Opinion: From Potter to Pierrepont

 

 

Emily Perrott

Emily Perrott

Emily Perrott is a photojournalism and dance performance major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].

Whether we like to admit it or not, we all are strangely interested in what’s going on in the lives of the rich and the famous. I’ll be here each week to give you the scoop on your favorite stars.

This week’s pick: Daniel Radcliffe. We all know and love Radcliffe as the fearless wizard in the movies based on the bestselling book series by J.K. Rowling. The Harry Potter series turned Radcliffe into an unforgettable star.

At a young age, Radcliffe had an interest in acting. His first role was a monkey in a school production. Clearly, he was destined for bigger and better things. The groundbreaking role in Radcliffe’s career was in 1999 as Charles’s Dickens famous character, David Copperfield, in a British TV movie.

Radcliffe told the fan-based website, DanRadcliffe.com, “A friend suggested that I audition, as a bit of fun, for the role of David Copperfield. I never expected to actually get the part as I knew there would be hundreds of boys trying for it, so when I did, it came as a huge surprise.”

After that role, young Radcliffe had a few small roles, one with the talented Jamie Lee Curtis. While filming with her, a major hunt was underway in the UK for a young boy to portray a character in a famous book series. Curtis told the fan page, “One day I was looking at Daniel, who was standing beside the swimming pool. I turned to his mother and said: ‘He could be Harry Potter’.”

Who would have thought that those words would have been so true at the time? Not Radcliffe. Another thing you may not have known about Daniel Radcliffe: His parents were skeptical of the harsh world he could be entering by playing Harry Potter, so he denied the role the first time. Eventually, the film’s producer and screenwriter realized he was the one.

They took it upon themselves to contact Radcliffe’s parents and convince them to let him play the role that would change his life forever. With all of that said, who knew that he had a passion for performing live? In 2007, Radcliffe took on the role of the disturbed Alan Strang in the play “Equus” in the Gieglud Theatre in London. His most recent live appearance is in the energetic musical, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” Radcliffe plays the young J. Pierrepont Finch who is following the steps of a “How to Succeed” book to make his way to the top of a successful business.

His singing, dancing and humorous acting had the audience roaring the entire show. I had the honor of seeing Radcliffe alongside the well-known actor John Larroquette in the musical phenomenon this August. Being a huge fan of theatre, I’ve seen my share of shows, but this show was by far the best I’ve seen on Broadway. Radcliffe’s talent can clearly be molded from serious wizard, to hilarious window-washer trying to find his place in the world, to his newest role in the horror film, “The Woman in Black.”