National Recovery Month: Daniel Radcliffe's rise to fame as Harry Potter left him with a drinking problem
Danielle Radcliffe's struggle with alcoholism is not new. The British actor spent a huge portion of his childhood fronting movies from the 'Harry Potter' franchise and with that feat he's forever touched many lives and has been a role model to many. However, the person behind the ever-so-perfect character of Potter had succumbed to a drinking habit and the end of the popular franchise led him to drink more rigorously.
Radcliffe was able to recover from that phase by kicking his addiction and in honor of National Recovery Month that is aimed to celebrate recovered addicts, we thought it’d only be fitting to share his journey. His struggles are a wakeup call for people who still go back and forth to get help.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Radcliffe spoke more candidly about his drinking saying that there was a connection between his drinking and his titular role as Potter that he played for 10 years spanning eight movies, according to a report by Independent.
"If I went out and if I got drunk, I'd suddenly be aware of there being interest in that because it’s not just a drunk guy, it’s 'Oh, Harry Potter's getting drunk in the bar'," Radcliffe told host Lauren Laverne. He also added that his role as Harry Potter "carried some kind of interest for people and also a slightly mocking interest. It’s inherently funny for people." Speaking about his coping mechanism, he said his "way of dealing with that [was] just to drink more or get more drunk, so I did a lot of that for a few years."
One would think that the end of the epic movie franchise would prove to be a respite for Radcliffe but that certainly wasn't the case but quite the opposite. "A lot of drinking that happened towards the end of Potter and for a little bit after it finished, it was panic, a little bit not knowing what to do next — not being comfortable enough in who I was to remain sober."
He didn't blame the movie franchise entirely but also acknowledged the fact that it ran in his family but not his immediate family. "I will always be fascinated and frustrated by the question of: is this something that would have happened anyway or was this to do with 'Potter'? I will never know. It runs in my family, generations back. Definitely not my mum and dad, I hasten to add."
Daniel has also credited his family and friends over the years for providing him with "enough perspective on my life" to help him quit the habit and he's been sober since 2010.
September 2020 marks the 31st year of National Recovery Month and with this column, we aim to tell the share the experiences of public figures and celebrities with mental disorders, with an aim to raise awareness and normalize asking for help