Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe opens up about speaking out about JK Rowling’s transphobic comments. Today, Radcliffe’s name remains synonymous with Harry Potter, as the English actor achieved international fame playing The Boy Who Lived in all eight film episodes, starting with 2001’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone at age 12. Radcliffe starred alongside Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, forming the Golden Trio that formed the heart of the Harry Potter movies that defined a generation.
JK Rowling is the author behind the bestseller Harry Potter novels on which the blockbuster franchise was based and the screenwriter behind the Fantastic Beasts prequel trilogy, which largely failed to recapture the magic of the original series. In recent years, Rowling has repeatedly expanded the legacy of the… Harry Potter franchise with her repeated transphobic comments. In 2020, Radcliffe spoke out against Rowling and wrote an open letter to The Trevor Project declaring his unwavering support for transgender people.
Now, more than two years after speaking out, Radcliffe is opening up about his comments in an interview with IndieWire. The Harry Potter star explained why he felt compelled to speak out and said he was concerned about the LGBTQ+ Harry Potter fans who may have hurt Rowling’s comments. Radcliffe also says he couldn’t have done that.”look [himself] in the mirror” if he hadn’t spoken out against Rowling. Read his full comments below:
The reason I really felt like I had to say something when I did was because, especially since I finished Potter, I’ve met so many queer and trans kids and young people who identified tremendously with Potter on That. And when I saw them hurt that day, I thought, I wish they knew that not everyone in the franchise felt that way. And that was really important. It was very important because I’ve been working with the Trevor Project for over 10 years, so I don’t think I could have looked at myself in the mirror if I hadn’t said anything. But it’s not for me to guess what’s going on in someone else’s head.
Will Daniel Radcliffe ever return to the Harry Potter franchise?
More than a decade after the Harry Potter film series ended with The Deathly Hallows – Part 2Radcliffe continues to be the face of the franchise and accepts the responsibility that comes with it, even if it means speaking out against the creator for her controversial comments. While Rowling’s views have soured some on the Harry Potty franchise, there is still a lot of interest in seeing the original stars – Radcliffe, Grint and Watson – return. The best chance of that happening is a film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Childa play written by Rowling and set nineteen years after the events of The Deathly Hallows.
As things stand, Radcliffe is unlikely to return to the Harry Potter franchise in the near future. Earlier this year Radcliffe shot a cursed child film adaptation, saying it’s not something he’s interested in right now, but may be open for years to come. For now, Potterheads can only hope Radcliffe changes his mind soon, but in the meantime he can be seen in Weird: The Story of Al Yankovic premiering November 4 on The Roku Channel.
Source: IndieWire
