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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Entertainment
Heather Saul

Daniel Radcliffe describes heavy drinking after Harry Potter finished

Daniel Radcliffe will probably spend the rest of his life being compared to (or called) Harry Potter, regardless of any major roles he udnertakes in the future. 

The Kill Your Darlings actor hung up his cloak and wand in 2011 but has struggled to shake off the ghost of his most famous role despite appearing in a number of well-received films since. 

Radcliffe spoke to Marc Maron about life since Harry Potter on his WTF podcast this week and admitted he refusing to sign autographs as Harry Potter.  "I do sometimes get people saying, ‘can you sign something as Harry Potter’, and I’m like, ‘no… because that’s not my name.’” (He does make an acceptation on this rule for children, but will put his name in brackets at the end.)

The 26-year-old was just 11 when he was propelled to fame by his starring turn in Harry Potter, a role he reprised every year for a decade. Understandably, he became increasingly anxious about what his future lay in store for him as the final instalment of the series that he had grown up in drew to a close.

"There was definitely a time when I was coming out of Potter into the real world, and suddenly I was in a world when I was not in that consistency anymore," he admitted. 

"Then I was living alone, and I think I was really freaked out."

Radcliffe said he would even go and get “f**ked up” in pubs and with fans after the series came to end. 

''I drank a lot but that was more to do with actually going out in public and a battle in me going, 'I can have a totally normal life, man, this is fine'" he said. "That is the thing - most people probably can but I definitely can’t. I haven't had a drink now for over two years. [...] You get bored of waking up feeling like that.

''For me, I always had a structured life and 90 per cent of the time having enjoyed it, [but] there is that crazy part of you every so often that wants to rebel and have some chaos.’’

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