: How do you relate to your character in “What If,” the lovelorn medical student Wallace?
A: The main ways we're similar is I found him very funny. We improvised a lot in the movie. That allowed more of my sense of humor to come through.
Q: In a key scene, Wallace makes a daring move. Are you a risk taker?
A: I've really not come up with a good answer. I've been struggling with this all week. I have actually gone to to Ireland (as Wallace does in the film). It's less impressive when you're coming from England. It's like 60 pounds and an hour's flight.
Q: Given J.K. Rowling’s new Harry Potter short story, could you envision any sort of reunion project?
A: I think I'm done with it. I don't know. We'd have to see. I'm very proud of what we did, but 10 years is a long time to play one character. A lot of people might see Harry Potter as a handcuff. It hasn't held me back. It gave me control over my career that few 21- or 22-year-old actors would have had. A lot of people will always see me as Harry Potter. That's fine.
Q: If you could have retained one of Harry Potter’s magical powers, which would it be?
A: It's always been a big tossup between flight and invisibility, but I have a new answer: the ability to suddenly be somewhere else.
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